Peter Christopher Sebastian Theroux[1] (born 1956) is an American translator and writer. The younger brother of writers Alexander Theroux and Paul Theroux, during college Peter studied for a year at the University of Cairo. He became interested in Arabic literature and has made it his life's work. He has translated numerous works of both historic and chiefly contemporary fiction by Egyptian, Iraqi and Lebanese authors. In addition, he has written articles and published a travel book, Sandstorms (1990), about his extensive travels in the Middle East.

Early life and education

Theroux was born in 1956 in Boston, Massachusetts, the youngest son of Catholic parents; his mother, Anne (née Dittami), was Italian American, and his father, Albert Eugene Theroux, was French Canadian.[2][3] His mother was a grammar school teacher and his father was a salesman for the American Oak Leather company.[4][5] His two older brothers, Alexander (b. 1938) and Paul (b. 1941), both became writers. Peter also became interested in literature, travel, and writing.

In a 1978 profile of the Theroux family, James Atlas wrote that then 21-year-old Peter “had completed five (unpublished) novels by the time he started college. Bound in dignified black covers with their titles embossed on the spines, these manuscripts—some of them written when he was only 14—have been acclaimed by his brothers as the work of ‘a mature satirist.’”[6]

He studied English literature at Harvard University, and studied for a year at the American University in Cairo.

Career

Theroux worked as a journalist in Saudi Arabia, and for a time was a stringer for The Wall Street Journal.[7]

Theroux's first published translated literary work was the first volume of Cities of Salt, the contemporary epic novel cycle by the Saudi writer Abdelrahman Munif. He translated two further novels in that cycle. His translated works include contemporary fiction by Arabic writers from Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. These works include the following:

His translations are highly regarded. Fellow translator Raymond Stock said of his work, "[T]here's none better. His translations are clear and poetic and read like they’re written in English."[7]

Theroux has also written his own books, including Sandstorms (1990), which recounted his travels in the Middle East. Writing in the Los Angeles Times, Alex Raksin described Sandstorms as a "stunningly candid portrait of culture and politics in the Middle East".[8]

Theroux wrote Translating LA, about living in Los Angeles. He has contributed pieces to National Geographic magazine. According to an editor at Tablet, Theroux worked for over two decades as a senior CIA analyst.[9][10]

Personal life

Theroux lives in Los Angeles, California.

Honors and awards

Theroux's translation of Idris Ali's Dongola: A Novel of Nubia won the University of Arkansas Press Award for Arabic Literature in Translation in 1997.

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-04-18. Retrieved 2017-09-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ↑ The International Who's Who 2004. Routledge. 2003. pp. 1668. ISBN 1-85743-217-7.
  3. ↑ Cheuse, Alan (4 June 1989). "A worldly education Paul Theroux imagines a much-traveled writer's active erotic life". Chicago Tribune.
  4. ↑ "Current Biography Yearbook". 1979.
  5. ↑ Meanor, Patrick; Crane, Gwen (2000). American Short-story Writers Since World War II.: Second series. ISBN 9780787631277.
  6. ↑ “The Theroux Family Arsenal,” New York Times Magazine, 30 April 1978, 24.
  7. 1 2 "Profile: Peter Theroux: Found in Translation", Washington City Paper,
  8. ↑ Raksin, Alex (July 22, 1990). "Sandstorms: Days and Nights in Arabia by Peter Theroux". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ↑ MazMHussain [@MazMHussain] (March 21, 2023). "Since people are asking. This was in response to pointing out that the author had cited a fictional Iranian activist as a source in their article. https://theintercept.com/2019/06/09/heshmat-alavi-fake-iran-mek/" (Tweet). Retrieved March 21, 2023 – via Twitter.
  10. ↑ Kenner, David (September 21, 2020). "Saudi Arabia's imagined worlds by David Kenner". Institute of Current World Affairs.
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