DBC Pierre
Peter Warren Finlay | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1961 Australia |
| Pen name | DBC Pierre |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Period | 2003-present |
DBC Pierre (born 1961 in Australia) is a writer.
Born Peter Warren Finlay, the "DBC" part of his nom-de-plume (normally so written, without punctuation) stands for "Dirty But Clean". "Pierre" was a nickname bestowed on him by childhood friends after a cartoon character of that name.
Pierre was awarded the Booker Prize for fiction on 14 October 2003 for his novel Vernon God Little. He is the third Australian to be so honored, although he has told the British press that he prefers to consider himself a Mexican.
Early life
He was brought up in Mexico City in a wealthy English family and lived a privileged childhood. His father fell ill when Pierre was sixteen, and died three years later. When President José López Portillo issued a decree nationalizing the country's banking system, the family's assets declined. Pierre has called this event, which cost his family its fortune, "the beginning of my problems".
Pierre asserts that of the following years, nine were spent in a respectful drug-induced haze. He was involved in illegal and unprofitable schemes, including one aimed at locating the lost gold of Aztec Emperor Moctezuma. He has also confessed to once selling a house on behalf of his best friend, but then neglecting to hand over the proceeds in order to finance his drug habit.
For most of the 1990s, he lived as a recluse – in his own words, "repolarizing and deconstructing" himself while listening to Russian orchestral music. He found work as a graphic designer and, in 2000, relocated to Ireland, where he edited his debut novel.
The Booker Prize comes with a monetary award of GBP 50,000. Upon being notified of his victory, Pierre said that the money would go one third of the way toward paying off his debts.
In 2006 DBC Pierre revisited the Mexico of his youth to explore and document the downfall of the Aztecs. In this revealing documentary he revisits the Aztecs' epic tale of decline and conquest. It's part a historical film and part road movie. 'The Last Aztec' follows Pierre as he traces the advance of the Spanish conquistadors toward the Aztec capital.
Published works
- Vernon God Little (2003)
- Ludmila's Broken English (February 2006)
Appearances
- Tilley's, Canberra's notorious Speakeasy, where DBC Pierre was presented with organic corn (in reference to his first encounter with Australian Customs). (Book launch, March 2006.)
- Enough Rope, interview with Andrew Denton. (Interview, May 2006.)
Quotations
- Freak, dickhead, arsehole, dumb, farting machine, awkward and bumbling. – DBC Pierre describing himself the day after winning the Booker Prize. [1]
- Mexico, with its contrasts, its crushing poverty and sparkling wealth, its institutionalised corruption and cultural wisdom, its love of life and its embracing of death, undoubtedly set me on a path toward the deep end, philosophically and emotionally speaking. – DBC Pierre. [2]
External links
- Template:Contemporary writers
- Interview discussing Ludmila's Broken English – article on DBC Pierre (BBC Collective)
- How did I get here? – article on DBC Pierre (The Guardian)
- Strong first impression – interview with DBC Pierre (Powell's City of Books)
- What have you learnt in your time on this planet? – recorded interview with DBC Pierre, April 2006 (RTRFM)
- Faber and Faber - DBC Pierre's UK publisher
- A short interview with DBC Pierre - discussing Ludmila's Broken English