On Tour: Meet the author Damian Barr

On Tour: Meet the author Damian Barr

Damian Barr is a British journalist and author whose latest book, Maggie and Me (Bloomsbury), is a memoir of growing up gay in a small Scottish town during the Thatcher years. He is attending Sydney Writers’ Festival in May.

What are you reading right now?
As ever I am guiltily ploughing through back editions of the New Yorker which makes me feel I’ve missed out on shows long over in a city I don’t even live in. Books: I just finished Tracey Thorn’s new memoir Naked at the Albert Hall (Virago).

What are you planning to read next?
Finally, and shamefully, Goodbye to Berlin (Christopher Isherwood, Vintage). I’ve been meaning to read it for years.

Which book do you always recommend?
Marilynne Robinson’s Home (Virago).

What was the defining book of your childhood?
I would like to say ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ (C S Lewis, HarperCollins) but the book that opened my eyes to a new world I could actually find (or make) was Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City (Black Swan).

If you were a literary character you’d be …
I suppose I already am: myself in my memoir. But if I was fictional I think today I would be Becky from Vanity Fair (William Makepeace Thackeray).

What’s your favourite book adaptation (film, television or theatre)?
Gatz, the stage show of The Great Gatsby, which featured the whole book read aloud.

What’s your favourite books website or blog?
The White Review.

Hardback, paperback or digital?
Hardback.

Facebook or Twitter?
Facebook.

In 50 years’ time books will be …
Just as important in your life as they are now.

(Photo credit: Jonathan Ring)

Tags: ontour

Category: Features