What are your earliest memories of being attracted to writing, if you have any?
I do have some early memories but I think they’re sort of tarnished by the big fallacy that Protestants don’t tend to be artists or be interested in the arts. My grandfather (on my father’s side) used to pick me up every Friday afternoon from the school bus and we’d walk up the Shankill and go to the park or the fruit shop. After that we’d go to the Shankill Library and I’d get some books out.
My grandfather’s favourite time to go to the library was when there was a sale,. He’d get up early buy the books he wanted (before anyone else got there) and he’d get me some.
One that sticks in my mind was Drummer Hoff and another, The Giant Devil-Dingo, which was a story based on Aboriginal folklore. It was a good story. You can see it online with photographs and someone reads it. It and brings it alive.
So you had some support at home?
My grandfather died when I was about seven . He’d been a Hole-Driller in the shipyards and when he retired he wanted to get educated. He left school at twelve , so he wanted to go back and do an English degree. Sadly, he died of Asbestosis when he was in his 60s.
I have a few of the short stories he wrote when he attended writing groups. They’re very impressive. That’s not just my opinion. Other people who’d know, have read them think they’re good .
I found out much later on that my other grandfather (on my mother’s side ) was also into writing. He died much younger, in his 40s.
Your grandfathers were important to you developing an interest in literature?
There’s a longer story about my maternal grandfather He was in the Communist Party, and my grandmother was very worried about the children getting access to his files – his books and pamphlets and own writing – so she burned everything. I have his collected works of Shakespeare and his Bible. They were saved.
After my paternal grandfather died, there was probably less emphasis on the literary side of things. I became closer to my mother’s side of the family and they had a lot of autodidactic traits. They were into music, and they were into political debates and weird nerdy things like learning the Russian alphabet. Things like that.
What about school?
I did read Jonathan Swift at school, a bit of Frost, and a bit later on Patrick Kavanagh. I was known as a smart kid (maybe because I was quiet) and I had an interest in learning, although I’d lost the passion for it at about fifteen when I started drinking I remember my secondary school teacher, Louise Farr. She came to my book launch recently, which was amazing. She was very encouraging.
Do you go on to study literature at college or university?
I became an electrician after school, by that stage I had a lot of friends who were into music, so I was listening to Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, and when you listen to those artists, there’s always that literary aspect to it. But another series of developments changed my life.
My brother and I had bought a house, and eventually we had to go bankrupt. I lost my job, I was bottled on the Ormeau Bridge at 4am, my girlfriend left me, and my best friend had moved to New York. Even my cat ran away and I had to move back in with my mother ending up in her attic. So that was the end of my electrical career after seven years. Despite those difficulties it was a great time .
At that point I thought I was going to go to university to study Philosophy or English Literature, but I saw that they had a course in Creative Writing, and I’d been writing a bit anyway, so I went back to education at the age of 24.
If you would like to see more of Scott McKendry’s work go to the following link – x.com/al_mac_e
