Deborah Jane Orr (23 September 1962 – 19 October 2019)
was a British journalist who worked for ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' and other publications.
Early life and education
Orr was born on 23 September 1962
to Winifred "Win" and John Orr, a factory worker.
She was raised in
Motherwell
Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...
, Scotland.
She had one brother.
She attended Garrion Academy,
Wishaw
Wishaw ( sco, Wishae or Wisha ; gd, Camas Neachdain) is a large town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, on the edge of the Clyde Valley, south-east of Glasgow city centre. The Burgh of Wishaw was formed in 1855 within Lanarkshire. it formed ...
(which later merged with Wishaw High School to form
Clyde Valley High School Clyde may refer to:
People
* Clyde (given name)
* Clyde (surname)
Places
For townships see also Clyde Township (disambiguation), Clyde Township
Australia
* Clyde, New South Wales
* Clyde, Victoria
* Clyde River, New South Wales
Canada
* Clyde, ...
) and the
University of St Andrews
(Aien aristeuein)
, motto_lang = grc
, mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best
, established =
, type = Public research university
Ancient university
, endowment ...
, from which she graduated with a degree in English in 1983.
Career
Orr worked as deputy editor for ''
City Limits
City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. Similarly, corporate limi ...
'' magazine, a
workers' cooperative. Orr said later that they had "had no idea how to promote co-operative working".
Until 1990, Orr was a contributor to ''
New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
''.
In 1990, she began writing for ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' regularly.
From 1993 to 1998, Orr was editor of the ''Guardian Weekend'' magazine.
From 1998 until her death, Orr worked as a freelance journalist.
She was also a columnist for ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
''.
In January 2018, her column for ''The Guardian'' ended when the newspaper relaunched in tabloid format.
In February 2018, she joined the ''
i newspaper'' as a regular columnist. In January 2020, Orr's memoir, ''Motherwell: A Girlhood'', was published by
Weidenfeld & Nicolson and serialised on
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
.
Views
Orr wrote, in 2017, "Homeless people are stuck in the streets once again. The services of
food banks have never been more in demand. People with mental and physical illnesses or disabilities are dying for want of care, or even heat. The
National Health Service
The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
has been plunged into a financial and staffing crisis, yet still has to soothe the dented ego of
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British billionaire, entrepreneur, and business magnate. In the 1970s he founded the Virgin Group, which today controls more than 400 companies in various fields.
Branson expressed ...
by making a payout to
Virgin Care
Virgin Care was a British private provider of community health and social services, commissioned by the National Health Service and local authorities in England. From 2010 the company was known as Virgin Care and was part of Virgin Group. In Dec ...
. The teaching profession is struggling once more with a rejigged exam system, and is bracing itself for a further squeeze on budgets. Our prison service is a series of riots waiting to happen."
On 19 October 2011, an article by Orr stated that the trade for Israeli soldier
Gilad Shalit in exchange for over 1,000
Palestinian prisoners "tacitly acknowledges what so many
Zionists
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Jew ...
believe: that the lives of the chosen are of hugely greater consequence than those of their unfortunate neighbours."
This statement, viewed by many as
antisemitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
, was the subject of criticism.
Orr apologised for words which she described as "badly chosen and poorly used".
Her apology, too, was the subject of criticism.
Personal life
In 1997, Orr married English author
Will Self. They had two sons and lived in
Stockwell
Stockwell is a district in south west London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. It is situated south of Charing Cross. Battersea, Brixton, Clapham, South Lambeth, Oval and Kennington all border Stockwell.
History
The na ...
;
they separated in 2017 and divorced in 2018.
[ ]
In 2010, she discovered she had
breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...
and was treated for it, which included a
mastectomy.
In 2017, Orr wrote about her struggles with
complex post-traumatic stress disorder
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD; also known as complex trauma disorder) is a psychological disorder that is theorized to develop in response to exposure to a series of traumatic events in a context in which the individual perceive ...
.
She died of breast cancer in October 2019, aged 57.
Selected works and publications
Monographs
* – January 2020
Plays
*
References
External links
Deborah Orrat ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
''
Deborah Orrat ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orr, Deborah
1962 births
2019 deaths
Deaths from breast cancer
Scottish journalists
Scottish women journalists
People from Motherwell
The Independent people
The Guardian journalists
Deborah
20th-century Scottish women writers
20th-century British journalists
21st-century Scottish women writers
21st-century British journalists
British republicans