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| My hero: Roddy Doyle by Kerry Hudson | My hero: Roddy Doyle by Kerry Hudson |
| (2 months later) | |
| Roddy Doyle is one of Ireland's greatest writers. He is also my favourite teacher. His books arrived when I needed them most and, like the best of educations, changed my perceptions and the course of my life. | Roddy Doyle is one of Ireland's greatest writers. He is also my favourite teacher. His books arrived when I needed them most and, like the best of educations, changed my perceptions and the course of my life. |
| Doyle started writing during his 14 years teaching, a job he loved. He described his pupils as entertaining and full of energy, and though he says his first unpublished novel, "Your Granny's a Hunger Striker", was "utter shite" he'd clearly learned from his mistakes by the time he self-published The Commitments in 1987. Just four years later The Van was shortlisted for the Booker prize. | Doyle started writing during his 14 years teaching, a job he loved. He described his pupils as entertaining and full of energy, and though he says his first unpublished novel, "Your Granny's a Hunger Striker", was "utter shite" he'd clearly learned from his mistakes by the time he self-published The Commitments in 1987. Just four years later The Van was shortlisted for the Booker prize. |
| His career now spans nearly three decades and includes not only novels, but short stories, screen and stage plays, and children's books. If that wasn't enough to keep a man busy, in 2008 he set up the blisteringly named Fighting Words, a charity running writing classes for disadvantaged kids in Dublin. He is no fan of the literary limelight or tortured artistic musing; his is a practical approach to his craft, working a nine-to-five day, usually on several projects. | His career now spans nearly three decades and includes not only novels, but short stories, screen and stage plays, and children's books. If that wasn't enough to keep a man busy, in 2008 he set up the blisteringly named Fighting Words, a charity running writing classes for disadvantaged kids in Dublin. He is no fan of the literary limelight or tortured artistic musing; his is a practical approach to his craft, working a nine-to-five day, usually on several projects. |
| I was 16 when I discovered The Commitments in the library on the edge of our council estate. It was the first time I'd read about the world I came from in a proper book; the wisecracks, hardmen, family ties, feuds and heartbreaks, and all portrayed with honesty, tenderness and decency. He'd created characters who were hard-up but still fighting, still laughing, who still had their dignity, though often not much else. | I was 16 when I discovered The Commitments in the library on the edge of our council estate. It was the first time I'd read about the world I came from in a proper book; the wisecracks, hardmen, family ties, feuds and heartbreaks, and all portrayed with honesty, tenderness and decency. He'd created characters who were hard-up but still fighting, still laughing, who still had their dignity, though often not much else. |
| Doyle's books have become my constant. As I raged, drank and hoped my way through my late teens, looking for answers, his stories offered them. In my 20s, and now, 30s, each of his books taught me important lessons: about writing, about life. He gave me permission to speak up, to recognise that stories from poorer streets too could spark and sing on the page. Though we've never met, he is still my most admired teacher. | Doyle's books have become my constant. As I raged, drank and hoped my way through my late teens, looking for answers, his stories offered them. In my 20s, and now, 30s, each of his books taught me important lessons: about writing, about life. He gave me permission to speak up, to recognise that stories from poorer streets too could spark and sing on the page. Though we've never met, he is still my most admired teacher. |
| • This article was amended on 21 July 2013. Initially we mistakenly referred to Roddy Doyle as a British writer, this was due to an error in the editing process. | • This article was amended on 21 July 2013. Initially we mistakenly referred to Roddy Doyle as a British writer, this was due to an error in the editing process. |
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