Lisa See

Infobox Writer
name = Lisa See


birthdate = birth date|1955|02|18|df=y
birthplace = Paris, France
deathdate =
deathplace =
spouse = Richard Kendall
children = Alexander and Christopher
notableworks =
occupation = Novelist, Biographer, Writer, Community Leader
influences =
influenced =

Lisa See is a Chinese American writer and novelist. One-eighth Chinese, the Chinese side of her family has had a great impact on her life and work [Xian Liu, "Lisa Lenine See." In "Asian American Novelists: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook". Ed. Emmanuel S. Nelson. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (2000), p. 323] . Her books include "On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family" (1995), "Flower Net" (1997), "The Interior" (1999), "Dragon Bones" (2003), "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" (2005), and "Peony in Love" (2008).

"Flower Net", "The Interior", and "Dragon Bones" make up the Red Princess mystery series. "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" and "Peony in Love" focus on the lives of Chinese women in the 19th and 17th centuries respectively.

Writing under the pen name Monica Highland, See, her mother Caroline, and John Espy, published three novels: "Lotus Land" (1983), "110 Shanghai Road" (1986), and "Greetings from Southern California" (1988) [Carolyn See] . She has written a personal essay ("The Funeral Banquet") for "Half and Half". [O'Hearn, Claudine Chiawei, ed. "Half and Half: Writers on Growing Up Biracial and Bicultural". See, Lisa. "The Funeral Banquest", pp. 125-138, Pantheon Books, 1998]

See has donated her personal papers (1973-2001) to UCLA [Lisa See Papers, 1973-2001. Collection Number 564). Department of Special Collections, Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA] .

Biography

Lisa See was born in Paris February 18, 1955 [Xian Liu, p. 323] but has spent many years in Los Angeles, especially Los Angeles Chinatown [ [http://www.bookbrowse.com/biographies/index.cfm?author_number=1171 Bookbrowse, "Author Biography"] ] . Her mother, Carolyn See, is also a writer and novelist. Her autobiography provides insight into her daughter's life in personal terms ["Dreaming: Hard Luck and Good Times in America", Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1996] . Lisa See graduated with a B.A. from Loyola Marymount University in 1979 [ [http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Dragon-Bones/Lisa-See/e/9780345440310 "Biography", Barnes and Noble] ] .

See was West Coast correspondent for "Publishers Weekly" (1983-1996) [Xian Liu, p. 324] ; has written articles for "Vogue", "Self", and "More"; has written the libretto for the opera based on "On Gold Mountain" [ [http://www.lisasee.com/opera.htm "On Gold Mountain: An Opera"] ] ; and has helped develop the Family Discovery Gallery for the Autry Museum, which depicts 1930s Los Angeles from the perspective of her father as a seven-year-old boy. Her exhibition "On Gold Mountain: A Chinese American Experience" was featured in the Autry Museum of Western Heritage [ [http://www.lisasee.com/autrymuseum.htm On Gold Mountain: A Chinese American Experience -- the Autry Museum of Western Heritage (2000-2001)] ] and the Smithsonian [ [http://www.apa.si.edu/ongoldmountain/ On Gold Mountain: A Chinese American Experience -- the Smithsonian Institution (2001)] ] . See is also a public speaker.

She has written for and led in many cultural events emphasizing the importance of Los Angeles and Chinatown. Among her awards and recognitions are the Organization of Chinese American Women's 2001 award as National Woman of the Year and the 2003 History Makers Award presented by the Chinese American Museum. See serves as a Los Angeles City Commissioner [ [http://www.lisasee.com/Bio.htm "About the Author," Lisa See official web site] ] .

She also has won the "Mom of the Year" award from the Christopher Kendall Foundation.

Notes

Books by Lisa See

* "On Gold Mountain": The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese American Family". St. Martins Press, 1995.
* "Flower Net"'. HarperCollins, 1997.
* "The Interior". HarperCollins, 1999.
* "Dragon Bones"." Random House, Inc., 2004.
* "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan". Random House, Inc., 2005.
* "Peony in Love". Random House, Inc., 2008.
* "Chinatown" (guidebook), Angels Walk LA, 2003.

Lisa See on Her Life and Works

* [http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm?author_number=1171 See interview in BookBrowse]
* [http://www.lisasee.com/opera.htm Opera based on "On Gold Mountain"]
* [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0375700110 Lisa See, "The Funeral Banquet", "Half and Half", pp. 125-138. Edited by Claudine Chiawei O'Hearn. New York: Pantheon Books, 1998]
* [http://www.cetconnect.org/search/results.asp?q=lisa+see&Go.x=0&Go.y=0# "Lisa See at the Mercantile Library" (video), (09/18/2008)]
* [http://www.beatrice.com/interviews/lisasee/ See interviewed by Ron Hogan (1996)]
* [http://www.yrn.net/go/gizmo/1999/see2.html Elisabeth Sherwin, "See "The Interior" through the eyes of someone who's been there", 11/14/1999]
* [http://www.lisasee.com/onwriting.htm Lisa See, "On Writing "Snow Flower"]
* [http://www.gather.com/viewVideo.jsp?id=11821949021859923 Lisa See, "China's Lovesick Maidens" (video)]
* [http://www.blogtalkradio.com/speakingvolumes/blog/2008/07/01/Best-selling-author-Lisa-See-discusses-Peony-in-Love Lisa See on "Peony in Love" Blog Talk Radio]
* [http://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/rc/library/display.pperl?isbn=9780345440471&view=qa "A Conversation with Carolyn and Lisa See"]
* [http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977326087&grpId=3659174697241297&nav=Groupspace Diana Raabe, "Seeing Ghosts: A Conversation with Author Lisa See" (05/10/08)]
*"A Conversation with Lisa See", Random House Reader's Circle. "Peony in Love". New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2008, pp. 287-294.
*"Author's Note". "Peony in Love", pp. 275-280.

External links

* [http://www.lisasee.com/Bio.htm "About the Author," Lisa See's official site]
* [https://www.google.com/groups/signin?cd=US&hl=en&ssip=g3&_done=http%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fgroup%2Flisa-see-discussion-group Lisa See Discussion Group]
* [http://www.bookbrowse.com/biographies/index.cfm?author_number=1171 Biographical sketch in BookBrowse]
* [http://www.lisasee.com/autrymuseum.htm On Gold Mountain: A Chinese American Experience -- the Autry Museum of Western Heritage]
* [http://www.apa.si.edu/ongoldmountain/ On Gold Mountain: A Chinese American Experience -- the Smithsonian Institution (2001)]
* [http://www.camla.org/ Chinese American Museum]
* [http://www.chssc.org/index.shtml Chinese Historical Society of Southern California]
* [http://www.carolynsee.com/ Carolyn See's official site]

References

Fenby, Jonathan. "Modern China". New York: HarperCollins Publishers (2008).

Gifford, Rob. "China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power". New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks (2007).

Liu, Xian. "Lisa Lenine See". In "Asian American Novelists: A Bio-Biblical Critical Sourcebook", pp. 323-331. Ed. Nelson, Emmanuel S. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group Inc. (2000).

Pan, Philip P. "Out of Mao's Shadow". New York: Simon and Schuster (2008).

See, Carolyn. "Dreaming: Hard Luck and Good Times in America". Los Angeles: University of California Press (1996).