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Quote by Shirley Geok-lin Lim

“Saul Bellow has that character in Henderson the Rain King say: "I want, I want, I want!"9 I remember reading this passage years ago and thinking, yes, that's the human.”

Quote by Shirley Geok-lin Lim

Author

Shirley Geok-lin Lim

Shirley Geok-lin Lim is a Singaporean-born writer known for her profound insights into multiculturalism and her rich literary works. Her writings often focus on themes of race, gender, and identity, which have resonated with readers worldwide. more

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“I want, I want, I want! We never grow out of it somehow. Unless we become Buddhists, maybe.”

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Author:Shirley Geok-lin Lim

“I was nine when I first knew I wanted to be a writer, in particular, a poet.”

Firsts Wanted Particular Poet Nine

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“In actual fact, I have been an academic - a college and university teacher and scholar - for much of the last 45 years, and only rarely a writer.”

Years Has Beens Facts Lasts Teacher College University Academic Scholar Colleges And Universities

Author:Shirley Geok-lin Lim

“When I spoke at the 2012 Contemporary Women Writers' Conference in Taipei, I thought it offered an appropriate moment and site to announce my new manifesto10 and profession - to be a writer.”

Moments Profession Contemporary Appropriate Spokes Site Conferences

Author:Shirley Geok-lin Lim

“The Chinese traditionally have revered age and longevity - I have one and hope for the other! - so, in Taipei, a city-hub for global Chinese who dis-identify with the People's Republic of China's construction of a Communist nationalist Chineseness, I called on the Chinese muse of writing to witness my emergence out of the academic woods.”

People Writing Age Cities China Woods Witness Chinese Republic Communist Construction Academic Longevity Muse Emergence Hub

Author:Shirley Geok-lin Lim

“Some Asian American male scholars have claimed this muse to be Guong Goong, God of Literature, and, simultaneously, although not coincidentally or triflingly, God of War, but I did not have such a gendered muse in mind then.”

Mind War Literature Males Scholar Muse Asian Asian American God Of War

Author:Shirley Geok-lin Lim

“My recent retirement from full-time teaching to the status of research professor at University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) encouraged me to come out, so to speak.”

Speak Teaching Research University California Retirement Professors Santa Barbara Santa Barbara

Author:Shirley Geok-lin Lim

“The inimitable writer Maxine Hong Kingston published a book in 2002 with the title To Be the Poet. However, in contrast to the transformatory distinctions Kingston makes between the conditions of being a prose writer and "the poet," my multigenre impulses incline me to a broader transformation: to be a writer.”

Book Conditions Poet Transformation Impulse Titles Prose Distinction Contrast Incline

Author:Shirley Geok-lin Lim

“According to [Maxine Hong] Kingston, the prose writer is "a workhorse."”

Author:Shirley Geok-lin Lim

“"I want to be always happy," Maxine Hong Kingston announces . But, as this interview makes clear, for me, it was the desire to write poetry that kept me discontented, if not depressed and unhappy, through what many casual biographers have characterized as successful and productive decades.”

Ifs Want Writing Desire Successful Clear Decades Unhappy Interviews Productive Casual Always Happy Biographers

Author:Shirley Geok-lin Lim