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

Alba Arikha

Early life

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

Arikha has written five 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,' based on Major/Minor was performed in August 2018 at the Tête-à-Tête Opera festival at RADA,^[11] and was directed by Hugh Hudson. The full production was performed at the Playground Theatre, London, in October 2020, directed by Orpha Phelan.^[12] Her novel, Where to find me, was published by Alma Books in 2018.^[13] It was selected among the best books of 2018 in the Evening Standard,^[14] and long listed for the 2020 Wingate Prize.^[15] Her new novel Two Hours will be published by Eris Press in 2024.

Arikha is a regular contributor to Radio 4,^[16] and was included in Pick of the Week.^[17] Since 2012, she has been teaching creative writing for various institutions such as the Royal Academy of Art^[18] and the Chocolate Factory^[19] and has been involved with Guardian masterclasses,^[20] since 2015, where she teaches classes on short fiction. In Spring 2017 she was Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia University,^[21] where she taught a masterclass in non-fiction. Her poem about the lockdown, ‘What I know,’ was published in Tortoise Media in 2020.^[22]

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^[23] and Dans les rues de Paris.^[24] 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.^[25]

Personal life

Arikha has two children from her previous marriage. She has since married the composer Tom Smail, and they both live in London.^[26]

Bibliography

Fiction:

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

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