Martin Waddell - A Giant In Our Midst
Click play to listen to the audio transcript of this post.
I was fortunate recently to be invited to Martin Waddell’s home to chat to him about his long and prestigious career as an award winning children’s author - Listen to Martin's interview here on the Bookcited! podcast. He was recently awarded the An Post Lifetime Achievement Award and been thrust once more into the limelight after a decade of relative retirement as he cared for his beloved wife. Now on his own he still lives at the foot of the Mourne Mountains where it sweeps down to the sea – his 200 year old house hewn into the rock overlooking the coastline and a mere 3 houses up from where he was born over 80 years ago.
After an unsuccessful attempt to become a professional footballer in his teens at Fulham FC he turned to writing and found fame initially with an adult series ‘Otley’ – which was made into a film in 1968 starring Tom Courtenay but after 4 books decided that he really wanted to write for a younger audience. He suffered a setback in 1972 when he was blown up and buried alive in an explosion in Donaghadee which left him traumatised and unable to work for a number of years. He stayed home and minded his young family while his wife, a teacher, put the food on the table, and gradually Martin was able to resume his writing, some under the pen name of Catherine Sefton.
He tells me that it was always his ambition to return to Newcastle and when this house came on the market he couldn’t resist buying it. As he shows me through the house and into his book room I can sense the pride he feels towards the over 200 titles that he has accumulated here over the years, some in many different editions as well as different languages.
His stand out books are the children’s picture books such as ‘The Park in the Dark’, ‘Owl Babies’ and ‘Can’t You Sleep, Baby Bear’ – titles which are very familiar to most librarians who have read these to multiple Storytime sessions as well as preschool and primary classes over the years. He tells me that these are stories based on familiar fears that all children can identify with – getting lost or fear of the dark. ‘Farmer Duck’ is another popular title that helps children empathise with how someone else is feeling – Farmer Duck gets wearier and wearier with each chore and his quack gets less and less enthusiastic as the story progresses. He tells me how he has used this interactively over the years with many school classes and assemblies to great effect. Tapping into the emotion of the stories is what makes the difference he says – it is what children respond to most.
He shows me titles over a variety of age groups from toddler to teen some which have struggled to do well and others which have soared. His heart has remained with the younger children’s stories and he tells me how important it is to find the right illustrator – someone who has the vision to bring that added magic to the story. Illustrators such as Helen Oxenbury, Barbara Firth and Patrick Benson among others have taken his words and interpreted them in their own way to produce some very successful work for which he is very grateful.
He has won numerous awards throughout his career including the Hans Christian Anderson Award in 2004 which is the highest career recognition for children’s writing. He is the only Irish author to ever have been awarded this and he proudly shows me the medal he received.
The An Post Award Lifetime Achievement Award is the latest and most unexpected accolade to be received, coming so late in life and is now in pride of place on his packed awards table.
Sadly he tells me that ‘the words have left me’ and he is no longer writing, but his creative instincts are now visible in the many canvases dotted around his house. He tells me that he is teaching himself to paint and has even had some of his art exhibited and sold locally. His enthusiasm for his new pastime is evident and I am thrilled to see so many aspects of both the mountainous landscapes of the Mournes and the vastness of the sea featuring in many of his paintings. ‘They come from my imagination’ he says but the influences are all too visible.
As I leave I am aware that I have been in the presence of a humble, talented man who has survived and triumphed through many experiences in life – his life’s work is not yet over though it has changed. He is busy doing something he loves and that is all he can ask for.
Many teachers, parents and librarians have gratefully benefited from reading his stories to captive audiences over the years, not to mention the thousands of children who have gone to sleep at night with his words reverberating in their ears.
Martin showing me his famous story ‘Owl Babies’.
Bookcited! Podcast - Listen to an exclusive Interview: Martin Waddell, A Giant In Our Midst
Borrow Martin's books from Libraries NI:
Titles by Martin Waddell
