Gish Jen
| Gish Jen | |
|---|---|
| Born | Lillian Jen August 12, 1955 Long Island, New York |
| Occupation | novelist |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Period | 1986 – 21st century |
| Genre | novel |
| Notable works |
Typical American Mona in the Promised Land The Love Wife Who's Irish? World and Town Tiger Writing: Art, Culture, and the Interdependent Self |
| Spouse | David C. O'Connor |
| Website | |
| www |
|
Gish Jen, born Lillian Jen (Chinese: ; pinyin: Rén Bìlián) August 12, 1955, is a contemporary American writer.
Gish Jen is a second generation Chinese American. Her parents emigrated from China in the 1940s, her mother from Shanghai and her father from Yixing. Born in Long Island, New York, she grew up in Queens, then Yonkers, then Scarsdale. Her birth name is Lillian, but during her high school years she acquired the nickname Gish, named for actress Lillian Gish.
She graduated from Harvard University in 1977 with a BA in English, and later attended Stanford Business School (1979–1980), but dropped out in favor of the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she earned her MFA in fiction in 1983.
Several of her short stories have been reprinted in The Best American Short Stories. Her piece "Birthmates", was selected as one of The Best American Short Stories of The Century by John Updike. Her works include four novels: Typical American, Mona in the Promised Land, The Love Wife, and World and Town. She has also written a collection of short fiction, Who's Irish?.
Her first novel was Typical American. Her second novel, Mona in the Promised Land features a Chinese-American adolescent who converts to Judaism. The Love Wife, her third novel, portrays an Asian American family with interracial parents and both biological and adopted children.
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