Alba Arikha

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Alba Arikha (born 1966) is a French-born writer who lives and works in the United Kingdom.

Alba Arikha

Early life[edit]

Brought up in Paris, her father was the Franco-Israeli artist Avigdor Arikha. Her mother is the American poet, Anne Atik.[1] Her sister, Noga Arikha, is a historian.[2] Arikha received her BA from Hampshire College, and her MFA from Columbia University.

Career[edit]

Arikha has written six books. Her first two, Muse[3] and Walking on Ice,[4] were written under the name Alba Branca. Arikha's memoir Major/Minor[5] was published in 2011 by Quartet Books. Charting her artistic childhood in Paris, coupled with memories of her godfather, Samuel Beckett, the book was shortlisted for the Spear's Awards[6] and selected by The New Yorker among the best books of 2012.[7] The paperback edition was published in 2017. An article about her family and Beckett was published in the TLS in October 2020.[8]

She wrote a narrative poem, ‘Soon,’ published by CB Editions in 2013[9] and turned into an opera, one of two projects Arikha collaborated on as librettist with her husband, composer Tom Smail.[10] It was performed in August 2013, at the Riverside Studios, in London.[9] The second one, 'Blue Electric,' with music by Tom Smail[11], was based on Major/Minor was performed in August 2018 at the Tête-à-Tête Opera festival at RADA,[12] and was directed by Hugh Hudson. The full production was performed at the Playground Theatre, London, in October 2020, directed by Orpha Phelan.[13] Her novel, Where to find me, was published by Alma Books in 2018.[14] It was selected among the best books of 2018 in the Evening Standard,[15] and long listed for the 2020 Wingate Prize.[16]

Her novel Two Hours was published by Eris Press in 2024[17]. Charting a woman’s voyage through love, loss and eventually freedom in 1980’s New York, Paris, London and Rome, it was described by John Self in the Observer, as ‘concise, rigorous and heartbreaking,’[18] and ‘a literary masterpiece of grace and weight,’[19] by Helen Cullen in the Irish Times.

Arikha is a regular contributor to Radio 4,[20] and was included in Pick of the Week.[21] Since 2012, she has been teaching creative writing for various institutions such as the Royal Academy of Art[22] and the Chocolate Factory[23] and has been involved with Guardian masterclasses,[24] since 2015, where she teaches classes on short fiction. In Spring 2017 she was Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia University,[25] where she taught a masterclass in non-fiction. Her poem about the lockdown, ‘What I know,’ was published in Tortoise Media in 2020.[26]

Alba is also a pianist and songwriter, and has performed in Paris and London. She has recorded two CDs of songs, Si j’ai aimé[27] and Dans les rues de Paris.[28] She has also written a song based on the main character of her novel, Where to find me.

In 2019, she was a visiting lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire, where she taught creative writing.[29]

Personal life[edit]

Arikha has two children from her previous marriage. She now married to the composer Tom Smail, and they both live in London.[30]

Bibliography[edit]

Fiction:

  • Muse (1998)
  • Walking on Ice (2000)
  • Where to find me (2018)
  • Two Hours (2024)

Non-Fiction:

  • Major/Minor (2011)
  • Soon (2013)

Operas:

  • Soon (2013)
  • Blue Electric (2018)

Music:

  • Si j’ai aimé (2007)
  • Dans les rues de Paris (2011)
  • Where to find me (2018)

References[edit]

  1. ^ Savas, Aysegul (2018-01-22). "The Poet Upstairs". The Paris Review. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  2. ^ "Noga Arikha - official web site - welcome". www.nogaarikha.com. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  3. ^ results, search (1999-03-12). Muse (New ed.). London: Pan Books. ISBN 9780330352666. ASIN 0330352660.
  4. ^ results, search (2000-01-07). Walking on Ice. London: Pan Books. ISBN 9780330352673. ASIN 0330352679.
  5. ^ "Quartet Books - Major/Minor".
  6. ^ "Spear's Book Awards 2014". Spear's Magazine. 2014-09-28. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  7. ^ "Best Books of 2012". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  8. ^ "Tracing personal relations with Samuel Beckett | The TLS". TLS. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  9. ^ a b "CB editions - publisher of new writing - Arikha". www.cbeditions.com. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  10. ^ "Tom Smail". www.tomsmail.net. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  11. ^ Hugill, Planet. "Musical memoir: Tom Smail's Blue Electric at Tête à Tête". Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  12. ^ "Blue Electric | Tête à Tête - The Future of Opera". Tête à Tête - The Future of Opera. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  13. ^ "Blue Electric – An Opera – theplaygroundtheatre". theplaygroundtheatre.london. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  14. ^ "Where to Find Me - Alma Books". Alma Books. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  15. ^ "Evening Standard Best Books of 2018".
  16. ^ "The Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation". www.wingatefoundation.org.uk. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
  17. ^ "Two Hours — ERIS". eris.press. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  18. ^ Self, John (2024-03-18). "Two Hours by Alba Arikha review – an impassioned tale of how life pummels and reshapes us". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  19. ^ "Two Hours by Alba Arikha: A literary masterpiece". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  20. ^ "Alba Arikha, Reading Europe - BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  21. ^ "Cross-Channel Journal, Series 1, The Channel - BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  22. ^ "The Portrait: a short story inspired by Hockney | Blog | Royal Academy of Arts". www.royalacademy.org.uk. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  23. ^ "Writing Courses – Haringey Literature Live". haringeyliteraturelive.com. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  24. ^ "Guardian Masterclasses". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  25. ^ "Faculty & Staff". Columbia - School of the Arts. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  26. ^ peterhoskin (2020-04-17). "Letters from lockdown Alba Arikha transcript". Tortoise. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  27. ^ "Si j'ai aimé | Alba Arikha". www.albaarikha.com. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  28. ^ "Dans les rues de Paris | Alba Arikha". www.albaarikha.com. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  29. ^ "Creative writing". www.herts.ac.uk. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  30. ^ "Author, Pianist, Singer & Songwriter | Alba Arikha". www.albaarikha.com. Retrieved 2018-10-01.[permanent dead link]
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