Framing Herself Then and Now: Shirley Geok-lin Lim’s Self-Writing and the Evolving Practice of Photo Albums

Abstract

This chapter seeks to interrogate the presence, place, and purpose of family photos in Shirley Geok-lin Lim’s writing. This allows for an exploration of self-writing itself as expanding from traditional forms, such as the memoir (Among the White Moon Faces) to encompass more innovative multimedial online experiments in self-expression, such as Facebook posts and conversations. It argues that in the case of this Asian American writer and academic, personal photos are used to mediate memories and trace the self as relational: textualized by means of ekphrases or simply juxtaposed to the narrative, uploaded and scrutinized on different social media, they serve as instruments of self-exploration as well as vehicles of connection. Thus, visual representations not only capture, but signify “family.” The chapter also considers how in these changing cultural conditions the harrowing question of belonging to a community that marked Lim’s early writing is steered toward more balanced and serene manifestations and embodiments.