Gregory Kolovakos Award
1 appearances
Alastair Reid
アラステア・リード
Alastair Reid
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1926-03-22 （Whithorn, Galloway, Scotland）
- Died
- 2014-09-21 （Manhattan, New York City, United States） age 88
- Nationality
- Scottish
- Languages
- English, Spanish (used for translations and study)
- Residence History
- Spain → Switzerland → Greece → Morocco → Argentina → Mexico → Chile → Dominican Republic (Samaná) → United States (New York, Greenwich Village, etc.)
Career
- Occupations
- poet, translator, essayist, editor, teacher
- Active Years
- 1946-2014
- Influenced By
- Jorge Luis Borges, Pablo Neruda, Robert Graves
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of St Andrews | Classics | Department of Classics | — | — | United Kingdom |
University of St Andrews
Classics
/ Department of Classics
Country:
United Kingdom
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Ounce Dice Trice
Children's literature, word-playA collection of playful word-play and literary nonsense for children; some editions illustrated by Ben Shahn.
word-playliterary nonsensehumor
Outside In: Selected Prose
2008 Selected prose, essaysA selected collection of Reid's prose, including travel writing, literary criticism and essays.
travelliterary criticismmemory
Inside Out: Selected Poetry and Translations
2008 Selected poetry and translationsA selection of his own poems alongside his translations, highlighting his work on South American poets.
translationsense of placelanguage
Whereabouts
Prose, travel/essayAn essayistic work addressing the blurred line between fact and fiction and Reid's own approach to reportage; related to controversies over his New Yorker pieces.
fact vs fictionjournalistic ethicswriting techniques
Bibliography
- Ounce Dice Trice
- Outside In: Selected Prose
- Inside Out: Selected Poetry and Translations
- Whereabouts
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- playful, lighthearted poetic voiceconcise, observant prosecreative recreation in translation
- Recurring Motifs
- travel and placelanguage and translationmemory and nostalgiahumor and nonsense
Health
-
pneumonia2014Treated for pneumonia; suffered a gastric bleed during treatment which led to his death in 2014.
Legacy
Alastair Reid was known for his translations and his playful, lighthearted poetry. He helped introduce South American literature to English-speaking audiences and was respected for his essays and travel writing. His career — including controversies over the line between reportage and fiction — left a distinct mark on contemporary Anglophone literature.
Archives
- Library of Congress (catalogue records)
Quotes
-
These pieces were at the center of a curious storm that blew up in the American press during June of 1984. ... Not a single one of my critics, as far as I could judge, had gone back to read the pieces in question.
Source: Whereabouts (excerpt)
Trivia
- Served in the Royal Navy decoding ciphers during World War II.
- Worked as secretary to Robert Graves for a time.
- Was the subject of controversy for inventing composite characters and places in some New Yorker pieces.
- Spent many years on a ginger plantation in Samaná, Dominican Republic.
- Known for translations of South American poets such as Borges and Neruda.