Catherine Lim facts for kids

Catherine Lim Poh Imm (Chinese: 林宝音; pinyin: Lín Bǎoyīn, born March 21, 1942) is a famous writer from Singapore. She is known for her stories about Singaporean society and traditional Chinese culture. Many people call her the "doyenne of Singapore writers." This means she is a very respected and important female writer in Singapore.

Catherine Lim has written many books. So far, she has published nine collections of short stories, five novels, and two poetry collections. She has also written many articles about social issues. In 1994, she wrote an article in The Straits Times newspaper. It talked about the ruling political party's plans.

Catherine Lim's Journey as a Writer

Catherine Lim was born in Kulim in Malaya (now Malaysia). She went to school at the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus. When she was a child, she loved reading British books. Some of her favorite authors were Enid Blyton and Richmal Crompton. She also enjoyed reading comics.

Education and Early Career

In 1963, Catherine Lim earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Malaya. She then moved to Singapore in 1967. Later, in 1988, she received her PhD in applied linguistics from the National University of Singapore.

She also studied in the United States as a Fulbright scholar in 1990. During this time, she attended Columbia University and the University of California, Berkeley. Before becoming a full-time writer, Catherine Lim worked as a teacher. She also directed projects at the Curriculum Development Institute of Singapore. She taught sociolinguistics and literature at the Regional English Language Centre.

Becoming a Full-Time Author

In 1992, Catherine Lim decided to focus only on writing. She left her teaching career to become a full-time author. Her hard work and talent were recognized with many awards. In 2003, France made her a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters. In 2005, she became an ambassador for the Hans Christian Andersen Foundation in Copenhagen. She also received an honorary doctorate in literature from Murdoch University.

Her Famous Books

Catherine Lim has written many popular books. Her stories often explore the role of women in traditional Chinese society and culture.

Short Story Collections

Her first collection of short stories was called Little Ironies: Stories of Singapore. It was published in 1978. Another collection, Or Else, the Lightning God and Other Stories, came out in 1980. This book was very important. It was the first Singaporean book to be part of the Cambridge International Examinations in 1989 and 1990.

In 1989, she published O Singapore!: Stories in Celebration. Two years before that, she released The Shadow of a Shadow of a Dream. This collection showed her trying new writing styles and covering more topics.

Novels and Other Works

Catherine Lim's first novel was The Serpent's Tooth, published in 1982. Other well-known novels include The Bondmaid (1995) and Following the Wrong God Home (2001). The Bondmaid was a huge success, selling 75,000 copies!

In 2000, Catherine Lim worked with a website called Lycos Asia. She wrote an e-novella (a short novel published online) called Leap of Love. You could buy it chapter by chapter online. Later, it was published as a regular book in 2003. This e-novella was even used as the basis for a movie called The Leap Years in 2008.

In 2015, her book Little Ironies: Stories of Singapore was chosen as one of the Top 10 English Singapore books from 1965–2015 by The Business Times. The Straits Times also listed it as one of 10 classic Singapore books. They said her early stories described how Singapore was becoming more modern. They also showed how Singaporeans were sometimes losing touch with their traditions.

Awards for Her Writing

Catherine Lim has received several awards for her excellent writing. In 1998, she won the Montblanc-NUS Centre for the Arts Literary Award. In 1999, she received the prestigious S.E.A. Write Award.

List of Works

Novels

• The Serpent's Tooth (1982)
• The Bondmaid (1995)
• The Teardrop Story Woman (1998)
• Following the Wrong God Home (2001)
• A Leap of Love: A Novella (2003)
• The Song of Silver Frond (2003)
• Miss Seetoh in the World (2011)

Short Story Collections

• Little Ironies: Stories of Singapore (1978)
• Or Else, the Lightning God and Other Stories (1980)
• They Do Return...But Gently Lead Them Back (1983)
• The Shadow of a Shadow of a Dream: Love Stories of Singapore (1987)
• O Singapore! Stories in Celebration (1989)
• Deadline for Love and Other Stories (1992)
• Meet Me on the Queen Elizabeth 2! (1993)
• The Best of Catherine Lim (1993)
• The Woman's Book of Superlatives (1993)
• The Howling Silence: tales of the dead and their return (1999)
• The Catherine Lim Collection (2009)

Poetry

• Love's Lonely Impulses (1992)
• Humoresque (2006)

Non-fiction

• Unhurried Thoughts At My Funeral (2005)
• A Watershed Election: Singapore’s GE 2011 (2011)
• Roll Out the Champagne, Singapore!: An Exuberant Celebration of the Nation's 50th Birthday (2014)
• An Equal Joy: Reflections on God, Death and Belonging (2017)

Plays

• Kampong Amber (1994)

Anthologies

• Gwee Li Sui, ed. Written Country: The History of Singapore through Literature (2016)

See also

In Spanish: Catherine Lim para niños