Dowd, Siobhan 1960-2007

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Dowd, Siobhan 1960-2007

PERSONAL:

Born February 4, 1960, in London, England; died of breast cancer, August 21, 2007, in Oxford, England; daughter of a doctor and a nurse; married Mial Pagan (marriage ended); married Geoff Morgan (a librarian). Education: Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, degree in classics; Greenwich University, M.A.

CAREER:

PEN English Center, London, England, researcher for prison literature subcommittee, 1984-90; PEN American Center, New York, NY, deputy editor, 1990-97, program director of freedom-to-write committee, founder of Rushdie Defense Committee USA; freelance writer, 1997-2007. Deputy Commissioner for Children's Rights, Oxfordshire, England, 2004.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Named one of the "Top 100 Irish-Americans," Irish-America Magazine and Aer-Lingus; Eilis Dillon Award, Branford Boase Award, and Carnegie Medal, all 2007, all for A Swift Pure Cry; named one of twenty-five "authors of the future," Waterstones Books.

WRITINGS:

(Editor) This Prison Where I Live: The PEN Anthology of Imprisoned Writers, foreword by Joseph Brodsky, Cassell (London, England), 1996.

(Editor, with Siobhan Hancock) The Roads of the Roma: A PEN Anthology of Gypsy Writers, University of Hertfordshire Press (Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England), 1998.

A Swift Pure Cry (young adult novel), David Fickling Books (New York, NY), 2007.

The London Eye Mystery (young adult novel), David Fickling Books (New York, NY), 2007.

Bog Child (young adult novel), David Fickling Books (New York, NY), 2008.

Solace for the Road (young adult novel), 2008.

Contributor to anthologies, including Skin Deep, Puffin, 2003.

SIDELIGHTS:

"Although Siobhan Dowd had published only two novels" at the time of her death in 2007, reported an obituary writer for the London Independent, "she was already established as one of the most promising children's writers of her generation. A brightly shining star in the reading world, she had seemed destined to go on to even greater achievements." Although she became best known, in the last year of her life, for her young adult fiction, Dowd established her reputation as a feisty spokesperson for freedom in literature. "She professionalised the campaigning work on behalf of incarcerated writers," explained Jonathan Fryer in his London Guardian Unlimited obituary, "becoming a knowledgeable and stern critic of repressive regimes." "She confronted the brutalities of the human condition head-on," Fryer concluded, "with a rare blend of practical engagement and literary flair."

Only coming to fiction writing late in her career, Dowd was an author from early on. "From the age of seven,' she wrote in an author spotlight posted on the Random House Web site, "I scribbled down poems, ghost stories, and mystery stories and completed my first novel at the age of nine. It was about Anne, the daughter of a harried innkeeper in Bethlehem, and very, very holey (yes, that is how I spelt the word). But it fixed my aim to write for a living when I grew up." "After university she went into publishing, and then to work for PEN, along the way writing columns, articles, and short stories, and editing two anthologies," stated Sue Corbett in a Publishers Weekly assessment. "But a suitable subject for a novel eluded her until she hit upon the snag: she hadn't found the right audience. ‘Only when I turned my attention to writing for younger readers did it all fall into place,’ she says."

"In fact," Corbett stated, "Dowd hit a wellspring." The book she produced, which was based on stories from 1980s-era Ireland, was called A Swift Pure Cry, and it quickly became a critical success, winning the prestigious Branford Boase Award, as well as the Eilis Dillon Award. The novel tells the story of Michelle ("Shell") Talent, a lonely young girl who, after the death of her mother, is left in the company of her alcoholic, religion-obsessed father and her two younger siblings. Although her plight is alleviated slightly through the efforts of the local priest, Father Ross, Shell succumbs to the charms of a classmate, Declan Ronan. Declan, though, leaves for America, deserting both Shell and the unborn child she carries.

"Dowd weaves a further, powerful version, in which fairy tale, religious beliefs and fantasies become entwined," Jamila Gavin wrote in the Guardian. "A baby is born. A baby dies. A baby's body is found, and the nation is thrown into a frenzy of lurid speculation. Is Shell a baby-killer? Who was the father? Was it that young Father Ross, with whom she was once seen alone in his car? Or was Shell the victim of incest?" "With its lyrical prose and no-holds-bar[red] of emotional turmoil," Sarah Sawtelle declared on the Teen Reads Web site, A Swift Pure Cry "is a heartbreaking yet hopeful family drama centered on a young woman as she struggles to care for her family while trying to understand the life her Mam left behind." "Dowd's handling of difficult subjects (teen sex, pregnancy, alcoholism, religious zeal!) is sensitive," stated Clare Sager in her Hack Writers review, "and although the pacing is calm, it is elegantly managed and, thanks to likeable characters, the story remains compelling." "Siobhan Dowd's lyrical prose and sensitivity to her subject," concluded Gina Ruiz in the Boston Globe, "makes this gut-wrenching book a fine read."

After A Swift Pure Cry, Dowd continued to write young adult novels, several of which are scheduled to be released posthumously. Among these are The London Eye Mystery, Bog Child, and Solace for the Road.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 1, 2007, Ilene Cooper, review of A Swift Pure Cry, p. 38.

Bookseller, February 17, 2006, review of A Swift Pure Cry, p. 34; June 29, 2007, "Dowd Takes Boase Award," p. 8.

Boston Globe, June 12, 2007, Gina Ruiz, review of "A Swift Pure Cry."

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, June, 2007, Elizabeth Bush, review of A Swift Pure Cry, p. 412.

Guardian (London, England), April 22, 2006, Jamila Gavin, "God and the Bottle."

Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2007, review of A Swift Pure Cry, p. 122.

Kliatt, March, 2007, Claire Rosser, review of A Swift Pure Cry, p. 10.

Publishers Weekly, March 19, 2007, review of A Swift Pure Cry, p. 65; June 25, 2007, Sue Corbett, Kate Pavao, and James Bickers, "Flying Starts; Three Fresh Voices Make Their YA Debuts," p. 26.

School Library Journal, April, 2007, Caryl Soriano, review of A Swift Pure Cry, p. 132.

Times (London, England), June 10, 2007, Nicolette Jones, review of The London Eye Mystery.

Times Educational Supplement, April 14, 2006, "Turning Over a New Leaf," p. 25; May 25, 2007, "Adventure," p. 43.

Voice of Youth Advocates, April, 2007, Kristen Moreland, review of A Swift Pure Cry, p. 45.