Tim Parks
Encyclopedia
Tim Parks is a British novelist, translator and author.
, London and was educated at Cambridge University and Harvard. He has lived near Verona
in Italy since 1981.
Parks is the author of several works of fiction (notably Europa
, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1997) and non-fiction. His first novel, Tongues of Flame, won a Betty Trask Award
in 1986.
He has also worked as a teacher and translator. Since relocating to Verona, Parks has taught Literary Translation and Technical Translation at the Independent University of Modern Languages (formerly the Free University of Languages and Communication)
in nearby Milan
.
His own translations include works by Alberto Moravia
, Antonio Tabucchi
, Italo Calvino
and Roberto Calasso
.
Parks has been nominated for the Booker prize twice. In 1997 he was shortlisted for his novel Europa, and in 2003, was longlisted for Judge Savage.
Tim Parks is married to Rita Baldassarre: the couple has three children.
Life
Tim Parks was born in Manchester in 1954, the son of a clergyman. He grew up in FinchleyFinchley
Finchley is a district in Barnet in north London, England. Finchley is on high ground, about north of Charing Cross. It formed an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, becoming a municipal borough in 1933, and has formed part of Greater London since 1965...
, London and was educated at Cambridge University and Harvard. He has lived near Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
in Italy since 1981.
Parks is the author of several works of fiction (notably Europa
Europa (novel)
Europa is a stream-of-consciousness novel by Tim Parks, first published in 1997. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in that year, losing out to Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things....
, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1997) and non-fiction. His first novel, Tongues of Flame, won a Betty Trask Award
Betty Trask Award
The Betty Trask Prize and Awards are for first novels written by authors under the age of 35, who reside in a current or former Commonwealth nation. The awards were established in 1984 by the Society of Authors, at the bequest of the late Betty Trask, a reclusive author of over thirty romance novels...
in 1986.
He has also worked as a teacher and translator. Since relocating to Verona, Parks has taught Literary Translation and Technical Translation at the Independent University of Modern Languages (formerly the Free University of Languages and Communication)
IULM University of Milan
The IULM University - Milan is a university located in Milan, Italy. It was founded in 1968 and is organized in 4 Faculties.-History and Profile:“In educational processes the important thing is to know, to know how to be, and how and what to do”....
in nearby Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
.
His own translations include works by Alberto Moravia
Alberto Moravia
Alberto Moravia, born Alberto Pincherle was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern sexuality, social alienation, and existentialism....
, Antonio Tabucchi
Antonio Tabucchi
Antonio Tabucchi is an Italian writer and academic who teaches Portuguese language and literature at the University of Siena, Italy....
, Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino was an Italian journalist and writer of short stories and novels. His best known works include the Our Ancestors trilogy , the Cosmicomics collection of short stories , and the novels Invisible Cities and If on a winter's night a traveler .Lionised in Britain and the United States,...
and Roberto Calasso
Roberto Calasso
Roberto Calasso is an Italian writer and publisher.-Biography:Calasso was born in 1941, into a family of the Tuscan upper class, well connected with some of the great Italian intellectuals of their time. His maternal grandfather Ernesto Codignola was a professor of philosophy at Florence University...
.
Parks has been nominated for the Booker prize twice. In 1997 he was shortlisted for his novel Europa, and in 2003, was longlisted for Judge Savage.
Tim Parks is married to Rita Baldassarre: the couple has three children.
Non-fiction
- Italian Neighbours, 1992. Relates how the author and his wife came to a small town near Verona and how they integrate and become accustomed to the unusual habits of their newfound neighbours.
- An Italian Education, 1996. Follow up to "Italian Neighbours" and recounts the milestones in the life of the author's children as they progress through the Italian school system.
- Translating Style, 1997.
- Adultery & Other Diversions, 1999.
- Hell and Back: Reflections on Writers and Writing from Dante to Rushdie, 2001.
- A Season With VeronaA Season With VeronaA Season With Verona is the title of a 2002 book by Verona based British author Tim Parks. It tells the story of a single season following the fortunes of Italian football club Hellas Verona, and deals especially with Parks' relationship with the infamous hard core Brigate Gialloblù who make up...
, following the fortunes of Hellas Verona F.C.Hellas Verona F.C.Hellas Verona Football Club is a professional Italian association football team, based in Verona, Veneto. The team's colours are yellow and blue and gialloblu is the team's most widely used nickname...
in season 2000-2001. - Medici Money: Banking, Metaphysics, and Art in Fifteenth-century Florence, 2005.
- Teach Us to Sit Still: A Sceptic's Search for Health and Healing, 2010
Translations of Italian works
- Alberto MoraviaAlberto MoraviaAlberto Moravia, born Alberto Pincherle was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern sexuality, social alienation, and existentialism....
, Erotic Tales, Secker & Warburg, 1985. Original title La cosa. - Alberto Moravia, The Voyeur, Secker & Warburg, 1986. Original title L'uomo che guarda.
- Antonio TabucchiAntonio TabucchiAntonio Tabucchi is an Italian writer and academic who teaches Portuguese language and literature at the University of Siena, Italy....
, Indian Nocturne, Chatto & Windus, 1988. Original title Notturno indiano. - Alberto Moravia, Journey to Rome, Secker & Warburg, 1989. Original title Viaggio a Roma.
- Antonio Tabucchi, Vanishing Point, Chatto & Windus, 1989. Original title Il filo dell'orizzonte.
- Antonio Tabucchi, The Woman of Porto Pim, Chatto & Windus, 1989. Original title La donna di Porto Pim.
- Antonio Tabucchi, The Flying Creatures of Fra Angelico, Chatto & Windus, 1989. Original title I volatili del Beato Angelico.
- Fleur Jaeggy, Sweet Days of Discipline, Heinemann, 1991. Original title I beati anni del castigo. The translation won the John Florio Prize.
- Giuliana Tedeschi, A place on Earth... A Woman in Birkenau, Pantheon Books, 1992. Original title C'è un punto della terra.
- Roberto CalassoRoberto CalassoRoberto Calasso is an Italian writer and publisher.-Biography:Calasso was born in 1941, into a family of the Tuscan upper class, well connected with some of the great Italian intellectuals of their time. His maternal grandfather Ernesto Codignola was a professor of philosophy at Florence University...
, The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony, Knopf, 1993. Original title Le nozze di Cadmo e Armonia. The translation won the Italo Calvino Prize. - Italo CalvinoItalo CalvinoItalo Calvino was an Italian journalist and writer of short stories and novels. His best known works include the Our Ancestors trilogy , the Cosmicomics collection of short stories , and the novels Invisible Cities and If on a winter's night a traveler .Lionised in Britain and the United States,...
, The Road to San Giovanni, Pantheon Books, 1993. Original title La strada di San Giovanni. The translation won the John Florio Prize. - Italo Calvino, Numbers in the Dark, Pantheon Books, 1995. Original title Prima che tu dica pronto.
- Fleur Jaeggy, Last Vanities, New Directions, 1998. Original title La paura del cielo.
- Roberto Calasso, Ka, New York: Knopf, 1998. Original title Ka.
- Roberto Calasso, Literature and the Gods, New York: Knopf, 2000. Original title La letteratura e gli dei.
- Niccolò MachiavelliNiccolò MachiavelliNiccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian historian, philosopher, humanist, and writer based in Florence during the Renaissance. He is one of the main founders of modern political science. He was a diplomat, political philosopher, playwright, and a civil servant of the Florentine Republic...
, The Prince, Penguin Classics, 2009.
External links
- Official Site
- Interview with 3:AM
- Review of Destiny at Spike Magazine
- Review of Europa at The Occasional Review
- Parks author page and archive from The New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of Books is a fortnightly magazine with articles on literature, culture and current affairs. Published in New York City, it takes as its point of departure that the discussion of important books is itself an indispensable literary activity...