Dominic Cooper (author)
Encyclopedia
Dominic Cooper is a British novelist, poet and watchmaker. He won the Somerset Maugham Award
for his novel The Dead of Winter (1975).
, he is the son of musicologist Martin Cooper and artist Mary Cooper.
After university, he worked in London for the Decca Record Company and for the publishers, Fabbri & Partners. In 1970, he went to live in Iceland
, began to concentrate on writing, and taught English in a language school in Reykjavík
to earn a living.
In 1972, he moved to Sweden and then to the Isle of Mull
in Argyll, Scotland, where he drew inspiration from the landscape and people to write his first novel, The Dead of Winter, published in 1975. This won him the Somerset Maugham Award in 1976.
Little of his poetry has been published, but commenting on the poetic quality of his fiction, he has said: ″By nature I feel myself to be first and foremost a poet ... but poetry for me has always been an essentially private affair and I have never felt any great need for it to be published.″
He has described writing his fourth book, The Horn Fellow, set in Northern Europe around 500 BC, as “perhaps the greatest experience of my life” and its publication as being met “with a mixture of incomprehension and vague ridicule”. He has written little during the intervening years.
In 1973 he undertook training in horology
in Edinburgh
and since then he has worked restoring clocks and watches. He returned to the West Highlands in 1985 and soon afterwards built himself a house on a remote part of the North Argyll coast where he now lives.
also short stories, poems, essays and the script for Jack Fletcher, BBC TV 1979.
Somerset Maugham Award
The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each May by the Society of Authors. It is awarded to whom they judge to be the best writer or writers under the age of thirty-five of a book published in the past year. The prize was instituted in 1947 by William Somerset Maugham and thus...
for his novel The Dead of Winter (1975).
Background & career
Born near WinchesterWinchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
, he is the son of musicologist Martin Cooper and artist Mary Cooper.
After university, he worked in London for the Decca Record Company and for the publishers, Fabbri & Partners. In 1970, he went to live in Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, began to concentrate on writing, and taught English in a language school in Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
to earn a living.
In 1972, he moved to Sweden and then to the Isle of Mull
Isle of Mull
The Isle of Mull or simply Mull is the second largest island of the Inner Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland in the council area of Argyll and Bute....
in Argyll, Scotland, where he drew inspiration from the landscape and people to write his first novel, The Dead of Winter, published in 1975. This won him the Somerset Maugham Award in 1976.
Little of his poetry has been published, but commenting on the poetic quality of his fiction, he has said: ″By nature I feel myself to be first and foremost a poet ... but poetry for me has always been an essentially private affair and I have never felt any great need for it to be published.″
He has described writing his fourth book, The Horn Fellow, set in Northern Europe around 500 BC, as “perhaps the greatest experience of my life” and its publication as being met “with a mixture of incomprehension and vague ridicule”. He has written little during the intervening years.
In 1973 he undertook training in horology
Horology
Horology is the art or science of measuring time. Clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, clepsydras, timers, time recorders and marine chronometers are all examples of instruments used to measure time.People interested in horology are called horologists...
in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and since then he has worked restoring clocks and watches. He returned to the West Highlands in 1985 and soon afterwards built himself a house on a remote part of the North Argyll coast where he now lives.
Works
-
- The Dead of Winter
-
-
-
-
- Chatto & Windus 1975
- St Martin’s Press, NY 1975
- Faber & Faber 1985
- Thirsty Press 2010
- Italian edition, Einaudi 1989
- Spanish edition, Mario Muchnik 2003
- French edition, Métailié 2006
- Somerset Maugham Award 1976
-
-
-
-
- The Dead of Winter
-
- Sunrise
-
-
-
-
- Chatto & Windus 1977
- Faber & Faber 1985
-
-
-
-
- Sunrise
-
- Men at Axlir
-
-
-
-
- Chatto & Windus 1978
- St Martin’s Press, NY 1978
- Collins Harvill 1988
- Icelandic edition, Örn og Örlygur 1980
-
-
-
-
- Men at Axlir
-
- The Horn Fellow
-
-
-
-
- Faber & Faber 1987
-
-
-
-
- The Horn Fellow
-
- Jack Fletcher
-
-
-
-
- Encounter 1978
-
-
-
-
- Jack Fletcher
-
- Judgements of Value (editor)
-
-
-
-
- OUP 1988
-
-
-
-
- Judgements of Value (editor)
-
- The Open Places (essay)
-
-
-
-
- self-published 1989
-
-
-
-
- The Open Places (essay)
also short stories, poems, essays and the script for Jack Fletcher, BBC TV 1979.