John Healy (author)
Encyclopedia
John Healy was born in London
in 1943 to Irish immigrant parents in London's Kentish Town
. Leaving school at the age of 14, he spent his formative years in the army, where he had a successful boxing career. Having been dishonourably discharged for drunkenness and going absent without leave, Healy started on a downward spiral that brought him into the subculture of London's homeless street drinkers. He spent fifteen years as a homeless alcoholic and was convicted of many petty crimes during this time.
), he made his first moves back into normal life. He has remained sober since.
His chess career continued for ten years and despite the ravages of his years spent on the streets he became a highly rated player, capable of conducting several games concurrently.
. 'The Grass Arena' was instantly recognised as a classic of the memoir genre, and won many awards including the J R Ackerley Award for Literary Autobiography. Reviews include the following:
'Terrific' (Harold Pinter
),
'Brilliant' (The Guardian
newspaper),
'A Masterpiece' (Irvine Welsh
),
'The only book which even begins to evoke a real comparison in English is William Burroughs' Junkie ... Beside it, a book like Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London
seems like a rather inaccurate tourist guide' (Professor Colin McCabe),
'Time and again one is appalled by the pleasure The Grass Arena furnishes as literature, when it is so very clearly not fiction. And this sense of the reader's dilemma as a privileged observer in a world of casual savagery that is palpably real is a troubling and thoroughly enriching one.' (Literary Review).
His second book, the novel Streets Above Us, fared less well and is currently out of print.
Award for Best British Feature at the Edinburgh Film Festival .
A documentary about Healy's life and work, titled Barbaric Genius, directed by Paul Duane
and produced by Screenworks Film and TV premiered at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival in 2011.
Republished in 2008 with a new introduction by actor Daniel Day-Lewis
, the book has once again been accorded classic status by a new generation of readers.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1943 to Irish immigrant parents in London's Kentish Town
Kentish Town
Kentish Town is an area of north west London, England in the London Borough of Camden.-History:The most widely accepted explanation of the name of Kentish Town is that it derived from 'Ken-ditch' meaning the 'bed of a waterway'...
. Leaving school at the age of 14, he spent his formative years in the army, where he had a successful boxing career. Having been dishonourably discharged for drunkenness and going absent without leave, Healy started on a downward spiral that brought him into the subculture of London's homeless street drinkers. He spent fifteen years as a homeless alcoholic and was convicted of many petty crimes during this time.
Chess
During one of his prison stretches he learned the game of chess from a fellow cellmate, Harry 'the Fox'. Finding that he had a special aptitude for the game, he decided to give up drinking and with the help of his Probation Officer, Clive Soley (now Clive Soley, Baron SoleyClive Soley, Baron Soley
Clive Stafford Soley, Baron Soley is a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.-Early life:He went to Downshall Secondary Modern School on Aldborough Road in Seven Kings near Ilford, then Newbattle Adult Education College in Newbattle, Midlothian, from 1961-3. He did RAF National Service...
), he made his first moves back into normal life. He has remained sober since.
His chess career continued for ten years and despite the ravages of his years spent on the streets he became a highly rated player, capable of conducting several games concurrently.
The Grass Arena
Having given up his ambition of becoming a Grandmaster, Healy retired from tournament chess and began to write his life story, which was published in 1988 by Faber and FaberFaber and Faber
Faber and Faber Limited, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music...
. 'The Grass Arena' was instantly recognised as a classic of the memoir genre, and won many awards including the J R Ackerley Award for Literary Autobiography. Reviews include the following:
'Terrific' (Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
),
'Brilliant' (The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper),
'A Masterpiece' (Irvine Welsh
Irvine Welsh
Irvine Welsh is a contemporary Scottish novelist, best known for his novel Trainspotting. His work is characterised by raw Scottish dialect, and brutal depiction of the realities of Edinburgh life...
),
'The only book which even begins to evoke a real comparison in English is William Burroughs' Junkie ... Beside it, a book like Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London
Down and Out in Paris and London
Down and Out in Paris and London is the first full-length work by the English author George Orwell , published in 1933. It is a memoir in two parts on the theme of poverty in the two cities. The first part is a picaresque account of living on the breadline in Paris and the experience of casual...
seems like a rather inaccurate tourist guide' (Professor Colin McCabe),
'Time and again one is appalled by the pleasure The Grass Arena furnishes as literature, when it is so very clearly not fiction. And this sense of the reader's dilemma as a privileged observer in a world of casual savagery that is palpably real is a troubling and thoroughly enriching one.' (Literary Review).
His second book, the novel Streets Above Us, fared less well and is currently out of print.
Film
In 1990 the book was filmed, and the film, also titled The Grass Arena , won many awards, principally the inaugural Michael PowellMichael Powell (director)
Michael Latham Powell was a renowned English film director, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger...
Award for Best British Feature at the Edinburgh Film Festival .
A documentary about Healy's life and work, titled Barbaric Genius, directed by Paul Duane
Paul Duane
-Career:Has directed television programmes including:*Ballykissangel*Casualty*The Royal*Small Potatoes*Footballer's WivesHe has also made several short films including LSD 73!, based on an original script by the Irish novelist Patrick McCabe. More recently he co-created the ITV series Secret Diary...
and produced by Screenworks Film and TV premiered at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival in 2011.
Publisher's Dispute
Following a dispute with Faber and Faber in 1991, the book went out of print in the UK, and remained so until 2008. It remained in print, however, in France, where it is published by Gallimard.Republished in 2008 with a new introduction by actor Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is an English actor with both British and Irish citizenship. His portrayals of Christy Brown in My Left Foot and Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood won Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Actor, and Screen Actors Guild as well as Golden Globe Awards for the latter...
, the book has once again been accorded classic status by a new generation of readers.
External links
- Unofficial website of John Healy
- The Grass Arena: An Autobiography by John Healy Published by Penguin Classics ISBN 0141189592
- Streets Above Us by John Healy Published by Paladin Books ISBN 9780586090855