Tom Christensen

The "official" short bio is beneath the rule below. Briefly, I'm an author, editor, illustrator, translator, graphic designer, jackalope breeder, photographer, webmaster, Mayanist, typehead, etc., and a one-time acolyte, caterer, cherry picker, delivery boy, disk jockey, driver, janitor, jellybean maker, laborer, mattress salesman, photographer, poster salesman, railyard laborer, Santa Claus manager, teacher, tobacco cutter ...

Thomas Christensen is the author of several books. His 1616: The World in Motion, an illustrated history of the newly globalized world of the early seventeenth century, is scheduled for publication in March 2012 from Counterpoint Press. His translation of Selected Poems of Jose Angel Valente will follow later in the year. His most recent previously published book was New World /New Words: Recent Writing from the Americas, A Bilingual Anthology, from the Center for the Art of Translation. With his wife, Carol, he was the author of The U.S–Mexican War, a companion book to a national PBS television series, and editor of another PBS companion book, The American Promise. They were co-editors of The Discovery of America and Other Myths, a collection of writings about the encounter between native Americans and the first European arrivals to the hemisphere.

Christensen was also the author of Bridge to Understanding: The Art and Architecture of San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum. He has written critical essays and introductions to such books as Sylvie and Bruno by Lewis Carroll, The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson, and Hieroglyphic Tales by Horace Walpole, and has published essays in many books and journals.

He has translated many books, including works by Carlos Fuentes, Alejo Carpentier, Julio Cortázar, and others. With Carol Christensen he translated the national best-seller Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel. His translation of Ballets Without Music, Without Dancers, Without Anything by Louis-Ferdinand Céline was a finalist for the PEN America West translation award. He received a special award for dedication to translation from the American Literary Translators Association.

Christensen was executive director and editor-in-chief of Mercury House, a trade book publisher that issued about twenty books a year. During his tenure, the press was nominated for a Carey-Thomas Award for excellence in publishing. Formerly he was an editor with North Point Press. Currently he is director of creative services at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

He has served on many panels, including the National Endowment for the Arts, for which he has reviewed translation and creative writing grant applications. In addition to his writing, translating, and editing, he has worked extensively as a graphic designer and has designed and typeset a large number of books, including several catalogues of museum art exhibitions. He received his BA, MA, and ABD in comparative literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He and Carol Christensen live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

READ PRESS, VIEW VIDEO TRAILERS, SEE SAMPLE SPREADS FROM 1616: THE WORLD IN MOTION.




home search sitemap blog daybook contact	The "official" short bio is beneath the rule below. Briefly, I'm an author, editor, illustrator, translator, graphic designer, jackalope breeder, photographer, webmaster, Mayanist, typehead, etc., and a one-time acolyte, caterer, cherry picker, delivery boy, disk jockey, driver, janitor, jellybean maker, laborer, mattress salesman, photographer, poster salesman, railyard laborer, Santa Claus manager, teacher, tobacco cutter ... LIST OF PUBLICATIONS \| RESUME (PDF FORMAT) \| LINKED-IN PROFILE \| FACEBOOK \| GOOGLE PLUS \| TWITTER \| Wrong Tom Christensen? See more Toms here. Thomas Christensen is the author of several books. His 1616: The World in Motion, an illustrated history of the newly globalized world of the early seventeenth century, is scheduled for publication in March 2012 from Counterpoint Press. His translation of Selected Poems of Jose Angel Valente will follow later in the year. His most recent previously published book was New World /New Words: Recent Writing from the Americas, A Bilingual Anthology, from the Center for the Art of Translation. With his wife, Carol, he was the author of The U.S–Mexican War, a companion book to a national PBS television series, and editor of another PBS companion book, The American Promise. They were co-editors of The Discovery of America and Other Myths, a collection of writings about the encounter between native Americans and the first European arrivals to the hemisphere. Christensen was also the author of Bridge to Understanding: The Art and Architecture of San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum. He has written critical essays and introductions to such books as Sylvie and Bruno by Lewis Carroll, The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson, and Hieroglyphic Tales by Horace Walpole, and has published essays in many books and journals. He has translated many books, including works by Carlos Fuentes, Alejo Carpentier, Julio Cortázar, and others. With Carol Christensen he translated the national best-seller Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel. His translation of Ballets Without Music, Without Dancers, Without Anything by Louis-Ferdinand Céline was a finalist for the PEN America West translation award. He received a special award for dedication to translation from the American Literary Translators Association. Christensen was executive director and editor-in-chief of Mercury House, a trade book publisher that issued about twenty books a year. During his tenure, the press was nominated for a Carey-Thomas Award for excellence in publishing. Formerly he was an editor with North Point Press. Currently he is director of creative services at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. He has served on many panels, including the National Endowment for the Arts, for which he has reviewed translation and creative writing grant applications. In addition to his writing, translating, and editing, he has worked extensively as a graphic designer and has designed and typeset a large number of books, including several catalogues of museum art exhibitions. He received his BA, MA, and ABD in comparative literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He and Carol Christensen live in the San Francisco Bay Area. READ PRESS, VIEW VIDEO TRAILERS, SEE SAMPLE SPREADS FROM 1616: THE WORLD IN MOTION.	e-mail tom
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