'It's the real art of writing success'

 

“The real art is not to come up with extraordinary clever words but to make ordinary simple words do extraordinary things. To use the language that we all use and to make amazing things occur.” –  Graham Swift

 

Born on this date in London in 1949, Swift is considered one of the most important contemporary British writers.  His first novel, The Sweet Shop Owner, was published in 1980, and his subsequent works have won much praise and many awards. Waterland, in particular, was one of the finalists for the prestigious Booker Prize.   He’s had three books – Waterland, Last Orders, and Mothering Sunday – made into well-received movies (both at the box office and by critics). 

 

He’s now authored 11 novels, 1 nonfiction book and 3 collections of short stories, the most recent 2025’s Twelve Postwar Tales.

 

A meticulous and deliberate writer, Swift decries those who say he writes too slow.

 

“It can be dismaying . . . for a novelist to compare the slowness of the writing with the speed of the reading,” he said.  “Novels are read in a matter of days, even hours.  A writer may labor for weeks over a particular passage that will have its effect on a reader for an instant - and that effect may be subliminal or barely noticed.”