Peter Thompson is professor of Modern Languages and Literatures at Roger Williams University. He has edited two widely used anthologies of francophone literature, and edits Ezra: An Online Journal of Translation (www.ezratranslation.com). Poetry books include Late Liveries, Shades and The Angle of Incidence. Song lyrics include Daybreak and New Words. His novels are Winter Light and Harrison’s Word. He is the translator of Khatibi’s Tattooed Memory, Nassira Azzouz’s The Gates of The Sun, Véronique Tadjo’s Red Earth, Léon-Paul Fargue’s Poëmes, Abdelkader Djemaï’s Father/Son, Abdellatif Laâbi”s Perishable Poems, Mohamed Loakira’s …and spring is veiled over, Ghita El Khayat’s The Affair and four by Nabile Farès: Hearing Your Story, A Passenger from the West, Exile and Helplessness. Exile: Women’s Turn.
In the non-profit world, he has been on the board of Samaritans of Rhode Island, as well as the Murdock-Thompson Center for Teachers. He started the Ezra Fund, which supports translators. Twenty summers were spent on the back wards of mental hospitals (as staff).