Nick Laird

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Nicholas 'Nick' Laird (Born 1975, Northern Ireland) is a novelist and poet. Born, and grew up, in Cookstown, County Tyrone. He studied at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, Cambridge, where he attained a first in English. He went on to work at the global law firm Allen & Overy in London for six years,[1] before leaving to concentrate on his writing. Since 2004, he has been married to novelist Zadie Smith,[1] whom he met while at Cambridge.

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[edit] Influences and themes

In a January, 2006 appearance on the Leonard Lopate Show, Laird explained how travelling out of Northern Ireland for an education in Cambridge had expanded his horizons and opened him up to opportunities that he believes would have otherwise been closed to him.

"I met a Jewish person for the first time. I met a black person for the first time." He also described the freedom that moving away from Northern Ireland gave to him with respect to adopting a new, or broader, identity. "It does mean freedom in a way to reinvent."

One of the themes in Laird's writing is the interpersonal relationships forged between men and women, and in the Lopate interview, he cited Ian McEwan and Nick Hornby as writers whom he admired for their ability to weave this element into their work.

He also cited the enduring influence of acclaimed Irish poet Seamus Heaney on his life and work, tracing his love of literature back to reading some of Heaney's early work, which he claimed "seems to be written out of the same place that you live."

[edit] Published works

As of 2007, he has written a novel, Utterly Monkey, and two prize winning books of poems, To a Fault and On Purpose.

[edit] Utterly Monkey

Utterly Monkey is an (arguably) semi-autobiographical work that questions the notion of loyalty: where our loyalties actually lie, and where perhaps they should. It was published in May 2005 by Fourth Estate. It follows the relationship of two childhood friends from Northern Ireland.

One of them, Danny, grew up to be a lawyer after attaining an education in London, while the other, Geordie, works as a labourer, and did not pursue extensive studies after school. Nick Laird has described Geordie as "more feckless than Danny," and "a kind of a drifter."

Another aspect of the novel concerns Danny's romantic interest in a colleague at his law firm, Ellen, a black woman. Despite the superficial similarities between his life and that of his protagonist, Laird denies that this novel is autobiographical in nature, claiming that "it's just not," in the above-mentioned interview on the Leonard Lopate Show.

The novel also explores the endemic inter- and intrasectarian political and military conflict within Northern Ireland known as The Troubles. When asked whether or not Americans are able to comprehend and identify with the experiences of people in Northern Ireland, Laird replied that "I think they can, but I don't think they do," and cited the "low level of discourse" that he has encountered in regard to this subject when he travels to America. [2]

[edit] To a Fault

To a Fault is his first collection of poems, and was nominated for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection. It explores the sharp edge of relationships against social and political backdrops; 'the fault' that unites the poems lying in the paradoxes of relationships: needing to remain both in and outside; desiring the security of home but the excitement of flight. To a Fault was published by Faber and Faber in January 2005.

[edit] On Purpose

On Purpose is his follow-up book of poems, published also by Faber and Faber in 2007.

[edit] Recognition and prizes

To a Fault and Utterly Monkey were both long listed for the inaugural 2006 Dylan Thomas Prize. To a Fault won the 2005 Jerwood Aldeburgh Prize, the 2005 Ireland Chair for Poetry Award and the 2006 Rupert and Eithne Strong Award. It was also shortlisted for the 2005 Forward Poetry Prize for First Collection and longlisted for the Guardian First Book Award.

Laird was also the recipient of the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature in 2005.

Utterly Monkey won a Betty Trask Award for best first novel in 2005. It was also shortlisted for the Commonwealth best first novel award, the Irish novel of the year award, and the Kerry Group Listowel Fiction prize.

[edit] See also

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