Linda Jaivin

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Linda Jaivin (born 27 March 1955) [1] is an American-born Australian sinologist, translator and novelist.

Contents

Early life

Linda Jaivin was born in New London, Connecticut, to a Jewish family of Russian heritage. [1] [2] Her grandfathers were Jewish refugees from Tsarist Russia, who emigrated to Argentina and the United States. [3]

Her interest in China led her to undertake Chinese studies at Brown University in Rhode Island. [4] She moved to Taiwan in 1977 to deepen her knowledge of Chinese culture and language. [5] Moving to Hong Kong in 1979, her first job there was editing textbooks for Oxford University Press. She worked for Asiaweek magazine, where she met the Australian scholar Geremie Barmé, whom she later married.

They returned to Canberra, Australia in 1986. [4] They divorced in 1994. [6] She now lives in Sydney.

Work

Jaivin has written a memoir of her experiences as a translator in China, The Monkey and the Dragon, as well as a number of novels. She co-edited an anthology on dissident writers in China, New Ghosts, Old Dreams: Chinese Rebel Voices with Geremie Barmé, in 1992. Jaivin has contributed to a number of magazines including the Australian magazine of politics and culture, The Monthly . She wrote for the Quarterly Essay Found in Translation: In Praise of a Plural World in November 2013.

She has subtitled many Chinese films, including Farewell my Concubine and The Grandmaster. [7]

Jaivin has been a guest on the ABC radio program The Book Show [8] and a panelist on Q&A and other programs. [9] [10]

Bibliography

Novels

YearTitleImprintISBN
1995Eat Me Vintage Books ISBN   9781784702748
1996Rock 'n' Roll Babes from Outer Space Text Publishing ISBN   9781921799938
2006The Infernal Optimist Fourth Estate ISBN   9780732282752
2009A Most Immoral Woman HarperCollins ISBN   9780730445975
2012Dead Sexy: The Wicked StoryText Publishing ISBN   9781921799952
2014The Empress LoverFourth Estate ISBN   9780732291273
Miles Walker, You're Dead St. Martin's Griffin ISBN   9781466882379

Non-fiction

YearTitleImprintISBN
2001The Monkey and the Dragon: A True Story About Friendship, Music, Politics and Life on the Edge Text Publishing ISBN   1876485914
2012Confessions of an S & M Virgin ISBN   9781921799945
2013Found in Translation: In Praise of a Plural World Black, Inc. ISBN   9781863956307
2014Beijing Reaktion Books ISBN   9781780232614
2021The Shortest History of ChinaBlack Inc. ISBN   9781760641122
2025Bombard the Headquarters! : The Cultural Revolution in ChinaOld Street Publishing ISBN   9781913083946

Films (as sub-titler)

References

  1. 1 2 The Bibliography of Australian Literature: F–J. Retrieved 19 December 2013. Note: Jaivin has advised of a typographical error: "27 May" should read "27 March". This agrees with a statement made on her own website: "Linda Jaivin – Stuff I Like". Archived from the original on 25 January 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  2. Bio, author's web site
  3. Linda Jaivin, "Inspiration from behind the wire", The Age , 6 May 2006, p. 14
  4. 1 2 Linda Morris, Interview with Linda Jaivin, The Age , 12 April 2014, Spectrum, p. 30
  5. Nikki Barrowclough, "Made in China", The Sydney Morning Herald , 25 August 2001, Good Weekend, p. 35
  6. Georgina Safe, "Adventures of a literary voyeur", The Weekend Australian , 18–19 September 1999, Review, p. 10
  7. "Tanks! Tanks! (You're most welcome) - Film - Entertainment - theage.com.au". www.theage.com.au. 31 December 2005. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  8. The Book Show, ABC Radio National
  9. China: Jianying Zha, Linda Jaivin and Paul French (television interview)
  10. Party Time: Living and Working in China (television interview)