Arthur Golden

Last updated

Arthur Golden
Born (1956-12-06) December 6, 1956 (age 66)
Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S.
OccupationWriter
Period20th century
GenreHistorical fiction
SpouseGertrude "Trudy" Legge (1982–present)
Children2
Relatives

Arthur Sulzberger Golden (born December 6, 1956) is an American writer. He is the author of the bestselling novel Memoirs of a Geisha (1997).

Contents

Early life

Golden was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the son of Ruth (née Sulzberger) and Ben Hale Golden. [1] [2] His mother was Jewish. His father was not. [1] Through his mother he is a member of the Ochs-Sulzberger family. [1] His mother was a daughter of long-time New York Times publisher Arthur Hays Sulzberger and granddaughter of New York Times owner and publisher Adolph Ochs. [3] His parents divorced when he was eight years old. His father died five years after. He was raised in Lookout Mountain, Georgia and attended Lookout Mountain Elementary School in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee.

Golden spent his middle and high school years at the Baylor School (then a boys-only school for day and boarding students) in Chattanooga, graduating in 1974 before attending Harvard University and receiving a degree in art history, specializing in Japanese art.[ citation needed ] In 1980, he earned an M.A. in Japanese history at Columbia University, and also learned Mandarin Chinese. After a summer at Peking University in Beijing, China, Golden worked in Tokyo, before returning to the United States, where he earned an M.A. in English at Boston University.

Career

Golden's most well-known novel, Memoirs of a Geisha , was written over a six-year period. The novel was re-written in its entirety three times during its development. Golden changed the point of view with each re-write, eventually settling on Sayuri's perspective.

During research for the novel, Golden conducted interviews with a number of geisha, including famous ex-geisha Mineko Iwasaki. After the Japanese edition of the novel was published, Golden was sued by Iwasaki for breach of contract and defamation of character, with Iwasaki alleging that Golden had agreed to protect her anonymity if she was interviewed about her life as a geisha, due to the traditional code of silence held between geisha in regard to their clients. The lawsuit was settled out of court in February 2003. [4]

After its release in 1997, Memoirs of a Geisha spent two years on the New York Times bestseller list. It has sold more than four million copies in English and has been translated into thirty-two languages around the world. In 2005, Memoirs of a Geisha was made into a feature film, starring Ziyi Zhang, Michelle Yeoh, Gong Li, and Ken Watanabe. The film was directed by Rob Marshall, and garnered three Academy Awards.[ citation needed ]

In 2000, Golden received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. [5]

Personal life

Golden is married to Trudy Legge; they have two children. [3] [6] Golden currently lives in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adolph Ochs</span> American newspaper publisher (1858–1935)

Adolph Simon Ochs was an American newspaper publisher and former owner of The New York Times and The Chattanooga Times. Through his only child, Iphigene Ochs Sulzberger, and her husband Arthur Hays Sulzberger, Ochs's descendants continue to publish The New York Times through the present day.

Mizuage was a ceremony undergone by apprentice oiran and some maiko as part of their coming of age ceremony and graduation.

<i>Memoirs of a Geisha</i> 1997 novel by Arthur Golden

Memoirs of a Geisha is a historical fiction novel by American author Arthur Golden, published in 1997. The novel, told in first person perspective, tells the story of Nitta Sayuri and the many trials she faces on the path to becoming and working as a geisha in Kyoto, Japan, before, during and after World War II.

Edward Ishmael Dolnick is an American writer, formerly a science writer at the Boston Globe. He has been published in Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times Magazine, and The Washington Post, among other publications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mineko Iwasaki</span> Japanese businesswoman and former well-known geisha

Mineko Iwasaki is a Japanese businesswoman, author and former geisha. Iwasaki was the most famous geisha in Japan until her sudden retirement at the age of 29. Known for her performances for celebrity and royalty during her geisha life, Iwasaki was the heir apparent to her geisha house while she was just a young apprentice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Ochs Sulzberger</span> American businessman (1926–2012)

Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Sr. was an American publisher and a businessman. Born into a prominent media and publishing family, Sulzberger became publisher of The New York Times in 1963 and chairman of the board of The New York Times Company in 1973. Sulzberger relinquished to his son, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., the office of publisher in 1992, and the board chairmanship in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Hays Sulzberger</span> Publisher of The New York Times from 1935 to 1961

Arthur Hays Sulzberger was the publisher of The New York Times from 1935 to 1961. During that time, daily circulation rose from 465,000 to 713,000 and Sunday circulation from 745,000 to 1.4 million; the staff more than doubled, reaching 5,200; advertising linage grew from 19 million to 62 million column inches per year; and gross income increased almost sevenfold, reaching $117 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr.</span> American journalist (born 1951)

Arthur Ochs "Pinch"Sulzberger Jr. is an American journalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Elmo Historic District (Chattanooga, Tennessee)</span> Historic district in Tennessee, United States

The St. Elmo Historic District, or St. Elmo for short, is a neighborhood in the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is situated in the southernmost part of Hamilton County within the valley of Lookout Mountain below the part of the Tennessee River known as Moccasin Bend. St Elmo is at the crossroads of two ancient Indian trails, and was first occupied by Native American hunters and gatherers in the Woodland period, then agricultural Mississippians, including Euchee and Muscogee, and for a brief period between 1776 and 1786, the Cherokees in a community called Lookout Town. St. Elmo became part of the city of Chattanooga when it was annexed in September 1929.

<i>Chattanooga Times Free Press</i> Newspaper in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States

The Chattanooga Times Free Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is distributed in the metropolitan Chattanooga region of southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia. It is one of Tennessee's major newspapers and is owned by WEHCO Media, Inc., a diversified communications company with ownership in 14 daily newspapers, 11 weekly newspapers and 13 cable television companies in six states.

<i>Memoirs of a Geisha</i> (film) 2005 film by Rob Marshall

Memoirs of a Geisha is a 2005 American epic period drama film directed by Rob Marshall and adapted by Robin Swicord from the 1997 novel of the same name by Arthur Golden. It tells the story of a young Japanese girl, Chiyo Sakamoto, who is sold by her impoverished family to a geisha house to support them by training as and eventually becoming a geisha under the pseudonym "Sayuri Nitta." The film centers around the sacrifices and hardship faced by pre-World War II geisha, and the challenges posed by the war and a modernizing world to geisha society. It stars Zhang Ziyi in the lead role, with Ken Watanabe, Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh, Youki Kudoh, Suzuka Ohgo, and Samantha Futerman.

Michael Davis Golden is an American businessman, currently serving as vice chairman of the New York Times Company.

Dave Golden is a musician and a Fulbright Scholar. His plays stringed instruments, composes and produces music, including jazz, classical and folk. He also works as a music supervisor and music editor for film.

Orvil Eugene Dryfoos was the publisher of The New York Times from 1961 to his death. He entered the Times family via his marriage to Marian Sulzberger, daughter of then-publisher Arthur Hays Sulzberger.

The Mizpah congregation is a Reform Jewish synagogue in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States.

Judith Peixotto Sulzberger was an American physician and philanthropist. Her family has been associated with The New York Times since her grandfather Adolph Ochs purchased the paper in 1896.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. G. Sulzberger</span> American journalist (born 1980)

Arthur Gregg Sulzberger is an American journalist serving as chairman of The New York Times Company and publisher of its flagship newspaper, The New York Times.

Ruth Sulzberger Holmberg was a newspaper publisher and member of the Ochs-Sulzberger family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iphigene Ochs Sulzberger</span> American heiress, socialite, newspaper executive, and philanthropist

Iphigene Bertha Ochs Sulzberger was an American heiress, socialite, newspaper executive, philanthropist and former owner of The New York Times. She was the daughter of Adolph Ochs, wife of Arthur Hays Sulzberger, mother of Arthur Ochs "Punch" Sulzberger, paternal grandmother of Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., and patrilineal great-grandmother of A. G. Sulzberger, who all served as publishers of the paper.

Sam Dolnick is an American journalist, film and television producer, and assistant managing editor for The New York Times. He helped launch The Daily podcast and the documentary series, The Weekly.

References

  1. 1 2 3 McFadden, Robert D. (April 19, 2017). "Ruth Sulzberger Holmberg, Newspaper Publisher Born for the Job, Dies at 96". The New York Times .
  2. "Ben Hale Golden, Ex‐Publisher Of Chattanooga Times, 59, Dies". The New York Times. March 15, 1970.
  3. 1 2 New York Magazine: "Children of the Times - Who’s who in the Ochs-Sulzberger clan" retrieved September 27, 2015
  4. "Tokyo Premiere of 'Memoirs of a Geisha' Nets Mixed Reaction, Criticism". CBC News. November 29, 2005. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  5. "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
  6. 1 2 "Kathleen Rubenstein, Hays Golden". The New York Times. June 3, 2007.