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| Interview with |  | |  | | | Victor Rangel-Ribeiro | |
interviewed by Derek Alger | | |
Victor Rangel-Ribeiro, born in Goa, India in 1925 when it was still a
Portuguese colony, is the author of Tivolem, published by
Milkweed Editions in 1999. The novel was awarded the Milkweed National
Fiction Prize, and Booklist, the influential journal of the American
Library Association, named Tivolem as "one of the twenty
notable first novels" of 1997-98.
Based on his childhood memories, Tivolem originally took shape
in the form of a series of short stories. Rangel-Ribeiro has a
forthcoming collection of short stories Loving Ayesha and
Other Tales from Near and Far, scheduled for publication in the
spring of 2002.
Rangel-Ribeiro came to the United States in 1956 after earning a B.A.
from Bombay University, graduating from St. Xavier's College with
Honors in English Language and Literature, and then working in
editorial positions with several newspapers, including the Indian
Express, Bombay, The Times of India, and Illustrated
Weekly of India. He was also the first Indian to break through the
racial barrier and become copy chief at J. Walter Thompson, a position
previously held exclusively by Englishmen.
An accomplished writer, Rangel-Ribeiro has published nonfiction books,
including two about music, and has also had several short stories
appear in literary journals. Over the years, he has covered music
concerts and opera for the New York Times and for 10 years, ran
a specialized music shop in New York City.
Rangel-Ribeiro, who earned an M.A. at Teachers College at Columbia
University, is a member of the American Mensa Society and is one of
the co-founders of the Goan Association in New York, and has also
served as Music Director of the Beethoven Society of New York, as well
as serving as the coordinator of the largest adult literacy site in
New York City.
Rangel-Ribeiro has resided in Queens, N.Y. for the past 44 years with
his wife, Lea. They have a son and a daughter, and five grandchildren,
and, as Rangel-Ribeiro adds, even that could change.
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