Series:

Interviews not in a series, part two

Topic:

Literature

Biographical Note:

Author who writes books based in west Los Angeles.

Interviewer:

Collings, Jane

Interviewee:

See, Carolyn

Persons Present:

See and Collings.

Place Conducted:

See's home in Santa Monica, California.

Supporting Documents:

Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research.

Interviewer Background and Preparation:

The interview was conducted by Jane Collings, interviewer and senior editor, Center for Oral History Research. B.A., Communications, Antioch College; M.A., Communications, University of Iowa; Ph.D., Critical Studies, UCLA.Collings prepared for the interview by reading See's work, as well as criticism of the work and reading relevant work of the period.

Processing of Interview:

The transcript of this interview is a verbatim transcript of the audio recording. It was transcribed by a professional transcribing agency using a list of proper names and specialized terminology supplied by the interviewer. See was then given the opportunity to review the transcript in order to supply the missing or misspelled names and to verify the accuracy of the contents, and those corrections were entered into the text without further editing or review on the part of the Center for Oral History Research (COHR) staff.

Length:

14 hrs.

Language:

English

Copyright:

Interviewee Retained Copyright

Audio:

Parents' family background—Parents' marriage—Aunt Helen—Father's career in journalism—Father's drinking—Poker parties—A female journalist, Virginia Wright—Mother's gender consciousness—Mother's temperament—Parents' separation—Parents' World War II era volunteer responsibilities—See's childhood—Religious education—Family's financial situation—More on mother's temperament—See's ambition to go to college—Participates in drama club—The environment at junior high school and high school provides a haven—Finds important mentors in junior high school and high school—Friends at school form a supportive network—Fellow students' troubled situations—Mother's efforts to take See to cultural events—Efforts to do well at school despite all odds—Friends' career goals—Friends' families as role models—More on mother's temperament—An air raid in Los Angeles—The home front during World War II—Mother's boyfriend, Charlie—More on mother's temperament—Step-father, Jim Daly—Lives with father and his wife, Wynn—Father's work history—Father and second wife's participation in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)—More on living with father and Wynn—Wynn's role in AA—AA narratives—Moves into own apartment and begins college—Friend Jackie's unstable home environment.

The death of See's mother's boyfriend— The death of See's sister, Maureen—Graduates from high school and moves in with a friend, Jackie—Begins to attend college at Los Angeles Community College (LACC) as a drama major—An engaging group of students at LACC in the drama department—Works as a waitress at Van de Kamp's—The Van de Kamp's clientele—Develops an appreciation for jazz—The work of LaMont Young—Money troubles—Moves in with a boyfriend, Dickie Jones—The Brievoort Hotel—Introduced to film culture—Un Chien Andalou—Maintains a stable lifestyle while living with Dick Jones—A tumultuous breakup with Jones—Becomes involved with first husband, Richard See—Richard See's family—A Spartan lifestyle in Newfoundland with husband Richard See—Richard See's alcoholism—See's depleted emotional state in the early years of marriage—More on Richard See's alcoholism—The Sees travel to Paris—A return trip to Newfoundland fifty years later—Anger at Richard See's tendency toward inertness—See's sense in the fifties of dependency on men—The birth of See's first child, in Paris—More on Richard See—See's ability to endure and thrive—Importance of books and reading during See's youth—Sends a story to Seventeen magazine while in high school—Father's background as a fiction writer—Book of the Month Club—Reads Churchill's History of World War II—Returns to L.A. with husband and daughter—See's determination to attend college despite her domestic situation—Frustration with husband's lack of ambition—More on Richard See—The range of See's ideas about future career possibilities—See's interest in pursuing a life of education and culture—Lisa See's weekends with her grandparents—The Sees take on the management of a large apartment building, the Sentous Apartments--The chaotic environment at the Sentous Apartments–Attends UCLA–Meets second husband, Tom Sturak–A fruitful period of graduate study at UCLA–Tom Sturak–Richard See's unrequited love affair with his aunt–Marries Tom Sturak–The silence in the family surrounding Richard See's alcoholism–See's marriage to Tom Sturak.

See's appreciation of jazz —Develops an appreciation of Mexican folk music —Writes a first novel based on the tenants at the Sentous Apartments—Creative Artists Agency's interest in See's work—See's disinterest in critical theories of literature—Literary theories current in the UCLA English department in the early sixties—Other students in the English department—Reads The Feminine Mystique —John Espey—Motivation to attend graduate school at UCLA—See's efforts to be "a better person"—E.M. Forster—Literary characters who make efforts to build a more beautiful world—The Handyman—Marries Tom Sturak—Schemes for making money—Role models in the work world—See's disinclination to concern herself with money—See's first novel—The historical significance of female protagonists and scarcity of female writers—Instances of negative feedback directed toward female novelists in the sixties—Books published by See's fellow grad students—More on reading The Feminine Mystique —See's unexamined acceptance of the role of women in the fifties—Conflict in the marriage to Tom Sturak—Sturak's appreciation of Mexican folk culture—Sturak's talents and interests—Men's perspectives on writing by women—More on conflict in the marriage to Tom Sturak—Trips to Mexico with Sturak—More on Sturak's talents and interests—See's concern with nuclear annihilation—Inspiration for Golden Days—Writes a story on Linda Kassabian—LaMont Young—More on See's concern with nuclear annihilation—Sturak and See support their dissertation work with fellowship funding while in Mexico—Lives in Mazatlan—Sense of dissatisfaction on occasion of 29th birthday—Initial efforts at publication—Part-time teaching work at UCLA—Moves to semi-rural location in Topanga Canyon—Entranced by A Hard Days Night—Living in Topanga Canyon—Participates in early years of the counter culture while living in Topanga—See's half-sister, Maureen—Sister's drug use—Parties and drug use in Topanga—Ecstatic elements of drug use—The sense of being part of a cultural revolution—A resolution for See's abiding fear of nuclear annihilation.

The excitement of being a part of the sixties' cultural climate—Rattlesnakes in Topanga—The rigorous rural lifestyle in Topanga—Begins writing—Relationships—Sells a piece to the Los Angeles Times—The end of See's marriage to Tom Sturak—A period of journalistic non-fiction writing—West magazine—Friction with editors—Does an unflattering piece on Walter Huston—More on a period of journalistic non-fiction writing—A piece in Esquire—Joan Didion—See's exposure to the East Coast writing scene—Dwight Whitney and Marshall Lansdown as mentors—See's divorce—See's confidence as a writer—Writes first novel, the rest is done with mirrors—Tom Sturak's employment at the Rand Corporation—A negative review from the New York Times—A very favorable review in the Los Angeles Times—The Los Angeles literary scene in the early seventies—Off-beat relationships after the divorce—See's handyman, Jim, has contact with the Manson Family—The Manson presence in Topanga Canyon—The Manson murders in the context of a very strange cultural period—Works as an expert witness in pornography trials—See's book on the pornography industry—The atmosphere at the pornography trials—See's father's career as a pornography writer—Elements of the pornography industry—Disincentives to working in the TV industry—See's antipathy toward East Coast literary scene—The LA literature scene in the seventies—See's interest in writing about Los Angeles—Reception of Play It As It Lays—Joan Didion's writing on LA—See's impulse to bring humor into her work.

Tom Sturak's Alzheimer's disease—Writers in The Devil's Punchbowl—A few mentions of Carolyn See on Google—The difference between writing on the East Coast vs the West Coast—Themes in Western writing—Edmund Wilson—Dearth of criticism of West Coast literature—The See endowment at UCLA—David Eulin—Susan Straight—Dianne Stillman—T. Jefferson Parker—An ethnographic study of the Topanga Gulch—The particular nature of the Topanga Canyon scene in the sixties—Gay Talese—Sandstone Ranch—More on Gay Talese—Mothers, Daughters—Harvard Gordon—Themes of Mothers, Daughters—Reception of Mothers, Daughters—See's use of autobiography in her work—See's mother's appreciation of Rhine Maidens—See's characters—Fraught male, female relations in the sixties —An instance of Tom Sturak's passiveaggressive behavior--The use of family as material in women's writing—Changing social norms governing behavior—See's readership—The necessity of cultivating a community of readers—Travels to NYC with Lisa See to cultivate contacts with publishers—More on See's readership—See's impulse to write—See's characters—The genesis of the main character for The Handyman—See's use of current events in her books—See's treatment of images of nuclear annihilation—The context of the events of 9/11 as a backdrop for There Will Never Be Another You—Empathy as a function of the immediacy of disaster.

The marriage to Tom Sturak—John Espey—Espey's role as mentor and teacher—Espey's time in China in the missionary community—John Espey, Sr.'s mental instability—Espey attends Occidental College—John Espey's marriage to Alice Espey—Espey's episodes of depression—A long history of correspondence between Espey and See—Alice Espey's cancer—Espey family dynamics—More on a long history of correspondence between Espey and See—Alice Espey's death and the death of Espey's parents—Espey's published work—The romance between See and Espe —Espey's impact on the See household—More on the romance between See and Espey—Espey's struggle with depression—See and Espey move into a house together—Espey's participation in family life—Ways that See and Espey enriched each other's lives—Travels to China with Espey—Espey's natural ability as a teacher—Lisa See.

Lifelong friendships—Participates in a group of women artists—Supportive friendships that have emerged from the group—See's daughters—Grandchildren—Advances in thinking about autism treatment—Begins writing as Monica Highland—Writes Lotusland with John Espey and Lisa See —The commercial fate of Lotusland—Writing 110 Shanghai Road—The possibility that 110 Shanghai Road might become a miniseries—The atmosphere at the American Bar and Grill in Santa Monica in the eighties—A third book by Monica Highland, Greetings from Southern California—The name Monica Highland—Monica Highland's "biography"—The sense of an ample, all-providing universe that pervades the Highland books—The decade of the eighties—A bad experience with an editor—Efforts to make 110 Shangahi Road into a miniseries—See's writing process—See's career as a book reviewer—Lisa See's marriage to Richard Kendall—Lisa See's writing career—See's episode for Barnaby Jones—Nora Ephron—The genesis of Los Angeles as a place for writers—See's use of real geographical spaces in Rhine Maidens—Some of See's favorites spaces and places in Los Angeles—Some of John Espey's favorite spots in the Pasadena area.

Survivors of suicide attempts—John Espey's illness—A book on extreme jumping—See's life with John Espey—Espey's published work—Two Schools of Thought—See's interest in Australian literature—Writes Golden Days and Making History—Repercussions of Tom Sturak's running injury—Writes The Handyman while a Getty scholar—More on John Espey's illness—Ezra Pound's daughter, Mary De Rachewiltz—The decline of Espey's health—Espey and See leave the Topanga house due to their poor health—More on the decline of Espey's health—Nurses John Espey in his last days—See's career as a book reviewer—The atmosphere at Loyola Marymount University—More on See's career as a book reviewer—See's views on pornography—Andrea Dworkin—Betty Friedan—See's views on feminist issues.

The merging of Loyola University and Marymount University—Affirmative action at Loyola Marymount University—Writes on the death of John Espey—Grieves once Espey has died—Attends a luxuriously outfitted artist's workshop at Medway Plantation—Begins a new chapter in life as a widow—A Republican friend—More on being a widow—Dating while a widow—See's failing eyesight precludes the possibility of travelling alone—Visits Mexico—Travels to Latin America, China, India—The death of See's mother—Memorial services for a close friend—More on the death of See's mother—Grandson is diagnosed with autism—Writes There Will Never Be Another You—Relocation to Santa Monica—See's women's group—Attempts to write book on death and dying—Writes several autobiographical pieces—Works on a family mosaic writing piece—Friends —See's propensity as a storyteller—See's grandson's talent as a writer—Couples See has known—See's friend Dot—See's sense of being a storyteller.