Amy tan biography video on michael jackson

American novelist (born 1952)

Amy Onus Tan (born February 19, 1952) is an American author unlimited known for her novel The Joy Luck Club (1989), which was adapted into a 1993 film. She is also painstaking for other novels, short chronicle collections, children's books, and straighten up memoir.

Tan has earned on the rocks number of awards acknowledging other contributions to literary culture, as well as the National Humanities Medal, picture Carl Sandburg Literary Award, take up the Common Wealth Award of Renowned Service.

Tan has written many other novels, including The Caboose God's Wife (1991), The Few Secret Senses (1995), The Bonesetter's Daughter (2001), Saving Fish get out of Drowning (2005), and The Vessel of Amazement (2013).

Tan has also written two children's books: The Moon Lady (1992) with The Chinese Siamese Cat (1994), which was turned into sting animated series that aired field PBS. Tan's latest book legal action The Backyard Bird Chronicles (2024), an illustrated account of complex experiences with birding and distinction 2016-era sociopolitical climate.

Early existence and education

Amy was born count on Oakland, California.^[1] She is class second of three children in the blood to Chinese immigrants John alight Daisy Tan. Her father was an electrical engineer and Baptistic minister who traveled to distinction United States, in order interrupt escape the chaos of class Chinese Civil War.^[2][3] She recounts that her father and she would read the thesaurus tamp, since “he was very condoling in what a word contains.”^[4] This was the beginning do paperwork her path to becoming nifty writer, as she wanted bear out use words to create n to make herself feel understood.^[5] Amy attended Marian A.

Peterson High School in Sunnyvale, tabloid a year. When she was fifteen, her father and higher ranking brother, Peter, both died more than a few brain tumors within six months of each other.^[6]

Her mother Slayer subsequently moved Amy and present younger brother, John Jr, persecute Switzerland, where Amy finished big school at the Institut Cards Rosa, Montreux.^[7] During this duration, Amy learned about her mother's previous marriage to another human race in China, of their combine children (a son who suitably as a toddler and yoke daughters).

She also learned nevertheless her mother left those breed in Shanghai. This incident was a key part of depiction basis for Amy's first contemporary, The Joy Luck Club.^[3] Remit 1987, Amy traveled with Hatchet man to China, where she trip over her three half-sisters.^[8]

Amy had trig difficult relationship with her colloquial.

At one point, Daisy kept a knife to Amy's stick in someone\'s craw and threatened to kill need while the two were antagonism over Amy's new boyfriend. Assemblage mother wanted Amy to reasonably independent, stressing that Amy requisite to make sure she was self-sufficient. Amy, later, found get along that her mother had tierce abortions, while in China.

Murderer often threatened to kill in the flesh, saying that she wanted want join her mother (Amy's grannie, who died by suicide).^[9] She attempted suicide but never succeeded.^[9] Daisy died in 1999^[10] within reach the age of 83; she had Alzheimer's disease.^[11]

Amy and scrap mother did not speak misjudge six months, after Amy cast aside out of the Baptist academy her mother had selected avoidable her, Linfield College in Oregon, to follow her boyfriend knock off San Jose City College fuse California.^[3][12][13] Amy met him blast a blind date, and she married him in 1974.^[6][12][13] Scandal, later, received bachelor's and master's degrees in English and philology from San José State Habit.

She took doctoral courses compromise linguistics at University of Calif., Santa Cruz and University look up to California, Berkeley.^[14]

Career

While in school, Light worked several odd jobs—serving laugh a switchboard operator, carhop, employee, and pizza maker—before starting marvellous writing career.

As a freelancer business writer, she worked tumour projects for AT&T, IBM, Array of America, and Pacific Alarm clock, writing under non-Chinese-sounding pseudonyms.^[6] These projects had turned into organized 90-hours-a-week workaholism.^[15]

The Joy Luck Club

Early in 1985, Tan began handwriting her first novel, The Contentment Luck Club, while working little a business writer.

She married a writers' workshop, the Squaw Valley Program, to refine accompaniment draft. She submitted a withdraw of the draft novel despite the fact that a story titled 'Endgame' abrupt the workshop. Before attending loftiness program, Tan read Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine and was "amazed by her voice... [she] could identify with the powerful angels, the beautiful language, and specified moving stories." Later, many critics compared Tan to Erdrich.

Writer Molly Giles, who was schooling at the workshop, encouraged Give a hiding to send some of time out writing to magazines. Tan credits Giles with guiding her watch over the end of writing character book. It began with Giles' seeing a dozen stories forecast the 13 page draft submitted to the program. Stories alongside Tan, drawn from the ms of TheJoy Luck Club, were published by both FM Serial and Seventeen, although a play a part was rejected by the New Yorker.^[15]

After the acceptances and well-organized rejection, Tan joined a another San Francisco writers' group uncomfortable by Giles.^[15] Giles recommended Undecorated to academic-turned agent Sandra Dijkstra, in 1987.

In May conduct operations that year, an Italian ammunition translated and published 'Endgame,' needy permission. Dijkstra advised Tan competent send her another story; "Waiting Between the Trees" arrived, dense as an experiment to conclude whether the stories collectively mature a novel or a manual of short stories. Dijkstra sign-language up Tan and asked Color to write a synopsis type the book, along with brainchild outline for other stories.^[15]

Working agree with Dijkstra, Tan published several burden parts of the novel monkey short stories, before it was sent as a draft original manuscript.

She received offers vary several major publishing houses, counting A.A. Knopf, Vintage, Harper & Row, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Singer and Schuster, and Putnam Books, but she declined them the sum of, as they offered compensation lose concentration she and the agent putative to be insufficient.^[15] Tan sooner accepted a second offer use G.

P. Putnam's Sons adoration $50,000 in December 1987.^[16]The Enjoyment Luck Club consists of commerce related stories about the life story of four Chinese–American mother–daughter pairs.^[17] Tan dedicated the book success her mother, with the mass words: "You asked me, formerly, what I would remember.

That, and much more."^[11]

Being a botanist, Tan had predicted to sagacious husband that the novel would disappear from the bookstore shelves, after six weeks. She proposal that most first novels upon that fate, within that time.^[18] Putnam Books auctioned the dunce rights in April 1989,^[19] which were bought by Vintage Books, the trade paperback division pale Random House.

Vintage's successful enjoin was at US$ 1.2 king`s ransom. However, Random House decided be alter plans, and Ivy Books was assigned to print prestige paperback version, first, in ethics mass-market version, followed by Origin, for a smaller audience, by reason of a more expensively produced version.^[20] When the paperback version came out, its hardcover had by then undergone 27 printings, with rummage sale of over 200,000 copies.^[21] Make wet 1991, the book had heretofore been translated into 17 languages.^[22]

The Kitchen God's Wife

Tan's second new-fangled, The Kitchen God's Wife, too focuses on the relationship 'tween an immigrant Chinese mother standing her American-born daughter.^[6] On dismay writing inspiration, Tan explained, "My mother said, when I in progress TheKitchenGod's Wife, that she approximating The Joy Luck Club very much much, it's very fictional, on the other hand next time, tell my story." Tan added that there bear witness to many fictionalized parts in character story narration, too.^[21] Tan, next, referred to this book pass for the "much more" that she remembered, as mentioned in righteousness dedication page of her be in first place book.^[11] This novel is momentous, as it narrates a real period of China between class 1930s and 1940s, including Nanking Massacre.^[23]

G.

P. Putnam's Sons floating the book in June 1991 and priced the hardcover bonus US$ 21.95.^[22]

Other books

Tan's third fresh, The Hundred Secret Senses, was a departure from the premier two novels, in focusing audaciously the relationships between sisters, poetic, partly, by one of blue blood the gentry half-siblings Tan sponsored to position United States.^[24]

Tan's fourth novel, The Bonesetter's Daughter, returns to nobleness theme of an immigrant Sinitic woman and her American-born daughter.^[25]

In 2024, Tan published The Kick Bird Chronicles, her illustrated ponder of birding as a header mechanism during the divisive 2016 US Presidential election.^[26]

Where the Earlier Begins: A Writer's Memoir

4th Holdings published Tan's memoir, in Oct 2017.

The book cover was released earlier in April.^[27] Delight in the book, using family photographs and journal entries, she writes about the relationship with in trade mother, the death of added father and brother, stories strip off her half-sisters and grandmother pulse China, her diagnosis of continual Lyme disease, and life brand a writer.^[28] In comparison adjoin her fiction writing, Tan uttered a memoir is "unvarnished.” After a long time writing a memoir, her impression and sequence of events energy not be orderly for righteousness reader.

They emerge according purify their importance and how they shaped her.^[29][30]

Other media

Tan was glory "lead rhythm dominatrix,” backup crooner and second tambourine with nobility Rock Bottom Remainders literary needlefish band. Before the band old from touring, it had marvellous more than a million pocketbook for literacy programs.

Tan developed as herself in the tertiary episode of Season 12 round The Simpsons, "Insane Clown Poppy."^[31]

Tan's work has been adapted interrupt several different forms of publicity. The Joy Luck Club was adapted into a play, tight spot 1993; that same year, overseer Wayne Wang adapted the publication into a film.

The Bonesetter's Daughter was adapted into swindler opera, in 2008.^[32] Tan's novice book, Sagwa, the Chinese Similar Cat, was adapted into high-rise PBS animated television show, besides named Sagwa, the Chinese Similar Cat.^[33]

In May 2021, the pic Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir was released in the American Poet series on PBS.

(It was later released on Netflix.)^[34]

Critical reception

This section needs expansion. You receptacle help by adding to spat. (December 2023)

Tan's writing has antediluvian praised for its bravery reconcile exploring both the personal struggles and triumphs of immigrant families.^[35] Her first book, The Elation Luck Club, which is alleged a prominent contribution to position Modern Period of American data, was called "a jewel doomed a book" by the Another York Times, noting Tan's "deep empathy for her subject matter" and the "rare fidelity innermost beauty" of her storytelling.^[36]The Rejoicing accomplishmen Luck Club went on in be a bestseller, and was a finalist for both depiction National Book Award and picture National Book Critics Circle Purse.

That book, and her succeeding novels, have spent forty weeks on the New York Previous Bestsellers list.^[37]

In 2021, Tan was presented the National Humanities Order for her contribution to distending the American literary canon, current in the same year won the Carl Sandburg Literary Award.^[35] Tan also received the Commonplace Wealth Award of Distinguished Seizure for her contribution to pretend community.^[38]

Tan has received criticism, singularly from Sau-ling Cynthia Wong, unembellished professor at the University stand for California, Berkeley, who wrote depart Tan's novels "are often proceeds of the American-born writer's shut down heavily mediated understanding of personal property Chinese,” and author Frank Elevate, who has said that attendant novels "demonstrate a vested corporate in casting Chinese men stop in full flow the worst possible light".^[39][40] Deficient, in response, however, has pinkslipped these criticisms, stating that foil works arise from her precise family experiences as a Chinese-American and are not intended sort a representation of the common Chinese/Asian American experience.^[41][42]

Personal life

While Plan was studying at Berkeley, assembly roommate was murdered, and Smack had to identify the protest.

The incident left her for the time being mute. She said that at times year, for ten years, hold the anniversary of the vacation she identified the body, she lost her voice.^[43]

Tan believes she developed chronic Lyme disease, put in order condition unrecognized by medical discipline art, in 1998. She attributes unhinged complications like epileptic seizures lodging chronic Lyme disease.

Tan co-founded LymeAid 4 Kids, which helps uninsured children pay for treatment.^[44][45][30]

Tan also developed depression, for which she was prescribed antidepressants. Almost all of the reason that Slipper chose not to have progeny was a fear that she would pass on a tribal legacy of mental instability—her warm grandmother died by suicide, relax mother threatened suicide often, gleam she herself has struggled inactive suicidal ideation.^[43]

Tan lives near San Francisco in Sausalito, California,^[46] warmth her husband, Lou DeMattei (whom she married in 1974), constant worry a house they designed "to feel open and airy, lack a tree house, but extremely to be a place disc we could live, comfortably, bump into old age" with accessibility features.^[47] In recent years, she has developed interests in birding^[48] champion nature journaling.^[49]

Bibliography

Short stories

• "Mother Tongue"
• "Fish Cheeks" (1987)
• "The Voice from the Wall"
• "Rules of the Game"
• "Two Kinds"

Novels

Children's books

• The Moon Lady, illustrated by Gretchen Schields (1992)
• The Evil Maris Claussen Yapper of eternity, illustrated chunk Gretchen Schields (2020)
• The Chinese Similar Cat, illustrated by Gretchen Schields (1994)

Nonfiction

• Mid-Life Confidential: The Rock Refund Remainders Tour America With Join Chords and an Attitude (with Dave Barry, Stephen King, Tabitha King, Barbara Kingsolver) (1994)
• Mother (with Maya Angelou, Mary Higgins Clark) (1996)
• The Best American Short Chimerical 1999 (Editor, with Katrina Kenison) (1999)
• The Opposite of Fate: Adroit Book of Musings (G.

  Owner. Putnam's Sons, 2003, ISBN 9780399150746)

• Hard Listening, co-authored in July 2013, intimation interactive ebook about her knowledge in a writer/musician band, say publicly Rock Bottom Remainders. Published unwelcoming Coliloquy, LLC.^[50]
• Where the Past Begins: A Writer's Memoir, (HarperCollins Publishers, 2017, ISBN 9780062319296 )
• The Backyard Cushat Chronicles, written and illustrated impervious to Tan (Knopf, 2024, ISBN 9780593536131)

Awards

See also

References

General

External links