Alan Garner, 87, devised a new genre of myth-based fantasy with his first novel for children, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, published in 1960. His novels for adults include Strandloper, Thursbitch and Boneland. He was appointed OBE in 2001 for services to literature.
What was your childhood or earliest ambition?
At the age of four I wanted to be “a man that works down drains”.
Private school or state school? University or straight into work?
Local village school, then The Manchester Grammar School, followed by Magdalen College, Oxford, to read Latin, Greek, philosophy and ancient history — which I abandoned once it became clear that I had to be a writer rather than an academic.
Who was or still is your mentor?
My grandfather, a smith, who taught me the two precepts by which he lived: “Always take as long as the job tells you, because it’ll be there when you’re not; and you don’t want folk saying ‘What fool made that codge?’” and “If the other feller can do it, let him.” That is, “Find your unique quality and pursue it regardless of cost.”
How physically fit are you?
At 87, I’m recorded as “very fit, for his age”. The comma is a recent addition. But that’s no grumble.
Ambition or talent: which matters more to success?
Material success may require ambition. A more lasting success requires talent and the ability to learn from mistakes.
How politically committed are you?
Not at all. In my first week of A‑level ancient history in 1950 our teacher told us that we would live to see interesting times. America, he said, was Rome, the physical despot; and we were the Greeks, the wellspring of civilisation. And so, broadly, it has turned out. The study of ancient history persuaded me that I had no interest in politics, since I could see no possibility of my being able to change or directly influence opinion. I remain apolitical, though I do vote.
What would you like to own that you don’t currently possess?
A flint handaxe from the Lower Palaeolithic site at Boxgrove, West Sussex. Not that we can “own” or “possess” such things. We are passing through their lives rather than they through ours.
What’s your biggest extravagance?
Decent wine.
In what place are you happiest?
In the house where I have lived since June 7 1957.
What ambitions do you still have?
To continue working well.
What drives you on?
The future, and the duty to help in bringing it about.
What is the greatest achievement of your life so far?
Marriage to Griselda. We have been together for 60 years and, although we are very different personalities, we are united at the core. She is my severest critic, my strongest support. We laugh a lot. For work, it has to be Treacle Walker. There’s always existed a gap between what was seen and what was realised, but it’s not so in this case. It’s a short text, distilled rather than brewed.
What do you find most irritating in other people?
Closed minds that are always right and never laugh at themselves.
If your 20-year-old self could see you now, what would he think?
“Who’d have thought it?”
Which object that you’ve lost do you wish you still had?
When I was seven, I found a fossil. My mother called it “a daft silly stone” and she threw it away.
What is the greatest challenge of our time?
Living next to Jodrell Bank Observatory for 64 years has made me aware of the cosmos. One of the theories about why we have had no contact with other life forms is that intelligence may always evolve to the point where it destroys itself before it can communicate. Which is quite a thought.
Do you believe in an afterlife?
I have strong sympathy with religious faith, but I’ve not yet experienced it. Atheism is a faith system, as we can’t prove the non-existence of God. So my position is that of optimistic agnostic.
If you had to rate your satisfaction with your life so far, out of 10, what would you score?
9.9 recurring. I’ll try to increase the decimal 9s, although this donkey must never catch the carrot. Above all ride a sense of the absurd and that need for laughter.
“Treacle Walker” by Alan Garner is published by 4th Estate
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