Stephan Collishaw
Encyclopedia
Stephan Collishaw is an author from Nottinghamshire
.
Collishaw was born at Nottingham City Hospital
. He wrote his first novel at the age of 16, an unpublished work he subsequently described as "unremittingly awful". He studied at Goldsmiths, University of London, where he wrote several other substantial unpublished works, and based on an interest in history and literature, decided to become a teacher in 1991. On a whim, he relocated to Vilnius
in 1995, where he met and married a Lithuanian woman named Marja, who had been teaching him the Lithuanian language
. Marja already had two daughters from a prior relationship. The family lived in Palma de Mallorca
for two years, where Marja gave birth to Collishaw's son Lucas, and then the family relocated to Nottinghamshire in 2001. By this time, he had written a total of three unpublished novels, and at his wife's urging, began taking his writing more seriously.
His first professional novel, The Last Girl, about an elderly and impoverished poet in Vilnius, was completed in 2001 and published in 2003. In a favorable review for The Guardian
, Julie Myerson
described it as "astoundingly complex for a first novel", and also commented favorably on the reserved and un-flashy tone of Collishaw's prose. He followed with a second novel, Amber, in 2004. Also set in Vilnius, it was inspired in part by (and contained numerous references to) Christopher Marlowe
's play Tamburlaine
, which had been a favorite of Collishaw's as a young man.
Stephan also edited Any Place But Home which contains personal histories of seven Lithuanians who settled in England
's East Midlands
in the 1940s.
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
.
Collishaw was born at Nottingham City Hospital
Nottingham City Hospital
Nottingham City Hospital is a large hospital located in Nottingham, England. With Queen's Medical Centre, it forms the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust....
. He wrote his first novel at the age of 16, an unpublished work he subsequently described as "unremittingly awful". He studied at Goldsmiths, University of London, where he wrote several other substantial unpublished works, and based on an interest in history and literature, decided to become a teacher in 1991. On a whim, he relocated to Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
in 1995, where he met and married a Lithuanian woman named Marja, who had been teaching him the Lithuanian language
Lithuanian language
Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
. Marja already had two daughters from a prior relationship. The family lived in Palma de Mallorca
Palma de Mallorca
Palma is the major city and port on the island of Majorca and capital city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. The names Ciutat de Mallorca and Ciutat were used before the War of the Spanish Succession and are still used by people in Majorca. However, the official name...
for two years, where Marja gave birth to Collishaw's son Lucas, and then the family relocated to Nottinghamshire in 2001. By this time, he had written a total of three unpublished novels, and at his wife's urging, began taking his writing more seriously.
His first professional novel, The Last Girl, about an elderly and impoverished poet in Vilnius, was completed in 2001 and published in 2003. In a favorable review for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Julie Myerson
Julie Myerson
Julie Myerson is an English author and critic. As well as writing both fiction and non-fiction books, she is also known for having written a long-running column in The Guardian entitled "Living with Teenagers" based on her own family experiences...
described it as "astoundingly complex for a first novel", and also commented favorably on the reserved and un-flashy tone of Collishaw's prose. He followed with a second novel, Amber, in 2004. Also set in Vilnius, it was inspired in part by (and contained numerous references to) Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
's play Tamburlaine
Tamburlaine (play)
Tamburlaine the Great is the name of a play in two parts by Christopher Marlowe. It is loosely based on the life of the Central Asian emperor, Timur 'the lame'...
, which had been a favorite of Collishaw's as a young man.
Stephan also edited Any Place But Home which contains personal histories of seven Lithuanians who settled in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
's East Midlands
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
in the 1940s.
External links
- Review of The Last Girl in j.J.j., also known as Jweekly, is a Jewish website and weekly magazine in Northern California. It is owned and operated by "j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern California"...
- Review of Amber in The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...