Talk:Will Self

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[edit] "Highly Articulate"??

This reads so much like a fan review. He's definitely verboise, and has a pompous schoolboyish habit of trying to make himself sound more intelligent than he is, but is no more articulate than any university graduate I know. Put him next to, say, Gore Vidal or Julian Barnes and he sounds like an insecure windbag.


[edit] Search

I'm concerned that this entry cannot be found by the Wikipedia Search engine. Is it because the name is too short/words too common?

Will this be rectified in the future?

Looks like both "will" and "self" are MySQL stop words, causing the search to fail. --Stephen Gilbert 14:47 Sep 19, 2002 (UTC)

It's a legitimate entry, this is the author's name. He wouldn't be recogised by users as William Self. - Greg Godwin


[edit] Drugs on Major's aeroplane

I'm not sure it's fair to say that WS first came to the public's attention with the election campaign affair, many people had actually read his books! This entry feels a bit tabloidish in its focus. GRAHAMUK 11:14, 9 Nov 2003 (UTC)

I've moved that section to the end- we should start with the important bit, i.e. the books. Markalexander100 05:40, 15 Apr 2004 (UTC)


was subsequently fired from the newspaper after taking heroin on the Prime Minister's jet. I don't think this is correct. I read the Guardian and the Observer, and have done for many years. As I remember it he was sacked because, when the allegations came to light, he denied it strenuously to his editor. The paper decided to back him, and printed an article calling the accuser a liar, based on Self's denial. When it came to light that he had indeed taken the drugs on the aeroplane the paper had no real choice, he had lied to them and they had stuck their neck out for him, only to be made to look like liars themselves. Alun 16:13, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Elf Swill

It maybe trivial to point out that elf swill is an anagram of his name - but not vandalism - POV is more to the point. Still it is interesting to see that his potato-salad prose and elvan humour are posited as sublated in his own name. Pliny 15:48, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Real name?

Is Will Self (or William Self) his real name? I had heard it was a pseudonym he came up with so his name would be listed as "Self Will" in card catalogs and the like. --Jfruh (talk) 20:21, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

Indeed. I must admit I have wondered about this also. Mujinga 23:36, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

At least, i have heard him on radio saying it was really his name. whether it was true or not...--AchilleT 22:13, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Disambiguation requested

We need a disambiguation page here. There are two notable William Selfs: The one currently featured in this article, and the noted organist William Self. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Deputydog23 (talk • contribs) .

If the organist goes by the name "William Self", then they can exist as "Will Self" and "William Self" articles, each having a disambiguation link to the other. "William Self" doesn't appear to have an entry on Wikipedia yet, though, so this is a bit premature. --McGeddon 02:14, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Renewed Call for Disambiguation

I have written an entry for the organist William Shuford Self (1906-1998), but can't see how I can enter it with the redirect in place and no disambiguation. The organist never used his middle name or initial, and I think he deserves the "William Self" name rather than the novelist Will Self, who as far as I can tell is never referred to as William. Any advice to a new contributor? NancePG 22:37, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

When you see "(Redirected from William Self)" on a redirected page, you can click the "William Self" to go back to that article without being redirected, and edit it from there. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Self&action=edit will take you straight to the edit, though. --McGeddon 23:12, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
Done, but you created a REDIRECT rather than a disambiguation page. Changed it as I think it should be. Hervegirod 21:57, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Not quite: I changed you redirect to a William Self page for the organist and put a disambiguation at the top for Will Self. Your solution is an improvement, and allows someone to create an entry for the actor and producer. NancePG 17:07, 3 February 2007 (UTC)
OK, I think it is better now !!! Hervegirod 21:29, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Making it better

Ok so I have begun adding a more thorough biography. It's not complete, but it is certainly an improvement. There are plently of links to fill in the gap of Self's life after graduation, plus more information can be added to what I've written about his youth.

User - Ascreavie.


[edit] Too many external links

This article seems to have rather too many external links, compared to other articles on living novelists. Can a senior editor take a look at this? Perhaps some should be converted into references, and some simply dropped.

wikibiohistory (talk) 11:48, 8 January 2008 (UTC)


[edit] Family

Just state the facts, we don't want a pointless tour through the pages of Burkes's Peerage. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.16.85.59 (talk) 22:37, 30 May 2008 (UTC)