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William Wall (writer)

January 01, 1970

For other people named William Wall, see William Wall (disambiguation).

William "Bill" Wall (born 6 July 1955) is an Irish novelist, poet and short story writer.

William Wall
Born (1955-07-06) 6 July 1955 (age 68)
Cork City, Ireland
OccupationNovelist, poet
NationalityIrish
Alma materUniversity College Cork
Notable worksThis Is The Country, Alice Falling, No Paradiso, Mathematics & Other Poems
Website
williamwall.net

Early life and education edit

Wall was born in Cork city in 1955, but he was raised in the coastal village of Whitegate. He received his secondary education at the Christian Brothers School in Midleton. He progressed to University College Cork where he graduated in Philosophy and English.

Career edit

William Wall is the author of seven novels, five collections of poetry and three volumes of short stories. For many years he taught English at Presentation Brothers College, Cork, where he inspired Cillian Murphy to enter acting.[1]

In 1997, Wall won the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award. He published his first collection of poetry in that year. His first novel, Alice Falling, a dark study of power and abuse in modern-day Ireland, appeared in 2000.

In 2005, This Is The Country appeared. A broad attack on politics in "Celtic Tiger" Ireland,[2] as well as a rite of passage novel, it was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards. It can be read as a satirical allegory on corruption, the link between capitalism and liberal democracy exemplified in the 'entrepreneurial' activities of minor drug dealers and gangsters, and reflected in the architecture of business parks and sink estates. This political writing takes the form of "an insightful and robust social conscience", in the words of academic John Kenny.[3] Dr Kenny also focused on what he saw as Wall's "baneful take on the Irish family, his fundamentally anti-idyllic mood" which has "not entirely endeared Wall to the more misty-eyed among his readers at home or abroad".[3] The political is also in evidence in his second collection of poetry Fahrenheit Says Nothing To Me. He is not a member of Aosdána, the Irish organisation for writers and artists. In 2006, his first collection of short fiction, No Paradiso, appeared. In 2017, he became the first European to win the Drue Heinz Literature Prize.[4]

In 2022 he published his seventh novel. It appeared in Italian translation first as La Ballata Del Letto Vuoto, with the English original due to be published in 2023. He has described the Italian debut as 'an experiment that so far has gone well'.

His provocative political blog, The Ice Moon, has increasingly featured harsh criticism of the Irish government over their handling of the economy, as well as reviews of mainly left-wing books and movies. He writes for literary journals such as Studi Irlandesi [5]. His work has been translated into several languages.

He was one of the Irish delegates at the European Writers Conference in Istanbul in 2010.[6]

Critical response to his work edit

Described by writer Kate Atkinson as "lyrical and cruel and bold and with metaphors to die for", critics have focused on Wall's mastery of language, his gift for "linguistic compression",[3] his "poet's gift for apposite, wry observation, dialogue and character",[7] his "unflinching frankness"[8] and his "laser-like ... dissection of human frailties",[9] which is counterbalanced by "the depth of feeling that Wall invests in his work".[8] A New Yorker review of his first novel declares "Wall, who is also a poet, writes prose so charged—at once lyrical and syncopated—that it's as if Cavafy had decided to write about a violent Irish household".[10] In a recent review, his long poem "Job in Heathrow", anthologised in The Forward Book of Poetry 2010 but originally published in The SHOp,[11] was described as "a chilling airport dystopia".[12] Poet Fred Johnston suggests that Wall's poetry sets out to "list the shelves of disillusion under which a thinking man can be buried".[13] "His apocalyptic vision of the ecological demise of our planet is suffused with humility and resignation where the global catastrophe is transformed "into a universal truth / the days are shorter / today than yesterday"",[14] according to Borbála Faragó. For Philip Coleman "Ghost Estate is a deeply political book, but it also articulates a profound interest in and engagement with questions of aesthetics and poetics".[15]

Personal life edit

Wall is a longtime sufferer from Still's disease[16] and described his efforts to circumvent the disabling effects of the disease using speech-to-text applications as "a battle between me and the software".[17]

Publications edit

Novels edit

  • Empty Bed Blues (New Island, Dublin – 2023) ISBN 978-1848408838
  • La Ballata del Letto Vuoto (Nutrimenti, Rome – 2022) ISBN 978-88-6594-902-3
  • Suzy Suzy (Head of Zeus, London – 2019, TBD) ISBN 978-1-78854-549-5
  • Grace's Day (Head of Zeus, London – 2018, TBD) ISBN 978-1-78854-547-1
  • This Is The Country (Sceptre, London – 2005, TBD) ISBN 0-340-82215-5
  • The Map of Tenderness (Sceptre, London – 2002) ISBN 0-340-82214-7
  • Minding Children (Sceptre, London – 2001) ISBN 0-340-75188-6
  • Alice Falling (Sceptre, London, and WW Norton, New York – 2000) ISBN 0-340-75187-8

Poetry edit

Short stories collections edit

References edit

  1. ^ "About The Site And Actor!". cillianmurphy.weebly.com. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  2. ^ McEwan, Todd (25 June 2005). "Across the great divide". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 December 2017. Review of This is the Country.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  3. ^ a b c Kenny, John (14 May 2005). "Craving the Normal" (PDF). The Irish Times. Vol. Weekend, no. 13. Retrieved 27 December 2017 – via library.nuigalway.ie. Review of This is the Country.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  4. ^ "Cork World Book Festival 2022 opens with a Conversation between Dr Heather Laird and Author Jan Carson". University College Cork. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Water and its (Dis)Contents". Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  6. ^ Wall, William (1 December 2010). "The Complexity of Others: The Istanbul Declaration of The European Writers' Conference". Irish Left Review. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  7. ^ "Review: This Is the Country by William Wall | Books". The Guardian. London. 10 August 2005. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  8. ^ a b Fox, Killian (27 August 2006). "Observer review: Mothers and Sons | No Paradiso". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  9. ^ "The Best Fiction of 2000". Los Angeles Times. 3 December 2000. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  10. ^ "Briefly Noted: Briefly Noted". The New Yorker. 7 January 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  11. ^ Erwin Hofmann / Ballydehob / Ireland. "THE SHOp a Magazine of Poetry". theshop-poetry-magazine.ie. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  12. ^ Tonkin, Boyd (9 October 2009). "Forward Book of Poetry 2010 – Reviews, Books". The Independent. London. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  13. ^ Johnston, Fred (2006). "Longing for Readings". The Poetry Ireland Review (85): 91–95. JSTOR 25580705.
  14. ^ "salmonpoetry.com – Ghost Estate by William Wall". www.salmonpoetry.com. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  15. ^ "Ghost Estate reviewed in Southword 21". www.munsterlit.ie. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  16. ^ . The Sunday Business Post. Thomas Crosbie Media. 17 July 2002. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2010 – via tcm.ie.
  17. ^ "Disabling barriers to creativity". The Irish Times. 21 September 2010. Retrieved 5 December 2010.

External links edit

  • Official website
  • Interview (March 2010) and hear him reading from his novels at podcasts.ie
  • William Wall at The Other Voice International Project
  • William Wall at The Munster Literature Centre
  • Mathematics & Other Poems or here at Irish Literary Revival
  • at tcm.ie
  • Interview by William Stabile
  • (archived)
  • William Wall at Three Monkeys Online

January 01, 1970
william, wall, writer, other, people, named, william, wall, william, wall, disambiguation, william, bill, wall, born, july, 1955, irish, novelist, poet, short, story, writer, william, wallborn, 1955, july, 1955, cork, city, irelandoccupationnovelist, poetnatio. For other people named William Wall see William Wall disambiguation William Bill Wall born 6 July 1955 is an Irish novelist poet and short story writer William WallBorn 1955 07 06 6 July 1955 age 68 Cork City IrelandOccupationNovelist poetNationalityIrishAlma materUniversity College CorkNotable worksThis Is The Country Alice Falling No Paradiso Mathematics amp Other PoemsWebsitewilliamwall wbr net Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 3 Critical response to his work 4 Personal life 5 Publications 5 1 Novels 5 2 Poetry 5 3 Short stories collections 6 References 7 External linksEarly life and education editWall was born in Cork city in 1955 but he was raised in the coastal village of Whitegate He received his secondary education at the Christian Brothers School in Midleton He progressed to University College Cork where he graduated in Philosophy and English Career editWilliam Wall is the author of seven novels five collections of poetry and three volumes of short stories For many years he taught English at Presentation Brothers College Cork where he inspired Cillian Murphy to enter acting 1 In 1997 Wall won the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award He published his first collection of poetry in that year His first novel Alice Falling a dark study of power and abuse in modern day Ireland appeared in 2000 In 2005 This Is The Country appeared A broad attack on politics in Celtic Tiger Ireland 2 as well as a rite of passage novel it was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards It can be read as a satirical allegory on corruption the link between capitalism and liberal democracy exemplified in the entrepreneurial activities of minor drug dealers and gangsters and reflected in the architecture of business parks and sink estates This political writing takes the form of an insightful and robust social conscience in the words of academic John Kenny 3 Dr Kenny also focused on what he saw as Wall s baneful take on the Irish family his fundamentally anti idyllic mood which has not entirely endeared Wall to the more misty eyed among his readers at home or abroad 3 The political is also in evidence in his second collection of poetry Fahrenheit Says Nothing To Me He is not a member of Aosdana the Irish organisation for writers and artists In 2006 his first collection of short fiction No Paradiso appeared In 2017 he became the first European to win the Drue Heinz Literature Prize 4 In 2022 he published his seventh novel It appeared in Italian translation first as La Ballata Del Letto Vuoto with the English original due to be published in 2023 He has described the Italian debut as an experiment that so far has gone well His provocative political blog The Ice Moon has increasingly featured harsh criticism of the Irish government over their handling of the economy as well as reviews of mainly left wing books and movies He writes for literary journals such as Studi Irlandesi 5 His work has been translated into several languages He was one of the Irish delegates at the European Writers Conference in Istanbul in 2010 6 Critical response to his work editDescribed by writer Kate Atkinson as lyrical and cruel and bold and with metaphors to die for critics have focused on Wall s mastery of language his gift for linguistic compression 3 his poet s gift for apposite wry observation dialogue and character 7 his unflinching frankness 8 and his laser like dissection of human frailties 9 which is counterbalanced by the depth of feeling that Wall invests in his work 8 A New Yorker review of his first novel declares Wall who is also a poet writes prose so charged at once lyrical and syncopated that it s as if Cavafy had decided to write about a violent Irish household 10 In a recent review his long poem Job in Heathrow anthologised in The Forward Book of Poetry 2010 but originally published in The SHOp 11 was described as a chilling airport dystopia 12 Poet Fred Johnston suggests that Wall s poetry sets out to list the shelves of disillusion under which a thinking man can be buried 13 His apocalyptic vision of the ecological demise of our planet is suffused with humility and resignation where the global catastrophe is transformed into a universal truth the days are shorter today than yesterday 14 according to Borbala Farago For Philip Coleman Ghost Estate is a deeply political book but it also articulates a profound interest in and engagement with questions of aesthetics and poetics 15 Personal life editWall is a longtime sufferer from Still s disease 16 and described his efforts to circumvent the disabling effects of the disease using speech to text applications as a battle between me and the software 17 Publications editNovels edit Empty Bed Blues New Island Dublin 2023 ISBN 978 1848408838 La Ballata del Letto Vuoto Nutrimenti Rome 2022 ISBN 978 88 6594 902 3 Suzy Suzy Head of Zeus London 2019 TBD ISBN 978 1 78854 549 5 Grace s Day Head of Zeus London 2018 TBD ISBN 978 1 78854 547 1 This Is The Country Sceptre London 2005 TBD ISBN 0 340 82215 5 The Map of Tenderness Sceptre London 2002 ISBN 0 340 82214 7 Minding Children Sceptre London 2001 ISBN 0 340 75188 6 Alice Falling Sceptre London and WW Norton New York 2000 ISBN 0 340 75187 8 Poetry edit Smugglers In The Underground Hug Trade Doire Press Galway Ireland 2021 ISBN 978 1 907682 83 4 The Yellow House Salmon Poetry Cliffs of Moher Ireland 2018 ISBN 978 1 910669 87 7 Ghost Estate Salmon Poetry Cliffs of Moher Ireland 2011 ISBN 978 1 907056 70 3 Fahrenheit Says Nothing To Me Dedalus Press Dublin Ireland 2004 ISBN 1 904556 21 3 Mathematics And Other Poems Collins Press Cork Ireland 1997 ISBN 1 898256 26 8 Short stories collections edit No Paradiso Brandon Books Daingean Ireland 2006 ISBN 0 86322 355 9 Hearing Voices Seeing Thing Doire Press Inverin Ireland 2016 ISBN 978 1 907682 44 5 The Islands University of Pittsburgh Press Pittsburgh PA 2017 ISBN 978 0 8229 4519 2References edit About The Site And Actor cillianmurphy weebly com Retrieved 27 December 2017 McEwan Todd 25 June 2005 Across the great divide The Guardian Retrieved 27 December 2017 Review of This is the Country a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint postscript link a b c Kenny John 14 May 2005 Craving the Normal PDF The Irish Times Vol Weekend no 13 Retrieved 27 December 2017 via library nuigalway ie Review of This is the Country a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint postscript link Cork World Book Festival 2022 opens with a Conversation between Dr Heather Laird and Author Jan Carson University College Cork 11 August 2017 Retrieved 15 May 2022 Water and its Dis Contents Retrieved 19 March 2023 Wall William 1 December 2010 The Complexity of Others The Istanbul Declaration of The European Writers Conference Irish Left Review Retrieved 1 December 2010 Review This Is the Country by William Wall Books The Guardian London 10 August 2005 Retrieved 5 December 2010 a b Fox Killian 27 August 2006 Observer review Mothers and Sons No Paradiso The Guardian London Retrieved 5 December 2010 The Best Fiction of 2000 Los Angeles Times 3 December 2000 Retrieved 5 December 2010 Briefly Noted Briefly Noted The New Yorker 7 January 2009 Retrieved 5 December 2010 Erwin Hofmann Ballydehob Ireland THE SHOp a Magazine of Poetry theshop poetry magazine ie Retrieved 5 December 2010 Tonkin Boyd 9 October 2009 Forward Book of Poetry 2010 Reviews Books The Independent London Retrieved 5 December 2010 Johnston Fred 2006 Longing for Readings The Poetry Ireland Review 85 91 95 JSTOR 25580705 salmonpoetry com Ghost Estate by William Wall www salmonpoetry com Retrieved 22 April 2018 Ghost Estate reviewed in Southword 21 www munsterlit ie Retrieved 22 April 2018 Wall of pain and tenderness Interview with William Wall The Sunday Business Post Thomas Crosbie Media 17 July 2002 Archived from the original on 29 September 2007 Retrieved 5 December 2010 via tcm ie Disabling barriers to creativity The Irish Times 21 September 2010 Retrieved 5 December 2010 External links editOfficial website Interview March 2010 and hear him reading from his novels at podcasts ie William Wall at The Other Voice International Project William Wall at The Munster Literature Centre Mathematics amp Other Poems or here at Irish Literary Revival Interview with William Wall at tcm ie Interview by William Stabile William Wall s What Slim boy O Pyrrha archived William Wall at Three Monkeys Online Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Wall writer amp oldid 1213146076, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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