Robert McLiam Wilson
Robert McLiam Wilson | |
|---|---|
 Belfast-born author, Robert McLiam Wilson | |
| Born | Robert Wilson 24 February 1964 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Occupation | Novelist, journalist |
| Language | English |
| Education | St Malachy's College; St Catharine's College, Cambridge |
| Genre | Crime, Thriller, Satire |
| Notable works | Ripley Bogle, Eureka Street |
| Notable awards | Betty Trask Award; Rooney Prize |
Robert McLiam Wilson (born Robert Wilson, 24 February 1964) [1][2] is a Northern Irish novelist.
Biography
[edit]He was born in the New Lodge district of Belfast and then moved to Turf Lodge and other places in the city.[3]
He attended St Malachy's College and studied English at St Catharine's College, Cambridge;[4] however, he dropped out[5][6] and, for a short time, was homeless.[6] This period of his life profoundly affected his later life and influenced his works.[5]
Wilson moved to Paris where he writes for Charlie Hebdo and Libération.[6] He also writes occasionally for The Guardian, Corriere della Sera and Le Monde.
Work
[edit]McLiam Wilson has written three novels: Ripley Bogle (1989), Manfred's Pain (1992), Eureka Street (1996)[2]
Ripley Bogle is a novel about a homeless man in London. Eureka Street focuses on the lives of two Belfast friends, one Catholic and one Protestant, shortly before and after the IRA ceasefires in 1994. A BBC TV adaptation of Eureka Street was broadcast in 1999.[5]
He is also the author of a non-fiction book about poverty, The Dispossessed (1992),[2] and has made television documentaries for the BBC. His next novel, Extremists, has been postponed again and again.
Critical review
[edit]His work has been described as 'strikingly original'[7] and as 'one of the most influential literary voices to emerge from Northern Ireland since the Troubles began [who has] challenged the understanding of contemporary Irishness'.[8]
Awards
[edit]In 2003, he was named by Granta magazine as one of 20 "Best of Young British Novelists", despite the fact that he has not published new work in English since 1996.[2]
Ripley Bogle won the Rooney Prize and the Hughes Prize in 1989, and a Betty Trask Award and the Irish Book Award in 1990.[2]
Biblio
[edit]- Ripley Bogle (1989)
- Manfred's Pain (1992)
- Eureka Street (1996)
External links
[edit]- Collection of Wilson's columns and articles in Charlie Hebdo (In English).
- The scurrilous lies written about Charlie Hebdo, The Guardian
- The solace of an Australian summer when cricket brought hope and light, The Guardian
References
[edit]- ^ Troubles Archive
- ^ a b c d e "Robert McLiam Wilson". contemporarywriters. Archived from the original on 3 October 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
- ^ "I've always been very anti-IRA and anti-nationalist... but there can't be a comparison with Isis sociopaths". Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- ^ Goodreads: Robert McLiam Wilson (Author of Eureka Street)
- ^ a b c "Eureka Street and me Robert McLiam Wilson has put a lot of himself into Eureka Street, his novel and now TV drama". Evening Standard. 8 September 1999. Retrieved 1 January 2011.[dead link]
- ^ a b c Jarlath Regan (30 January 2016). "Robert McLiam Wilson". An Irishman Abroad (Podcast) (124 ed.). SoundCloud. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- ^ Farquharson, Danine (2005). "The language of violence in Robert McLiam Wilson's Eureka Street". New Hobernia Review. 9 (4): 65–78. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ^ Hicks, Patrick (2008). "The failure of parenting and the success of love in Robert McLiam Wilson's Ripley Bogle and Eureka Street". Irish Studies Review. 16 (2): 131–141. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- 1964 births
- Living people
- Male novelists from Northern Ireland
- British satirists
- British columnists
- British satirical novelists
- British journalists
- Male journalists from Northern Ireland
- Writers from Belfast
- People educated at St Malachy's College
- Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge
- Charlie Hebdo people