Adam Thorpe

Infobox Writer


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name = Adam Thorpe
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birthdate = birth year and age|1956
birthplace = Paris, France
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occupation = novelist, poet, playwright
nationality = British
period = 1988–present
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Adam Thorpe (b. 1956, Paris, France) is a British poet, novelist, and playwright whose works also include short stories and radio dramas.

Adam Thorpe was born in Paris and grew up in India, Cameroon, and England. Graduating Oxford's Magdalen College in 1979, he founded a touring theatre company, then settled in London to teach drama and English literature.

His writing in various genres has garnered recognition throughout his career. His first collection of poetry, "Mornings in the Baltic" (1988), was shortlisted that year for the Whitbread Poetry Award. His first novel, "Ulverton" (1992), an episodic work covering 350 years of English rural history, won great critical acclaim, [David Robson, [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2005/06/05/botho105.xml Saved by Art] , "The Daily Telegraph", June 12, 2005. Retrieved 5 June 2008.] including that of novelist John Fowles, who reviewed it in "The Guardian." [John Fowles, "Thank the Gods for Bloody Mindedness" (review of "Ulverton"), "The Guardian", May 28, 1992, p. 25.] The novel was awarded the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize for 1992.

Adam Thorpe resides in France with his wife and three children. He has recently published a new collection of short stories (2006) and in 2007, a new novel and volume of poetry.

Works

Poetry

* "Mornings in the Baltic" (1988)
* "Meeting Montaigne" (1990)
* "From the Neanderthal" (1999)
* "Nine Lessons From the Dark" (2003)
* "Bird with a Broken Wing" (2007)

Novels

* "Ulverton" (1992)
* "Still" (1995)
* "Pieces of Light" (1998)
* "Nineteen Twenty-One" (2001)
* "No Telling" (2003)
* "The Rules of Perspective" (2005)
* "Between Each Breath" (2007)
* "The Standing Pool" (2008)

hort story collections

* "Shifts" (2000)
* "Is This the Way You Said?" (2006)

Dramas

* "The Fen Story" (1991)
* "Offa's Daughter" (1993)
* "Couch Grass and Ribbon" (1996)
* "An Envied Place" (2002)

Prizes and awards

* Eric Gregory Award for poetry (1985)
* Whitbread Poetry Award (shortlist)–"Mornings in the Baltic" (1988)
* Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize for regional literature–"Ulverton" (1992)
* Forward Poetry Prize for Best Poetry Collection of the Year (shortlist)–"Birds with a Broken Wing" (2007)

Notes and references

* [http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth95 Biography] in "Contemporary Writers in the UK" series of the British Council. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
*Tim Martin, [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/05/24/bothorpe124.xml Adam Thorpe: home truths from abroad] , "The Daily Telegraph", May 24, 2008. Retrieved 5 June 2008.

External links

* [http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/t/thorpe-light.html Chapter 1 of "Pieces of Light" by Adam Thorpe] , reprinted in "The New York Times". Retrieved 5 June 2008.
*Richard Elder, [http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/t/thorpe-light.html/00/02/06/reviews/000206.06edert.html Hearts of Darkness] (review of "Pieces of Light"), "The New York Times", February 6, 2000. Retrieved 5 June 2008.