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Alexander Theroux

January 31, 2023

Alexander Louis Theroux (born 1939) is an American novelist and poet. He is known for his novel Darconville's Cat (1981), which was selected by Anthony Burgess for his book-length essay Ninety-Nine Novels: The Best in English Since 1939 – A Personal Choice in 1984 and by Larry McCaffery for his 20th Century’s Greatest Hits list.[1]

Alexander Theroux
BornAlexander Louis Theroux
1939
Medford, Massachusetts, United States
Occupation
  • Author
  • Poet
  • Academic
CitizenshipAmerican
EducationUniversity of Virginia
Period1972 - present
Notable worksDarconville's Cat (1981)

He was awarded the Lannan Literary Award for Fiction in 1991 and the Clifton Fadiman Medal for Fiction in 2002 by the Mercantile Library in New York City. He is the brother of novelist Paul Theroux and writer Peter Theroux as well as the uncle of documentarian Louis Theroux, novelist Marcel Theroux, and actor Justin Theroux.

Life and career

Early life

Theroux was born in Medford, Massachusetts, the first son of Catholic parents; his mother, Anne (born Dittami), was Italian American, and his father, Albert Eugene Theroux, was French Canadian. His mother was a grammar school teacher and his father was a salesman for the American Leather Oak company. Theroux graduated from Medford High School; he attended Boys State in Amherst, Massachusetts, was class president in 1956, and was a starting member of the Medford High School basketball team.

He entered the Trappist Monastery at St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts in 1958, and then the Franciscan Seminary at Callicoon, New York in 1960. He earned his bachelor of arts at St. Francis College in 1964. He earned a masters of arts in English literature in 1965, and his doctorate in English literature, 1968 at the University of Virginia, where he won the Schubert Playwrighting Fellowship in 1967. He belonged to both the Raven Society and the Society of the Purple Shadows.

He spent a year on a Fulbright Grant in London in 1969. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1974.

He taught at the University of Virginia in 1968 and at Harvard University as Brigg-Copeland Lecturer from 1973 to 1979. He was writer-in-residence at Phillips Academy in Andover from 1979 to 1982. He taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1982 to 1987 and at Yale University from 1987 to 1991. He has also lived in England, Estonia, and France.

Literary work

Three Wogs, his first novel, was written during a stay in London and was briefly considered by the actor Roy Dotrice for performance by BBC television. Darconville’s Cat, his second novel, was nominated for the National Book Award.

He published the fable Master Snickup’s Cloak, which was illustrated by Brian Froud, in 1979. That followed two other fables, The Schinocephalic Waif and The Wragby Cars, with illustrations by Stan Washburn, in 1975.

In 1987, he published An Adultery. Laura Warholic, his longest and most satirical novel, was published in 2007.

His non-fiction books on color, The Primary Colors (1994) and The Secondary Colors (1996), were briefly on the best-seller lists in Los Angeles.

As a writer, he is known for his encyclopedic, highly allusive style and learned wit. Critic Colin Marshall wrote “Defending of his prose, Theroux once likened it to 'a Victorian attic.' He delivers more inner life than outer, more desire for vengeance than for anything else, and more sheer stuff per page—stuff you don't expect—than in any other novels.”[2] Steven Moore called him an "overlooked modern master".[3]

Literary broadcaster Michael Silverblatt once questioned Theroux’s "perverse appreciation" at how inaccessible his books are thought to be.

“Perhaps he sees his finely-wrought works of language and their lack of purchase on the culture as an apocalyptic indictment of that culture, of the intellectually (and especially verbally) careless society that could corrupt them. Were I him, I feel as if I’d want revenge: against lazy readers, against unengaged critics, against risk-averse publishers. But maybe, given what they’re all missing out on, he’s already taking it.”[citation needed]

Theroux’s work has been published in Esquire, The London Magazine, Antaeus, The New York Times, Harper’s Magazine, The Massachusetts Review, Art & Antiques, Mississippi Review, Review of Contemporary Fiction, Chicago Tribune, and San Diego Reader. His poems have appeared in The Yale Review, The Paris Review, Poetry East, Conjunctions, Graham House Review, The San Diego Reader, Exquisite Corpse, Denver Quarterly, The Literary Quarterly, Urbanus Magazine, Boulevard, The Michigan Quarterly Review, Rain Taxi, Review of Contemporary Fiction, Image, Helicoptero, Seneca Review, The Recorder, The Journal of the American Irish Historical Society, 3rd Bed, Fence, Anomaly, Subdrive, Sahara Sahara, Nantucket Magazine, Gobshite Quarterly, Gargoyle Magazine, Italian-American, Bomb, Provincetown Arts, Green Mountains Review, and The Hopkins Review.

Plagiarism controversy

In 1995, The New York Times reported that one of its readers had noted the similarity of six passages in Theroux's 1994 survey of The Primary Colors with a 1954 book Song of the Sky by Guy Murchie. Theroux attributed the matter to "stupidity and bad note taking," noting that he had read hundreds of books for The Primary Colors. Theroux's editor said that future editions would credit Murchie's work, or remove the passages.[4][5] A few months later, Theroux published a lengthy defense in the San Diego Reader.[6]

Select awards

Selected works

Novels

Fables

  • The Schinocephalic Waif (1975)
  • The Great Wheadle Tragedy (1975)
  • Master Snickup's Cloak (1979)

Poetry

  • The Lollipop Trollops (1992)
  • Collected Poems (2015)
  • Truisms (2022)

Short fiction

  • Early Stories (2021)
  • Fables (2021)
  • Later Stories (2022)

Non-fiction

  • The Primary Colors (1994)
  • The Secondary Colors (1996)
  • The Enigma of Al Capp (1999)
  • The Strange Case of Edward Gorey (2000) (revised, updated edition 2011)
  • Estonia: A Ramble Through the Periphery (2011)
  • The Grammar of Rock: Art and Artlessness in 20th Century Pop Lyrics (2013)
  • Einstein's Beets: An Examination of Food Phobias (2017)

Critical studies

  • Jo Allen Bradham, "The American Scholar: From Emerson to Alexander Theroux's Darconville's Cat. Critique 24.4 (Summer 1983): 215-27.
  • Larry McCaffery, "And Still They Smooch: Erotic Visions and Re-visions in Postmodern American Fiction." Revue Française d'Etudes Américaines 9.20 (May 1984): 275-87.
  • Steven Moore, "Alexander Theroux's Darconville's Cat and the Tradition of Learned Wit." Contemporary Literature 27.2 (Summer 1986): 233–45.
  • Michael Pinker, "Cupid and Vindice: The Novels of Alexander Theroux." Denver Quarterly 24.3 (Winter 1990): 101-24.
  • "Alexander Theroux/Paul West Number", The Review of Contemporary Fiction 11.1 (Spring 1991): 7-139.
  • Sam Endrigkeit. “‘Do Your Worst’: Maximalism and Intertextuality in Alexander Theroux’s Darconville’s Cat." Thesis, Universität Duisburg-Essen, 2015. [1]
  • Steven Moore. Alexander Theroux: A Fan's Notes. Los Angeles: Zerogram Press, 2020. ISBN 978-1-55713-446-2
  • Greg Gerke, "An Adultery." In his See What I See. Los Angeles: Zerogram Press, 2021, 112-16.

References

  1. ^ "Larry McCafferys 20th Century Greatest Hits". Archived from the original on 2012-07-10. Retrieved 2012-03-21.
  2. ^ "Linguistic Revenge: An Alexander Theroux Primer - The Millions". 1 June 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  3. ^ Greg Gerke (August 19, 2020). "Book Review: "Alexander Theroux: A Fan's Notes" — Appreciation for an Overlooked Modern Master". The Arts Fuse. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  4. ^ The New York Times, 3 March 1995, A Reader Finds That a Current Book Reads Suspiciously Like an Old One
  5. ^ San Francisco Chronicle, 4 March 1995, Author of `Colors' Accused of Plagiarism
  6. ^ ""Hateful, Hurtful and Hellish: Plagiarism in Primary Colors."".
  7. ^ . Archived from the original on 2012-04-29. Retrieved 2012-03-31.

External links

  • . Archived from the original on January 20, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2008.
  • Audio of Theroux reading from Laura Warholic
  • Radio Interview with Michael Silverblatt, KCRW's Bookworm
  • An interview with Alexander Theroux on The Marketplace of Ideas
  • Interview from the Review of Contemporary Fiction
  • Archives at Harry Ransom Center
  • Checklist of Theroux's Writings

January 31, 2023
alexander, theroux, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that, unsourced, poorly, sourced, must, removed, immediately, especially, p. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately especially if potentially libelous or harmful Find sources Alexander Theroux news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Alexander Louis Theroux born 1939 is an American novelist and poet He is known for his novel Darconville s Cat 1981 which was selected by Anthony Burgess for his book length essay Ninety Nine Novels The Best in English Since 1939 A Personal Choice in 1984 and by Larry McCaffery for his 20th Century s Greatest Hits list 1 Alexander TherouxBornAlexander Louis Theroux1939Medford Massachusetts United StatesOccupationAuthorPoetAcademicCitizenshipAmericanEducationUniversity of VirginiaPeriod1972 presentNotable worksDarconville s Cat 1981 He was awarded the Lannan Literary Award for Fiction in 1991 and the Clifton Fadiman Medal for Fiction in 2002 by the Mercantile Library in New York City He is the brother of novelist Paul Theroux and writer Peter Theroux as well as the uncle of documentarian Louis Theroux novelist Marcel Theroux and actor Justin Theroux Contents 1 Life and career 1 1 Early life 1 2 Literary work 2 Plagiarism controversy 3 Select awards 4 Selected works 4 1 Novels 4 2 Fables 4 3 Poetry 4 4 Short fiction 4 5 Non fiction 4 6 Critical studies 5 References 6 External linksLife and career EditEarly life Edit Theroux was born in Medford Massachusetts the first son of Catholic parents his mother Anne born Dittami was Italian American and his father Albert Eugene Theroux was French Canadian His mother was a grammar school teacher and his father was a salesman for the American Leather Oak company Theroux graduated from Medford High School he attended Boys State in Amherst Massachusetts was class president in 1956 and was a starting member of the Medford High School basketball team He entered the Trappist Monastery at St Joseph s Abbey in Spencer Massachusetts in 1958 and then the Franciscan Seminary at Callicoon New York in 1960 He earned his bachelor of arts at St Francis College in 1964 He earned a masters of arts in English literature in 1965 and his doctorate in English literature 1968 at the University of Virginia where he won the Schubert Playwrighting Fellowship in 1967 He belonged to both the Raven Society and the Society of the Purple Shadows He spent a year on a Fulbright Grant in London in 1969 He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1974 He taught at the University of Virginia in 1968 and at Harvard University as Brigg Copeland Lecturer from 1973 to 1979 He was writer in residence at Phillips Academy in Andover from 1979 to 1982 He taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1982 to 1987 and at Yale University from 1987 to 1991 He has also lived in England Estonia and France Literary work Edit Three Wogs his first novel was written during a stay in London and was briefly considered by the actor Roy Dotrice for performance by BBC television Darconville s Cat his second novel was nominated for the National Book Award He published the fable Master Snickup s Cloak which was illustrated by Brian Froud in 1979 That followed two other fables The Schinocephalic Waif and The Wragby Cars with illustrations by Stan Washburn in 1975 In 1987 he published An Adultery Laura Warholic his longest and most satirical novel was published in 2007 His non fiction books on color The Primary Colors 1994 and The Secondary Colors 1996 were briefly on the best seller lists in Los Angeles As a writer he is known for his encyclopedic highly allusive style and learned wit Critic Colin Marshall wrote Defending of his prose Theroux once likened it to a Victorian attic He delivers more inner life than outer more desire for vengeance than for anything else and more sheer stuff per page stuff you don t expect than in any other novels 2 Steven Moore called him an overlooked modern master 3 Literary broadcaster Michael Silverblatt once questioned Theroux s perverse appreciation at how inaccessible his books are thought to be Perhaps he sees his finely wrought works of language and their lack of purchase on the culture as an apocalyptic indictment of that culture of the intellectually and especially verbally careless society that could corrupt them Were I him I feel as if I d want revenge against lazy readers against unengaged critics against risk averse publishers But maybe given what they re all missing out on he s already taking it citation needed Theroux s work has been published in Esquire The London Magazine Antaeus The New York Times Harper s Magazine The Massachusetts Review Art amp Antiques Mississippi Review Review of Contemporary Fiction Chicago Tribune and San Diego Reader His poems have appeared in The Yale Review The Paris Review Poetry East Conjunctions Graham House Review The San Diego Reader Exquisite Corpse Denver Quarterly The Literary Quarterly Urbanus Magazine Boulevard The Michigan Quarterly Review Rain Taxi Review of Contemporary Fiction Image Helicoptero Seneca Review The Recorder The Journal of the American Irish Historical Society 3rd Bed Fence Anomaly Subdrive Sahara Sahara Nantucket Magazine Gobshite Quarterly Gargoyle Magazine Italian American Bomb Provincetown Arts Green Mountains Review and The Hopkins Review Plagiarism controversy EditIn 1995 The New York Times reported that one of its readers had noted the similarity of six passages in Theroux s 1994 survey of The Primary Colors with a 1954 book Song of the Sky by Guy Murchie Theroux attributed the matter to stupidity and bad note taking noting that he had read hundreds of books for The Primary Colors Theroux s editor said that future editions would credit Murchie s work or remove the passages 4 5 A few months later Theroux published a lengthy defense in the San Diego Reader 6 Select awards EditSchubert Playwrighting Award 1967 Fulbright Grant 1969 1970 Guggenheim Grant 1974 National Book Award nominee twice Clifton Fadiman Medal from the Mercantile Library 2002 Lannan Foundation Grant 1991 7 Selected works EditNovels Edit Three Wogs 1972 Darconville s Cat 1981 An Adultery 1987 Laura Warholic or The Sexual Intellectual 2007 Fables Edit The Schinocephalic Waif 1975 The Great Wheadle Tragedy 1975 Master Snickup s Cloak 1979 Poetry Edit The Lollipop Trollops 1992 Collected Poems 2015 Truisms 2022 Short fiction Edit Early Stories 2021 Fables 2021 Later Stories 2022 Non fiction Edit The Primary Colors 1994 The Secondary Colors 1996 The Enigma of Al Capp 1999 The Strange Case of Edward Gorey 2000 revised updated edition 2011 Estonia A Ramble Through the Periphery 2011 The Grammar of Rock Art and Artlessness in 20th Century Pop Lyrics 2013 Einstein s Beets An Examination of Food Phobias 2017 Critical studies Edit Jo Allen Bradham The American Scholar From Emerson to Alexander Theroux s Darconville s Cat Critique 24 4 Summer 1983 215 27 Larry McCaffery And Still They Smooch Erotic Visions and Re visions in Postmodern American Fiction Revue Francaise d Etudes Americaines 9 20 May 1984 275 87 Steven Moore Alexander Theroux s Darconville s Cat and the Tradition of Learned Wit Contemporary Literature 27 2 Summer 1986 233 45 Michael Pinker Cupid and Vindice The Novels of Alexander Theroux Denver Quarterly 24 3 Winter 1990 101 24 Alexander Theroux Paul West Number The Review of Contemporary Fiction 11 1 Spring 1991 7 139 Sam Endrigkeit Do Your Worst Maximalism and Intertextuality in Alexander Theroux s Darconville s Cat Thesis Universitat Duisburg Essen 2015 1 Steven Moore Alexander Theroux A Fan s Notes Los Angeles Zerogram Press 2020 ISBN 978 1 55713 446 2 Greg Gerke An Adultery In his See What I See Los Angeles Zerogram Press 2021 112 16 References Edit Larry McCafferys 20th Century Greatest Hits Archived from the original on 2012 07 10 Retrieved 2012 03 21 Linguistic Revenge An Alexander Theroux Primer The Millions 1 June 2010 Retrieved 21 October 2017 Greg Gerke August 19 2020 Book Review Alexander Theroux A Fan s Notes Appreciation for an Overlooked Modern Master The Arts Fuse Retrieved May 4 2022 The New York Times 3 March 1995 A Reader Finds That a Current Book Reads Suspiciously Like an Old One San Francisco Chronicle 4 March 1995 Author of Colors Accused of Plagiarism Hateful Hurtful and Hellish Plagiarism in Primary Colors Literary Awards by Year Lannan Foundation Archived from the original on 2012 04 29 Retrieved 2012 03 31 External links Edit Interview in LA CityBeat Archived from the original on January 20 2008 Retrieved February 6 2008 Audio of Theroux reading from Laura Warholic Radio Interview with Michael Silverblatt KCRW s Bookworm An interview with Alexander Theroux on The Marketplace of Ideas Interview from the Review of Contemporary Fiction Archives at Harry Ransom Center Checklist of Theroux s Writings Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alexander Theroux amp oldid 1136397066, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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