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Lorcan Lawson Author's Biography


Lorcan Lawson Author		     

Lorcan 'Awesome' Lawson - author

Lorcan Lawson is a bit of a phenomenon in his home-town of Bogan Gate in western New South Wales. 'I'm not related to Henry Lawson, and more's the bloody pity,' Lorcan confides to his readers and cattle dog 'Shep'. 'There's absolutely nothing literary about our lot of Lawsons, where illiteracy had a strong hold on what masqueraded as the family imagination.' Lorcan left school at fifteen to take a job as an assistant cellarman at the Railway Hotel. 'That was a funny name for a pub in a town that had no railway line through it. But then we didn't have any Royals either so it was the Rail-way as the lesser of two weevils.' At the Railway, he had a captive audience who just happened to like his abrasive if not caustic style. 'You don't have to travel abroad to see that the world turns on bullshit. There are times, so help me, when I'm convinced we invented it here in Australia, out of sheer necessity. Without it, our politicians and clergy would all be unemployed. We certainly do it better than anybody else—even the Yanks.' Encouraged by fans at the pub, where he gave readings, he did a Stott's correspondence course in short story writing. During the week, on his days off from the pub, he'd visit larger towns and got hooked on borrowing from public libraries. 'I suddenly developed a passion for reading. Here were all these people who got their thinking down on paper so others could share it around. Marvelous stuff!

     

'I didn't finish my correspondence course but I got enough out of it to launch me in the business. I ran into the author of the book on Thunderbolt on his tour of this part of the state. He encouraged me to say what I felt and write what I know. I sent him some of my poetry and stories and ended up getting invited to talk to the people at Phoenix Press. They didn't criticize my more rabid rants. They were sure I was part of the Mudgee Lawsons I think – you know, a bit weird. We certainly had one thing in common when Henry said that Australia was a bloody good place—to be out of. It drove him to drink, and I can tell you I'm sorely tempted. But I find that writing of it critically is good for my soul. Engaging in bullshit depresses me. I took the pledge: no more crap. Just say it as it is. Sure, it gets you into trouble. But to me it's like an enema. Why walk around with it all stuck inside, slapping about like bilge in a ship?

  
Articles by
Lorcan Lawson

Waking up to ourselves
Doing Your Job
The Writer As A Publisher

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'I see this country as a great opportunity that's been largely lost. It's as though we have an unofficial religion that requires of us that we be as ordinary and mediocre as we can manage. I saw early on in the piece that life is an opportunity to really live, not pretend you're waiting for a train that never comes. The waste of human potential in Australia is a national disgrace. We'd rather get pissed than have an original idea. That's not going to get bouquets from this writer, no soirée.' Lorcan's first works are being processed by Phoenix for release through Amazon.com in America in early 2012.