Nora Okja Keller
Encyclopedia
Nora Okja Keller is a Korean American
author. Her 1997 breakthrough work of fiction, Comfort Woman, and the 2002 sequel, Fox Girl, focus on multigenerational trauma resulting from Korean women's experiences as sex slaves, euphemistically called comfort women
, for Japanese troops during World War II.
in The New York Times
, who said that in Comfort Woman, "Keller has written a powerful book about mothers and daughters and the passions that bind generations." Kakutani called it "a lyrical and haunting novel" and "an impressive debut." Comfort Woman won the American Book Award
in 1998 and the 1999 Elliot Cades Award; previously, in 1995, Keller won the Pushcart Prize
for a short story, "Mother-Tongue", which became the second chapter of Comfort Woman. In 2003, she won the Hawai'i Award for Literature.
in Honolulu. She received her B.A. from the University of Hawaii
with a double major in psychology and English and worked in Honolulu as a freelance writer, including at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin
, a newspaper. She earned an M.A. and a Ph.D. in American Literature from the University of California at Santa Cruz. She now works as an English teacher at Punahou School.
and identifies her ethnicity as Korean American. Her father, Robert Cobb, however, was a German computer engineer. She has lived in Hawaii from the age of three. Married since 1990 to James Keller, she has two daughters, Tae and Sunhi Keller.
, Jade Snow Wong
, and Joy Kogawa
. The genesis of Comfort Woman dated to a 1993 human rights symposium at the University of Hawaii where Keller heard a presentation by Keum Ja Hwang, who had been a comfort woman
, the euphemism used by Japanese troops for sex slaves during World War II. "Her experience was so extraordinary," Keller has said, "I thought someone should write about it." Keller’s novels explore her own complex ethnic identity in the context of Hawaii’s multi-ethnic society and her relationship with her mother (upon whom "some details" of characters in her fiction are based).
Korean American
Korean Americans are Americans of Korean descent, mostly from South Korea, with a small minority from North Korea...
author. Her 1997 breakthrough work of fiction, Comfort Woman, and the 2002 sequel, Fox Girl, focus on multigenerational trauma resulting from Korean women's experiences as sex slaves, euphemistically called comfort women
Comfort women
The term "comfort women" was a euphemism used to describe women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II.Estimates vary as to how many women were involved, with numbers ranging from as low as 20,000 from some Japanese scholars to as high as 410,000 from some Chinese...
, for Japanese troops during World War II.
Critical acclaim
Keller’s first novel was highly praised by critics, including Michiko KakutaniMichiko Kakutani
is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning critic for The New York Times and is considered by many to be a leading literary critic in the United States.-Life and career:...
in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, who said that in Comfort Woman, "Keller has written a powerful book about mothers and daughters and the passions that bind generations." Kakutani called it "a lyrical and haunting novel" and "an impressive debut." Comfort Woman won the American Book Award
American Book Award
The American Book Award was established in 1978 by the Before Columbus Foundation. It seeks to recognize outstanding literary achievement by contemporary American authors, without restriction to race, sex, ethnic background, or genre...
in 1998 and the 1999 Elliot Cades Award; previously, in 1995, Keller won the Pushcart Prize
Pushcart Prize
The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are invited to nominate up to 6 works they have featured....
for a short story, "Mother-Tongue", which became the second chapter of Comfort Woman. In 2003, she won the Hawai'i Award for Literature.
Professional background
Keller is a graduate of the Punahou SchoolPunahou School
Punahou School, once known as Oahu College, is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school located in Honolulu CDP, City and County of Honolulu in the U.S. State of Hawaii...
in Honolulu. She received her B.A. from the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
with a double major in psychology and English and worked in Honolulu as a freelance writer, including at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the second largest daily newspaper in the state of Hawaii...
, a newspaper. She earned an M.A. and a Ph.D. in American Literature from the University of California at Santa Cruz. She now works as an English teacher at Punahou School.
Personal background and ethnicity
Keller was raised primarily by her Korean mother, Tae Im Ku, in HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and identifies her ethnicity as Korean American. Her father, Robert Cobb, however, was a German computer engineer. She has lived in Hawaii from the age of three. Married since 1990 to James Keller, she has two daughters, Tae and Sunhi Keller.
Influences on her work
Keller says she first heard of the term "Asian American" when she took a course in Asian American literature, the first course in this topic offered by the University of Hawaii. The syllabus included Maxine Hong KingstonMaxine Hong Kingston
Maxine Hong Kingston is a Chinese American author and Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, where she graduated with a BA in English in 1962. Kingston has written three novels and several works of non-fiction about the experiences of Chinese immigrants living in the United...
, Jade Snow Wong
Jade Snow Wong
Jade Snow Wong was an American ceramic artist and author of two autobiographical volumes.- Biography :Wong was born in San Francisco and brought her family that maintained traditional Chinese customs...
, and Joy Kogawa
Joy Kogawa
Joy Nozomi Kogawa, CM, OBC is a Canadian poet and novelist of Japanese descent.-Life:Born Joy Nozomi Nakayama in Vancouver, British Columbia, she was sent with her family to the internment camp for Japanese Canadians at Slocan during World War II...
. The genesis of Comfort Woman dated to a 1993 human rights symposium at the University of Hawaii where Keller heard a presentation by Keum Ja Hwang, who had been a comfort woman
Comfort women
The term "comfort women" was a euphemism used to describe women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II.Estimates vary as to how many women were involved, with numbers ranging from as low as 20,000 from some Japanese scholars to as high as 410,000 from some Chinese...
, the euphemism used by Japanese troops for sex slaves during World War II. "Her experience was so extraordinary," Keller has said, "I thought someone should write about it." Keller’s novels explore her own complex ethnic identity in the context of Hawaii’s multi-ethnic society and her relationship with her mother (upon whom "some details" of characters in her fiction are based).
Other writing
- Yobo : Korean American Writing in Hawai'i, edited by Keller, Honolulu, HI : Bamboo Ridge Press, 2003
- Intersecting Circles: The Voices of Hapa Women in Poetry and Prose, edited by Keller & Marie Hara, Bamboo Ridge Press, 1999