Paul McDonald (writer) explained
| Paul McDonald |
| Birth Place: | Walsall, England |
| Nationality: | English |
| Known For: | Writer and academic |
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, McDonald has made several TV appearances, including on 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)
- Rimbaud's Hair (2017)
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)
- Storytelling (2014)
- Philip Roth Through the Lens of Kepesh (2016)
- The Enigmas of Confinement (2018)
- Lydia Davis: A Study (2019)
- Allen Ginsberg:Cosmopolitan Comic (2020)
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. Web site: Tindal Street Press . 2012-09-24 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120728153718/http://www3.shropshire-cc.gov.uk/tindal.htm . 28 July 2012 . dmy-all .
- Rachel Taylor, "Review of Surviving Sting", FictionNet, 2001.
- Richard Williamson, "The Perils of Love in the Raunchy, Rude, Violent, Badlands of Walsall", The Sunday Mercury, 7 October 2001.
- Web site: In Conversation with Author and Lecturer Paul McDonald . Transition/Tradition. 7 December 2008. 2010-11-22 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110717085032/http://www.transitiontradition.com/node/194 . 17 July 2011 . dmy-all .
- [Anita Sethi]
- https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3674756/Melvyn-Braggs-Travels-in-Written-Britain-The-Midlands.html "Melvyn Bragg's Travels in Written Britain: The Midlands"
- Jodie Hamilton, "Review of Kiss Me Softly Amy Turtle", Ready Steady Book, 12 April 2005.
- Toby Clements, "Saving the Hapless Male", The Telegraph, 20 September 2008.
- Cahir O'Doherty, "Do I Love You: Paul McDonald", Irish Central, March 7th, 2010.
- Caroline Clark, "Catch a Falling Tortoise", gwales.com 7 September 2007.
- http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/421364.article "Appointments"
- Chris Osborne, "From Saddles to Chuckles", BBC Black Country Website, January 2008.
- Jonathan Williams, "Of Roth and Walsall", The Student Times, 3 November 2008 Web site: Student Times | Entertainment: Books Interviews | of Roth and Walsall . 2010-11-22 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110728065830/http://studenttimes.org/st_culture/book_article.php?article_id=316 . 28 July 2011 . dmy-all .
- Stephen Adams, "The World's Oldest Joke Revealed by University Research", The Telegraph. 31 July 2008.
- John Joseph, "World's Oldest Joke Traced Back to 1900 BC", Reuters Website, 31 July 2008.
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7536918.stm "Flatulence joke is world's oldest"
- http://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/tv/michael_grade_oldest_joke/ Michael Grade & The World's Oldest Joke
External links
