‘I JUST DIDN'T HAVE THE ST OMACH TO WRITE ANY MORE'
um’s the word
With a book of short stories out and letters from her mother to come next year, Laura Hird tells Brian Donaldson why she is pleased to be putting something back.
he image of the self-obsessed author
hammering away at their keyboard in pursuit
of their own lame and fortune is not one which Laura Hird would readily recognise. While she may not have produced a book since Barn l’raa in 199‘). the lidinburgh writer has been far from idle. She has set up her own website which has not simply consisted of her own musings with a picture gallery of ‘here‘s me at my posh reading’ or ‘hcre‘s me on holiday with my cats’ but has provided a platform for the best new Scottish and international writing. Plus. Hird teaches at the Arvon Foundation. the creative writing centre she has been connected to ever since she worked voluntarily as a teenager addressing envelopes for their newsletter.
There is another more personal reason why it has taken Hird such a lengthy period of time to get her work back on the shell'. ‘My mtun died jttst prior to Born Free being published and for a while I just didn‘t have the stomach to write any more.‘ she recalls. 'lt seemed insensitive to make characters tip when I should have spent more time getting to know my own parents better. We were very close but both my writing and life in general meant I wasn't always there for them when they needed tne.~ Perhaps as a way of thanking her mother for being a key inspiration. llird is releasing a book called Dear Laura early in 2007. ‘The book features letters my mum wrote to tne dttring the time I was a student in London in the late 1980s and early ‘)()s.’ Hird reveals. ‘At the time my friends and I would take turns and read them out loud to help combat our homesickness
28 THE LIST 7—1tiN0v 200i}
and we‘d invariably end tip in tears or uncontrollable laughter.’
When llird’s mum died in l‘)‘)‘). the author took great comfort from those correspondences once again and as well as the letters. Dear Laura contains llird's thoughts about her We away from home. her parents‘ early lives and her later relationship with them. holding back none of the regrets and memories. ‘11 was an etnotional book to work on. but I could not resist the opportunity to finally get a book of my mum‘s out there.~
For now though. June‘s little girl has her own work back in the literary arena with Hope and Other (fr/lair .S‘larit's. her second set of short tales. alter 1997‘s Nail and ()I/l(’l‘ Stories. The new book is infused with Hird‘s trademark depiction of tough working class life (tough. yes. but with a tender soul) whether it be an elderly lady doling out wisdom or a bttnch of Hearts l'ans preparing for their pal‘s l'uneral. Amid all the hope. there are some pretty grim moments in there. but l'lird is never one to shy away from getting her metaphorical hands dirty. ‘1 would only worry about how some ol‘ my older. more sensitive friends might react to reading the harsher stories. but generally. I just warn them il‘ there's something I think they‘ll lind unpleasant. And to be honest they are all very open-minded and encouraging and always make a point of buying copies ol‘ my books rather than asking for l'reebies.’
Hope and Other Stories is out now published by Canongate. www.|aurahird.com
llit >l<
THE BEST BOOKS, COMICS & EVENTS
* Rupert Everett The louche chap has been attacking Hollywood and Starbucks lately and is now swooping on our cities to chat about the business of show. Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, Thu 9 Nov; Citizens’ Theatre, Glasgow, Mon 13 Nov. * Scottish International Storytelling Festival The annual feast of tale relating moves into its final stages. Various venues, Edinburgh, until Sun 5 Nov.
* Scottish PEN A host of our finest scribes gather up for a night in memory of murdered journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Borders Books, Glasgow, Wed 15 Nov.
3|! Laura Hird A new collection of short stories brings the ex-Albion Rovers kid back onto our shelves. See preview, left. Canongate.
3!! Cormac McCarthy More human frailties are dissected by America’s cowboy chronicler as he goes on The Road. See review, page 29. Picador.
at Ian Rankin Auld Reekie Rankin’s The Naming of the Dead has Rebus trawling through some human remains with a G8 backdrop. See review, page 29. Orion.
* Des Dillon A top fortnight for homegrown talent with Coatbridge’s finest unleashing his own set of sharp stories with They Scream When You Kill Them. See review, page 29. Luath.
3|: Nabiel Kanan The Drowners is a London-set murder mystery which is as hot as anything coming out of the strong US market. See review. page 30. Image.
* Guy Delisle This Canadian animator delivers a spot-on travelogue with Shenzhen. See review. page 30. Jonathan Cape.
* David Lloyd Best known for his collaborations with Alan Moore, the veteran British artist does his own thing with noir thriller Kickback. See review, page 30. Dark Horse.