Carolyn See facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Carolyn See
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| Born | Caroline Laws January 13, 1934 Pasadena, California, U.S. |
| Died | July 13, 2016 (aged 82) Santa Monica, California |
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| Spouses |
Richard See
(m. 1954; div. 1959)Tom Sturak
(m. 1960; div. 1969) |
| Children | 2, including Lisa See |
Carolyn See (born Caroline Laws; January 13, 1934 – July 13, 2016) was a well-known American writer and professor. She taught English at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Carolyn See wrote ten books during her life. These included her memoir, Dreaming: Hard Luck and Good Times in America, and a helpful guide for writers called Making a Literary Life. She also wrote several novels like There Will Never Be Another You and Golden Days. For 27 years, she was also a book critic for The Washington Post newspaper.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Carolyn See was born Caroline Laws on January 13, 1934, in Pasadena, California. Her parents were Kate Louise Sullivan Daly and George Laws. Her father was an aspiring writer and sometimes worked as a journalist. She spent her early childhood in Eagle Rock, California.
When she was eleven, her father left the family. Her mother then raised her. Later, her mother remarried and had another child. At 16, Caroline went to live with her father and stepmother in Los Angeles.
She earned her associate degree from Los Angeles City College. During her second year there, she married Richard See. They moved to Newfoundland together. When they returned to Los Angeles, Carolyn earned her master's degree from California State University, Los Angeles. She also gave birth to her first daughter, Lisa See, who later became a famous novelist too.
In 1958, Carolyn See won the Samuel Goldwyn Creative Writing Contest. She won for a novel she hadn't published yet, called The Waiting Game. She used the $250 prize money to pay for her divorce from Richard See. Later, she completed her doctorate degree at UCLA. Her final paper was about novels set in Hollywood.
Career as a Writer and Teacher
In the late 1960s, Carolyn See began writing articles for the Los Angeles Times. She also wrote profiles about famous people for TV Guide. During this time, she developed a strong writing routine. She would write one thousand words every day using felt pens on white, unlined paper.
While she was writing non-fiction articles, an editor named Harry Sions from Little, Brown and Company encouraged her to write a novel. This novel became The Rest is Done with Mirrors.
Carolyn See's first teaching job was as an English professor at Loyola Marymount University. She taught there from 1970 to 1985. After that, she was a visiting professor at her old school, UCLA, from 1986 to 1989. She later became an adjunct professor there.
Besides writing her own books, Carolyn See also reviewed books for others. She was a frequent book reviewer for The Washington Post for 27 years. Before that, she reviewed books for the Los Angeles Times and Newsday. She retired from the Washington Post in 2014. She also served on important review boards for literary awards.
Carolyn See also wrote books with her daughter Lisa See and a writer named John Espey. They used the pen name Monica Highland for these books.
She was well-known for writing novels that took place in Los Angeles. She also helped edit books about the city. These included a collection of short stories called LA Shorts. She also worked on picture books like Santa Monica Bay: Paradise by the Sea and The California Pop-Up Book. These books celebrated the unique buildings and history of the Los Angeles area.
Personal Life
Carolyn See was married to Richard See from 1954 to 1959. They had one daughter, Lisa See, who was born in 1955. Her second husband was Tom Sturak. They had a daughter named Clara Sturak, born in 1965. Both of her marriages ended in divorce.
From 1974 until his death in 2000, she was in a relationship with John Espey. She lived in Pacific Palisades, California.
Carolyn See once described her perfect day. She said she would like to "write two hours, work in the yard for two hours, and write ten pieces of mail." She added that it didn't often work out that way.
Carolyn See was a feminist, meaning she believed in equal rights for women. She said that the book The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan changed her life. After her novel Rhine Maidens was published, she said she wanted to write different kinds of stories. She felt that her book Blue Money was the only one that men often read.
Published Works (selected)
Novels
- The Rest Is Done with Mirrors. New York, Little Brown, 1970.
- Mothers, Daughters. New York, Coward McCann Geoghegan, 1977.
- Rhine Maidens. New York, Coward McCann Geoghegan, 1980.
- Golden Days. New York, McGraw Hill, 1986.
- Making History. New York, Houghton Mifflin, 1991.
- The Handyman. New York, Random House, 1999.
- There Will Never Be Another You. New York, Random House, 2006.
Non-fiction
- Two Schools of Thought, with John Espey. Santa Barbara, California, Daniel, 1991.
- Dreaming: Hard Luck and Good Times in America. New York, Random House, 1995.
- Making a Literary Life: Advice for Writers and Other Dreamers New York, Random House, 2002.
Novels as Monica Highland (with Lisa See and John Espey)
- Lotus Land. New York, McGraw Hill, 1983.
- 110 Shanghai Road. New York, McGraw Hill, 1986.
- Greetings from Southern California. New York, McGraw Hill, 1988.
Awards
Carolyn See received several important awards. She won both the Guggenheim Fellowship and the Getty Center fellowship. In 1993, she was also given the Robert Kirsch Award by the Los Angeles Times. This award honors authors who write about or live in the Western United States.
