Paul McDonald (writer)

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]

Paul McDonald
Paul McDonald
Born
Walsall
NationalityEnglish
Known forWriter and academic

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)

Philosophy
  • The Philosophy of Humour (2013)

As Editor
  • Loffing Matters (2006)
  • The Tipping Point (2012)
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References
  1. Literary Heritage West Midlands Author Unnamed, page entry 2002. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. 'Review of Surviving Sting' by Rachel Taylor, FictionNet, 2001. http://www.fiction-net.com/authors/paul-mcdonald.htm
  3. '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
  4. ‘In Conversation with Author and Lecturer Paul McDonald’ Transition/Tradition, 7 December 2008 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. 'Escape from Walsall.' Anita Sethi. Times Literary Supplement, 21 May 2004 (19–20).
  6. 'Melvyn Bragg's Travels in Written Britain: The Midlands’ Author Unnamed, The Telegraph, 12 July 2007. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3674756/Melvyn-Braggs-Travels-in-Written-Britain-The-Midlands.html
  7. 'Review of Kiss Me Softly Amy Turtle' by Jodie Hamilton, Ready Steady Book, 12 April 2005 http://www.readysteadybook.com/BookReview.aspx?isbn=0954130375
  8. 'Saving the Hapless Male' by Toby Clements The Telegraph, 20 September 2008. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/fictionreviews/3560966/Saving-the-hapless-male.html
  9. ‘Do I Love You: Paul McDonald’ By Cahir O'Doherty. Irish Central, March 7th, 2010
  10. 'Catch a Falling Tortoise.' Caroline Clark, gwales.com 7 September 2007. http://www.gwales.com/bibliographic/?isbn=9781905614226
  11. 'Appointments' Unnamed Author, Times Higher Educational Supplement, 4 October 2012 http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/421364.article
  12. '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
  13. ‘Of Roth and Walsall’ By Jonathan Williams, The Student Times, 3 Nov, 08 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. 'The World's Oldest Joke Revealed by University Research.'Stephen Adams, The Telegraph. 31 July 2008 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2479730/The-worlds-oldest-jokes-revealed-by-university-research.html
  15. ‘World’s Oldest Joke Traced Back to 1900 BC’ John Joseph, Reuters Website 31 July 2008. http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKL044518220080730
  16. ‘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
  17. 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/
  • 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.
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