Christopher Thornton
Author, Essayist, Screenwriter, Photographer, and Lecturer
BOOKS
Iran in Pictures: A Photographic Insight. Rome: Europe Books, 2022.
Descendants of Cyrus: Travels Through Everyday Iran. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 2019.
PUBLISHED ESSAYS
“We Know How It Ends,” Galway Review, winter 2024; Montreal Review, January 2025.
“Time, Einstein, Dali, Relativity, Mussolini, and More: Letter from Italy,” Lowestoft Chronicle, December 2024; Galway Review, winter 2025.
“Art of War: Letter from Hanoi,” Galway Review, fall 2024.
“Turkey’s Other Genocide: Letter from Diyarbakir,” Montreal Review, October 2024; Galway Review, winter 2024.
“When the Cost of War Is More Than Lives,” Montreal Review, fall 2024; Galway Review, spring 2024: Nashwaak Review, February/March 2025.
“Meet the New Refugee,” Nashwaak Review, fall 2024; Galway Review, fall 2024.
“Letter from Tangier,” Stirring Nonfiction, fall 2023.
“Letter from Lviv,” Concho River Review, fall 2022. Nominated for the Pushcart Prize, 2022.
“Letter from Poland,” Adirondack Review, summer 2022.
“When the Hub of Civilization Becomes a Ghost Town: Letter from Istanbul,” Scarlet Leaf Review, winter 2021, along with photo section; Adirondack Review, winter 2021; Concho River Review, spring 2021.
“To Each His Own—Letter from Dubai,” The Common, June 2021.
“The Good Life—Ukrainian Style,” Scarlet Leaf Review, November 2020. Also appeared in the Concho River Review, summer 2020; Acta Victoriana Online, summer 2020.
“What’s in a Face, or, the Eyes Have It,” Seattle Star, July 2020; Shark Reef Journal, June 2021.
“Letter from Sicily,” Scarlet Leaf Review, June 2020; Two-Thirds North (U.K.) spring 2021.
“Detained in Tehran—Sort Of,” Scarlet Leaf Review, January 2020; also appeared in Dove Tales anthology, December 2020.
“Family Feud or Brotherly Nations? The Qatar Crisis Explained,” Seattle Star, December 2019.
“Lessons from a Bootstrap Economy,” Lowestoft Chronicle, December 2019; Scarlet Leaf Review, March 2020.
“Facing the Tests of Tolerance: Letter from Egypt,” Seattle Star, July 2019.
“When Death Comes from the Skies,” Scarlet Leaf Review, July 2019; Pangyrus, August 2020.
“Winter of Discontent: Letter from Greece,” Montreal Review, June 2019.
“Waiting for the Next Foot to Fall: Letter from Ukraine,” Montreal Review, February 2019.
“Chess vs. Checkers, and Other Diplomatic Dances,” Seattle Star, January 2019; Montreal Review, January 2019.
“A Migrant’s Tale: Letter from Italy,” New Haven Review, summer 2018.
“Wired and Mired: Letter from South Korea,” Antigonish Review, summer 2018.
“Letter from Dhaka: Where Three Wheels Brighten the Road, Confrontation Online, February 2017.
“The Long Shadow of S-17: Letter from Phnom Penh,” Sewanee Review, fall 2016.
“Where Fact Meets Fiction: Letter from Aksum,” Chariton Review, fall 2016.
“Brexit, the Day After: A Tale of Two Tallies,” New Haven Review, fall 2016.
“A Terrible Cost Along a Terrible Coast: Letter from Turkey,” Geist, March 2016.
“Border Wars: A Tale of Two Taxis,” Lowestoft Chronicle, spring 2016.
“UNESCO to the Rescue,” Storyteller, spring 2016.
“This Is Russia!” Confrontation, spring 2016.
“Democracy at 25: A Report Card from the East,” Concho River Review, spring 2016.
“Notes of an Almost Canadian: A View from South of the Border,” Geist, March 2016.
“Of Crosses and Minarets: Letter from Iran,” Commonweal, March 14, 2016.
“Letter from Lalibela: Cradle of Christianity,” Confrontation Online, January 2016.
“Letter from Estonia: Past, Future, and Present,” Eclectica Magazine, winter 2016.
“Rocking the Ghosts of Time: Letter from Ho Chi Minh City,” Sewanee Review, winter 2016.
“The Flower of Lalibela,” Antigonish, summer 2015.
“Dispatch from Dubai—Where Civility Rules the Road,” Storyteller, spring 2015.
“Prelude to Rebellion: Letter from Yemen,” Sewanee Review, spring 2015.
“To Be or—to Be: Letter from Sarajevo,” Nth Position (U.K.), fall 2014.
“Genocide’s Deadly Cycle: Letter from Azerbaijan,” Sewanee Review, fall 2014.
“Waiting for Stella,” Antigonish Review, summer 2014.
“To Live and Let Live: Letter from Nepal,” Commonweal, June 9, 2014.
“At the Crossroads of Crosshairs: Letter from Lebanon,” Sewanee Review, spring 2014.
“What’s in a Name?” Ideagems, spring 2014.
“Death on the Plain,” Storyteller, spring 2014.
“The Lesson of Connaught Place: Letter from New Delhi,” Confrontation Online, February 2014.
“Fly Me to the Moon,” Ideagems, winter 2013.
“Voices from the Streets,” Confrontation, fall 2013.
“Persona Non Grata: Globetrotting in the Security Age,” Confrontation Online, October 2013.
“The Illusion of Security—and the Security of Illusion,” Confrontation Online, posted May 2013.
“The Morning After: Letter from Dubai,” Confrontation Online, April 2013. Reprinted in Confrontation, spring 2013.
“The View from Vali Asr,” Confrontation Online, March 2013.
“Letter from Lisbon: West Meets East,” Confrontation Online, February 2013.
“Letter from Dubrovnik,” Sewanee Review, winter 2012.
“Letter from Dubai: The Day After, the Way Forward,” Confrontation, fall 2012.
“A Tour of Iran: They Love Americans Here and Want You to Know It,” Atlantic Online, posted June 6, 2012.
“To Catch a Thief: Letter from Aswan,” Commonweal, April 17, 2012.
“The Persian Version,” Commonweal, March 4, 2012.
“Letter from Moldova,” Commonweal, October 25, 2011.
“Night Dreams in Esfahan,” Commonweal, June 18, 2011.
“Right/Rite of Passage,” Sewanee Review, fall 2011.
“Faces of Terror,” Sewanee Review, spring 2010.
“Letter from Tehran,” Michigan Quarterly Review, winter 2010.
“Talking with the Enemy,” Commonweal, October 2009.
“Riding with Abdul,” Commonweal, May 2009.
“Letter from Dubai,” The American Scholar, winter 2008. Reprinted in Globalizations (essay anthology), published by Oxford University Press, 2011, and An Integrative Approach to Human Geography (essay anthology), published by University Readers.
“Letter from Cairo,” Michigan Quarterly Review, fall 2008. Also contributed the cover photo.
"Van Oord Builds the Foundation for Dubai's Growth in the Gulf," The Gulf News, special "Netherlands" magazine supplement, June 30, 2005.
“A Border Crossing,” Sewanee Review, September 2000.
“Let Your Fingers Do the Painting Like the Yellow Races,” My Life, My Way, Tokyo, Japan, June 2000.
‘Short Circuit for Dairyland Power,” Iowa Sierran, spring 2000.
“Merrimac’s Ferry: A Landmark on the Water,” La Crosse Tribune, April 15, 2000.
“The Day the Miners Went Away,” Free Environment, May 1998.
“Wisconsin’s Flambeau River Is Scenic and Precarious,” Des Moines Register, travel section, July 7, 1997.
“Drown in Your Beer at La Crosse Oktoberfest,’ La Crosse Tribune, November 4, 1996.
“Footloose Down the Kaibab,” Iowa Climber, September 1995.
U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT PUBLICATIONS
“U.S. Woman, UAE Partner to Protect Abused Women,” Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, International Information Programs, May 2007.
“The U.S. and UAE Partner to Fight Breast Cancer in the Gulf,” Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, International Information Programs, December 2007.
“The U.S. Promotes Businesswomen in the UAE,” Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, International Information Programs, December 2007.
“American Studies Contributes to Global Awareness at the American University of Sharjah,” Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, International Information Programs, July 2006.
“Hollywood Festival Showcases Works of UAE Film Students,” Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, International Information Programs, July 2006.
“U.S. Offers English to U.A.E. Students with Limited Education Opportunity,” Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, International Information Programs, May 2006.
“U.S. Provides Training for Arab Journalists in United Arab Emirates,” Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, International Information Programs, May 2006.
“U.S. Provides Training for Arab Journalists in United Arab Emirates,” Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, International Information Programs, May 2006.
"U.S. Offers English to UAE Students with Limited Education Opportunity," Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, International Information Programs, May 2006.
"English for Journalists Enhances Cultural Communication in the United Arab Emirates," Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, International Information Programs, April 2006.
"U.S.-backed Program Helps Middle East Youngsters Toward Business Careers," Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, International Information Programs, January 2006.
“U.S., UAE Partner in Humanitarian Relief," International Information Programs, Bureau of
Near Eastern Affairs, December 2005.
"Corporate Citizenship Is the Way of Doing Business in the Gulf," Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, International Information Programs, June 2005.
"U.S. Education and Islamic Values Find Comfortable Balance at the American University of Sharjah," Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, International Information Programs, June 2005.
"American University in Dubai Popularizes U.S. Education in the UAE," Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, International Information Programs, June 2005.
"Harvard Medical School Prescribes Health Care for Dubai," Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, International Information Programs, March 2005.
"Arab American Institute Celebrates Political Involvement at the Democratic National Convention," Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, International Information Programs, July 2004.
"Arab American Institute Provides Civic Education for Arab Americans," Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, International Information Programs, July 2004.
"Arab Americans in Civic Life: A New Story—Retold," Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, International Information Programs, June 2004.
"Arab Music Draws Crowds in Cambridge, Massachusetts," Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, International Information Programs, April 2004.
"Interest Grows in Middle Eastern Studies," Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, International Information Programs, April 2004.
"Muslim, Arab Student Associations Bridge Cultures in Boston," Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, International Information Programs, March 2004.
"Bridging the Cultural Divide at Boston's Hospitals," Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, International Information Programs, February 2004.
MEDIA EXPERIENCE
U.S. State Department, Washington, D.C.; special correspondent, International Information Programs. Contributed feature stories on Arab/Muslim life in America and on topics relevant to UAE–US relations, posted on the department's Web site. 1/04 to 5/09.
Rolling Thunder Productions, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; wrote video script to highlight the educational curriculum and activities of the Lycée Libonais Francophone, a Lebanese–French school based in Dubai. 4/08 to 5/08.
Dubal Aluminum Company, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; researched and wrote the text for brochures that outline the company’s activities in its markets around the world. 8/05 to 4/06.
Van Oord Marine Contractors, Dubai, United Arab Emirates/Rotterdam, the Netherlands; wrote leaflets, brochure copy, and Web site text, promoting the company’s marine reclamation projects in the Middle East. 4/05 to 8/05.
Barrow and Schuck Commercial Information Services, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; wrote articles for Shell in the Middle East magazine and Shell's Al Mahara newsletter. Took photographs to accompany articles. Also wrote other public relations material while coordinating the production process with the designer and production manager. 1/05 to 5/05.
SPI Books, New York, New York; edited and rewrote Secret Agenda (a novel), by Howard Schack; 6/00 to 8/00. Provided editorial feedback and copyediting for Sacred Quest: A Search for the Ark of the Covenant (a novel), by Howard Schack.