Wendy Law-Yone (; born 1947) is the critically acclaimed Burmese-born American author of ''A Daughter's Memoir of Burma'' (

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fiel ...

, 2014), ''Golden Parasol'' (

Chatto & Windus Chatto & Windus is an imprint of Penguin Random House that was formerly an independent book publishing company founded in London in 1855 by John Camden Hotten. Following Hotten's death, the firm would reorganize under the names of his business ...

, 2013), ''The Road to Wanting'' (Chatto & Windus, 2010), ''Irrawaddy Tango'' (

Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...

, 1994), and ''The Coffin Tree'' (Knopf, 1983).

Biography

The daughter of notable Burmese newspaper publisher, editor and politician

Edward Michael Law-Yone Edward Michael Law-Yone (, nicknamed Ed Law-Yone; February 5, 1911 – June 27, 1980) was a Burmese journalist and official of Burma and then of the Burmese government-in-exile, as well as an author. He was born in Kamaing, Myitkyina Distric ...

, Law-Yone was born in

Mandalay Mandalay ( or ; ) is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631km (392 miles) (Road Distance) north of Yangon, the city has a population of 1,225,553 (2014 census). Mandalay was fo ...

but grew up in

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

. Her background is diverse, with one grandfather a merchant from

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

and another a

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

officer from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. Law-Yone states that she is "half

Burman Burman is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Anneli Burman (born 1963), Swedish curler *Barney Burman, American make-up artist * Barry Burman (1943–2001), English figurative artist * Ben Lucien Burman (1896–1984), American ...

, a quarter

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

and a quarter

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

". Law-Yone has indicated that her father's imprisonment under the military regime limited her options in the country. She was barred from university, but not allowed to leave the country. In 1967, an attempt to escape to

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

failed and she was imprisoned, but managed to leave Burma as a stateless person. She relocated to the United States in 1973, attending

Eckerd College Eckerd College is a private liberal arts college in St. Petersburg, Florida. Founded in 1958, part of the campus is waterfront and beach on Boca Ciega Bay. Because of its location, Eckerd is considered a "beach school" and has its own student ...

for comparative literature and modern languages before receiving a

Carnegie Fellowship The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...

and settling in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

for thirty years.Yoo and Ho, 283 In 1987, she was the recipient of a

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

Literature Award for Creative Writing. In 2002, she received a David T.K. Wong Creative Writing Fellowship from the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

. Her novel ''The Road to Wanting'' was long-listed for the

Orange Prize The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–12), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017)) is one of the United Kingdom's m ...

2011. In 2015, she was Dürrenmatt guest professor at

University of Bern The University of Bern (german: Universität Bern, french: Université de Berne, la, Universitas Bernensis) is a university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Law-Yone cites as a strong influence on her writing career her father's love of language, noting that his work as the founder of Burmese English-language newspaper ''The Nation'' was a daily factor in her childhood.Yoo and Ho, 286.

Selected bibliography

* ''The Coffin Tree'' (1983) * ''Irrawaddy Tango'' (1993) * ''The Road to Wanting'' (2010) * ''Golden Parasol: A Daughter's Memoir of Burma'' (2013) * ''Dürrenmatt and me. Eine Passage von Burma nach Bern'' (2021, german-english edition) * ''Aung San Suu Kyi: Politician, Prisoner, Parent'' (2023)

Notes

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Law-Yone, Wendy 1947 births Academics of the University of East Anglia American women journalists of Asian descent American women writers Burmese emigrants to the United States Burmese journalists Burmese women journalists Burmese people of Chinese descent Burmese people of English descent American journalists of Chinese descent American writers of Chinese descent Living people People from Mandalay People from Yangon 20th-century Burmese women writers 21st-century Burmese women writers 20th-century Burmese writers 21st-century Burmese writers Burmese memoirists American women academics 21st-century American women

Biography

Selected bibliography

Further reading

Notes

Sources