Paul McDonald (writer)
Paul McDonald |
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Paul McDonald |
Born |
Walsall |
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Nationality |
English |
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Known for |
Writer and academic |
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Paul McDonald (born 1961 in Walsall) is a British academic, comic novelist, and poet.[1] He teaches English and American Literature at the University of Wolverhampton, where he also runs the Creative and Professional Writing Programme. He left school at 16 and began work as a saddlemaker, an occupation that provides the backdrop for his first novel, Surviving Sting (2001).[2] After a period studying with the Open University, McDonald entered full-time education at Birmingham Polytechnic where he began writing fiction, initially producing stories for the women's romance market under a female pseudonym.[3] He later won a scholarship to research a PhD, and in 1994 took an academic post teaching American literature at the University of Wolverhampton.[4] His second novel, Kiss Me Softly, Amy Turtle (2004) is a comic mystery satirising the Midlands town of Walsall,[5][6][7] while his third, Do I Love You? (2008), takes Northern Soul as its theme.[8][9] His poetry began appearing in the early 1990s and embraces a range of themes and styles. Again humour is a feature, as is surrealism, but he also writes serious love poetry, and verse about art and travel. His most recent collections are Catch a Falling Tortoise (2007) and An Artist Goes Bananas (2012).[10] McDonald's poetry has won several prizes, including the 2012 John Clare Prize.[11] His academic writing includes books on Philip Roth, Joseph Heller, the fiction of The Black Country, and humour.[12][13] As a humour specialist he has made several TV appearances, including BBC Breakfast and The One Show, and he is credited with identifying the oldest joke in the world.[14][15][16] He discusses the latter, and some of the ideas contained in his book The Philosophy of Humour with Michael Grade in the BBC documentary, Michael Grade & The World's Oldest Joke.[17]
Bibliography
Poetry
- The Right Suggestion (1999)
- Catch a Falling Tortoise (2007)
- An Artist Goes Bananas (2012)
Novels
- Surviving Sting (2001)
- Kiss Me Softly, Amy Turtle (2004)
- Do I Love You? (2008)
Criticism
- Fiction from the Furnace (2002)
- Students Guide to Philip Roth (2003)
- Laughing at the Darkness (2011)
- Reading Catch-22 (2012)
- Reading Toni Morrison's Beloved (2013)
Philosophy
- The Philosophy of Humour (2013)
As Editor
- Loffing Matters (2006)
- The Tipping Point (2012)
References
- ↑ Literary Heritage West Midlands Author Unnamed, page entry 2002. http://www3.shropshire-cc.gov.uk/tindal.htm
- ↑ 'Review of Surviving Sting' by Rachel Taylor, FictionNet, 2001. http://www.fiction-net.com/authors/paul-mcdonald.htm
- ↑ 'The Perils of Love in the Raunchy, Rude, Violent, Badlands of Walsall.' by
Richard Williamson. The Sunday Mercury October, 7th, 2001.http://www.thefreelibrary.com/STREETHEARTS%3B+The+perils+of+love+in+the+raunchy,+rude,+violent,...-a078970400
- ↑ ‘In Conversation with Author and Lecturer Paul McDonald’ Transition/Tradition, 7 December 2008 http://www.transitiontradition.com/node/194
- ↑ 'Escape from Walsall.' Anita Sethi. Times Literary Supplement, 21 May 2004 (19–20).
- ↑ 'Melvyn Bragg's Travels in Written Britain: The Midlands’ Author Unnamed, The Telegraph, 12 July 2007. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3674756/Melvyn-Braggs-Travels-in-Written-Britain-The-Midlands.html
- ↑ 'Review of Kiss Me Softly Amy Turtle' by Jodie Hamilton, Ready Steady Book, 12 April 2005
http://www.readysteadybook.com/BookReview.aspx?isbn=0954130375
- ↑ 'Saving the Hapless Male' by Toby Clements The Telegraph, 20 September 2008. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/fictionreviews/3560966/Saving-the-hapless-male.html
- ↑ ‘Do I Love You: Paul McDonald’ By Cahir O'Doherty. Irish Central, March 7th, 2010
- ↑ 'Catch a Falling Tortoise.' Caroline Clark, gwales.com 7 September 2007. http://www.gwales.com/bibliographic/?isbn=9781905614226
- ↑ 'Appointments' Unnamed Author, Times Higher Educational Supplement, 4 October 2012 http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/421364.article
- ↑ 'From Saddles to Chuckles' By Chris Osborne. BBC Black Country Webstite, January 2008. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blackcountry/content/articles/2007/01/15/paul_mcdonald_feature.shtml
- ↑ ‘Of Roth and Walsall’ By Jonathan Williams, The Student Times, 3 Nov, 08
- ↑ 'The World's Oldest Joke Revealed by University Research.'Stephen Adams, The Telegraph. 31 July 2008
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2479730/The-worlds-oldest-jokes-revealed-by-university-research.html
- ↑ ‘World’s Oldest Joke Traced Back to 1900 BC’ John Joseph, Reuters Website 31 July 2008. http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKL044518220080730
- ↑ ‘Flatulence joke is world's oldest’ Unnamed Author. BBC News Website Friday, 1 August 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7536918.stm
- ↑ Michael Grade & The World's Oldest Joke Broadcast: 6 March 201(BBC Four). See: http://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/tv/michael_grade_oldest_joke/
External links
- Publisher's Website (fiction)
- Publisher's Website (poetry)
- University of Wolverhampton Staff Page
- An Independent on Sunday article in which Paul McDonald discusses humour
- A Birmingham Post article in which Paul McDonald gives advice on how to write humour.