Genny Lim
Genevieve (Genny) Lim (born December 15, 1946, in San Francisco, California) is an American poet, playwright, and performer. She is the ninth poet laureate of San Francisco, California, and the first Chinese American in the role. She was the Chair of Community Arts and Education Committee, and Chair of the Advisory Board for the San Francisco Writers Corps.
Genny Lim
Nancy Wong · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- Genny Lim
- Birth Name
- Genevieve Lim
- Born
- 15 December 1946
- Birthplace
- San Francisco, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- * Poet
- Education
- San Francisco State University (BA, MA) Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
- Awards
- American Book Award (1982)
- Nationality
- United States
- Honours
- American Book Awards
- Languages
- English
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q5533397 · wikipedia · Genny Lim
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The documentary record
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Institutions cited
Bibliothèque nationale de France
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Biography
Biography
She has performed with Max Roach, Herbie Lewis, Francis Wong, and Jon Jang among others in San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego, Houston and Chicago.
reading at the 2026 National Book Festival
Nbf2926
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Genny Lim • Birth Name — Genevieve Lim • Born — 15 December 1946 • Birthplace — San Francisco, California, U.S. • Occupation — * Poet • playwright • performer • Education — San Francisco State University (BA, MA) Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism • Awards — American Book Award (1982) • Children — 2 • Illustration — Genny Lim in San Francisco, 1975
Documentary record
Genny Lim (born 1946) is documented in the authority records of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Genny Lim was born in 1946.
Life
Life
She graduated with her BA and MA from San Francisco State University, and later with a certificate in broadcast journalism from Columbia University in 1973. She teaches at the California Institute of Integral Studies. She lives in San Francisco with her two daughters, Colette and Danielle. Her papers are held at University of California Santa Barbara.
Works
Works
* * • Contributed to This Bridge Called My Back in 1981. • Featured poet in festivals that took place in Venezuela, Sarajevo, Italy and Bosnia-Hercegovina (2007).
Poetry
Poetry
* * *
Plays
Plays
*
Anthologies
Anthologies
* * * *
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1946
Genny Lim born.
Awards
• 1981 American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation • Bay Guardian Goldie, Creative Work Fund and Rockefeller for "Songline: The Spiritual Tributary of Paul Robeson Jr. and Mei Lanfang," collaboration with Jon Jang and James Newton. • James Wong Howe Award for Paper Angels (Premiered July 2000, UC Zellerbach Playhouse). • 2022 Reginald Lockett Lifetime Achievement Award from PEN Oakland
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Genny Lim, revision 1371387863 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Liu, Miles Xian. Asian American Playwrights: A Bio-bibliographical Critical Sourcebook. Greenwood Publishing Group. 2002. 978-0-313-31455-1.
- 2.Mayor London Breed Names Genny Lim as San Francisco's Poet Laureate. sfgov.org. September 6, 2024.
- 3.Moraga, Cherrie. This Bridge Called My Back. Sunny Press. 270. 2015.
- 4.Genny Lim - Bio. jaimewright.ws.
- 5.Genny Lim. Poets & Writers. 28 May 1981.
- 6.Guide to the Genny Lim Papers CEMA 34. Online Archive of California.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
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Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
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Genny Lim is recorded as having received American Book Awards.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 24 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
39,529 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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