Interview: Henry Normal
Co-writer of award-winning TV and film shows including The Royle Family, The Mrs Merton Show and Coogan’s Run, producer of much more, Henry Normal is releasing his new book of poems ‘Staring Directly at the Eclipse’ this month. Victoria Nangle talks to the man himself.
Hello Henry, how are you today?
‘Still batting’ as my dad would say although as he got older he’d add ‘not making many runs these days’.
What is your writing discipline with poetry and how does it differ from when you were writing comedy?
Comedy I can write almost any day of the week. It’s a sort of discipline which sounds odd for something so subversive. With poetry I have to be inspired so strangely it’s more anarchic.
Your poetry covers laughs, loss, struggles… how important is it to include truth in your writing?
Not important in the slightest. That, of course, is a lie. Truth is everything in both comedy and poetry, which is both true and poetic but unfortunately not in the least comic. So much for the comedy rule of three.
You publicly left Baby Cow Productions ‘to pursue creative endeavours in other fields’. Your poetry is clearly a labour of love. Is this one of a number of projects or a sharply focussed love affair with poetry?
Poetry is my main creative output at the moment but I like to add jokes into my live performances to amuse myself as much as anything. Don’t forget it’s a night out of my life as well, so not to be wasted. I’m Executive Producer on the new ‘Red Dwarf’ series so that’s been fun to work with Doug Naylor and the team. I’m also still involved as Exec. Producer on the third series of ‘Uncle’ which we’re editing at the moment.
Some of the poems from this book have already been heard on your acclaimed Radio 4 program ‘A Normal Family’. How was it returning to front and centre stage as a performer?
Radio, like live performance and books are easier than TV or film, in that the vision rests more with the creator. In TV there’s a lot of collaboration to get the show to screen. In radio you can get to a purer version of what you are trying to communicate, especially if you are a poet. That said, you don’t make as much money as Michael McIntyre or George Clooney.
Your poems feel both very personal and relatable. Is there anything that you’ve started writing about and thought – ‘that’s off limits’?
Nothing is off limits. The question is can you communicate your thoughts well enough and do they do the subject matter justice. Perhaps your readers can now break up into small groups and discuss?
My favourite word is ‘Oops!’, as it means there’s a story that’s just happened or is happening. Do you have a favourite word, and if so what is it?
I don’t like to pick favourites in case the others get jealous. As a writer that could well lead to the word ‘oops’.
What inspires you to be creative, and where is your favourite place to be creative?
Trains are very good for eavesdropping conversations and they give you a sense of forward motion. You just have to be conscious not to write all your poems to the rhyme of the train though or say sound a bit da diddly dee, da diddly dum, da diddly dee, da diddly dum.
What do you think should be the future of the burned pier?
I think Chris Eubank should be allowed to build his residence there. That way we’d know where he was.
Who will you be giving a copy of ‘Staring Directly at the Eclipse’ this Christmas?
I don’t do Christmas presents. When my autistic son was three he couldn’t cope with Christmas so we decided to just ignore it. We will be having a ‘December the 25th’ which I believe is a Friday. We’ll probably have chinese food if the local restaurant is open. I’m very happy for you to give ‘Staring Directly at the Eclipse’ away as a Christmas present. It does fit easily into a Christmas stocking, although it does also go well with chinese food.
Staring Directly at the Eclipse is out now.
