photo by Alan Arkawy

The Road to Enlightenment

So What is This About?

Thomas John Boyle was born on December 2 nd , 1948 in Peekskill, NY. When he was 17 years old he changed his middle name to Coraghessan after his ancestors. His father was a bus driver and his mother a secretary, and they were Catholic. In 1974 T.C. Boyle married Karen Kvashay, and they now have three children, two boys and one girl, who all live near Santa Barbara, CA.

In 1968 T.C. Boyle got his BA in English and History from the State University of New York at Potsdam. In 1974 he got an MFA in Fiction from the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop and in 1977 his Ph.D. degree in 19 th Century British Literature from the University of Iowa. Since 1978 he has been a member of the English Department at the University of Southern California, and since 1986 he has been a Professor of English at that University.

T.C. Boyle published sixteen books, including ten novels (e.g. “The Inner Circle”, 2004), which are available in many languages. He also wrote many stories which have appeared in major American magazines, e.g. The New Yorker , Harper's . He has received various literary awards as well.

 

Written by TAMARA KNUDSEN