American Book Awards
2 appearances
-
Edition 11 (1990) Winner
-
Edition 18 (1997) Winner
Shirley Geok-lin Lim
シャーリー・ジオク＝リン・リム
Shirley Geok-lin Lim
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1944-01-01 （Malacca City, British Malaya）
- Nationality
- United States, Malaysia
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Malacca City (birthplace) → United States (Santa Barbara, California — UCSB) → Hong Kong (University of Hong Kong) → Singapore (taught at National University of Singapore / Nanyang Technological University)
Career
- Occupations
- Poet, Author, Literary critic, University professor
- Active Years
- 1973-
- Affiliations
- University of California, Santa Barbara (Department of English), University of Hong Kong (Chair Professor), National University of Singapore (taught), Nanyang Technological University (taught at National Institute of Education)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Malaya | Faculty of Arts | Department of English | B.A. (First Class Honours) | 1960年代 | Malaysia |
| Brandeis University | Graduate School | English and American Literature | Ph.D. | 1969–1973 | United States |
University of Malaya
Faculty of Arts
/ Department of English
Degree:
B.A. (First Class Honours)
Period:
1960年代
Year of Graduation:
1968
Country:
Malaysia
Awarded a federal scholarship
Brandeis University
Graduate School
/ English and American Literature
Degree:
Ph.D.
Period:
1969–1973
Year of Graduation:
1973
Country:
United States
Attended graduate school on a Fulbright scholarship
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Commonwealth Poetry Prize | Crossing the Peninsula and Other Poems | — | Commonwealth | 受賞 |
| 1989 | American Book Award | The Forbidden Stitch: An Asian American Women's Anthology (co-edited) | — | Before Columbus Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1997 | American Book Award | Among the White Moon Faces | — | Before Columbus Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1996 | Fulbright Distinguished Lecturer Award | — | — | Fulbright Program | 受賞 |
| 1997 | Asiaweek Short Story Award | Mr. Tang's Uncles | — | Asiaweek | 受賞 |
Commonwealth Poetry Prize
1980
Work:
Crossing the Peninsula and Other Poems
Organization:
Commonwealth
Result:
受賞
American Book Award
1989
Work:
The Forbidden Stitch: An Asian American Women's Anthology (co-edited)
Organization:
Before Columbus Foundation
Result:
受賞
American Book Award
1997
Work:
Among the White Moon Faces
Organization:
Before Columbus Foundation
Result:
受賞
Fulbright Distinguished Lecturer Award
1996
Organization:
Fulbright Program
Result:
受賞
Asiaweek Short Story Award
1997
Work:
Mr. Tang's Uncles
Organization:
Asiaweek
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Crossing the Peninsula and Other Poems
1980 Poetry 80 pagesA poetry collection addressing childhood in Malaysia, migration, and identity. Lim's first major collection and winner of the Commonwealth Poetry Prize.
MigrationHomelandIdentityFemininity
Monsoon History
1994 Poetry 72 pagesPoems that use the monsoon and regional history to explore memory and personal/cultural pasts.
MemoryHistoryNature
Among the White Moon Faces: An Asian American Memoir of Homelands
1996 Memoir / Non-fiction 240 pagesA memoir tracing Lim's childhood through her academic and literary career, reflecting on immigration, womanhood, and the effects of colonialism.
Immigrant experienceColonialismWomen's experienceFamily
Translations
- Chinese translation (2001)
Joss and Gold
2001 Fiction (short stories/novel) 250 pagesFiction dealing with Southeast Asian culture and immigrant communities.
Cross-cultural contactMigrationFamily
Sister Swing
2006 Fiction 200 pagesA longer work portraying social and cultural experiences from women's perspectives.
WomenCultural identity
In Praise of Limes
2022 Poetry 50 pagesA late-career poetry collection that moves from small everyday images to broad reflection.
Everyday lifeMemoryMaturity
Dawns Tomorrow
2024 Poetry 60 pagesA recent poetry collection reflecting on migration and changing times.
ChangeMigrationTime
Bibliography
- Crossing the Peninsula and Other Poems (1980)
- Another Country (1982)
- Life's Mysteries (1985)
- No Man's Grove and Other Poems (1985)
- Modern Secrets: New and Selected Poems (1989)
- Monsoon History (1994)
- Two Dreams: New and Selected Stories (1997)
- What the Fortune Teller Didn't Say (1998)
- Among the White Moon Faces (1996)
- Joss and Gold (2001)
- Sister Swing (2006)
- Do You Live In? (2015)
- Ars Poetica for the Day (2015)
- In Praise of Limes (2022)
- Dawns Tomorrow (2024)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Lyrical and narrative styleCross-genre (poetry, fiction, criticism)Interdisciplinary approach incorporating feminist and postcolonial theory
- Recurring Motifs
- Homeland and remembranceMigration and diasporaWomen's experiences and intergenerational relationsCultural hybridity
Legacy
Shirley Geok-lin Lim, a Southeast Asian-born writer in English, has addressed migration, diaspora, womanhood, and colonialism through both literature and criticism. She was a pioneering Asian woman figure in English-language letters—winning the Commonwealth Poetry Prize for her first collection and receiving American Book Awards for her memoir and co-edited anthology—recognized as an influential voice among Asian American and transnational writers.
Archives
- University of California, Santa Barbara — departmental pages and related materials
Trivia
- She was the first woman and the first Asian to be awarded the Commonwealth Poetry Prize for her first collection, Crossing the Peninsula.
- Abandoned by her mother in childhood; decided to become a poet from a very young age.
- Served as a professor in the Department of English and chair of the Women's Studies department at UCSB; retired in 2012.
- Attended Brandeis University on a Fulbright scholarship and received a Ph.D. in 1973.
- Has won the American Book Award at least twice (for a co-edited anthology and for her memoir).
- Married to Charles Bazerman and has one child named Gershom.