John Healy is an Irish writer and former tournament chess player.

Early life and personal life

He was born in London in 1942Saved by the book.
The Guardian, 5 August 2008. to Irish immigrant parents in London's

Kentish Town Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town. Less than four miles north of central London, Kentish Town has good transport connections and is situated close to the ope ...

. Leaving school at the age of 14, he spent his formative years in the army, where he had a successful boxing career. Dishonourably discharged for drunkenness, resisting the guard and going absent without leave, Healy began a downward spiral that brought him into the subculture of London's homeless street drinkers. He spent fifteen years as a homeless alcoholic and was convicted of many petty crimes during this time.

Chess

During one of his prison stretches he learned the game of chess from a fellow cellmate, Harry 'the Fox'. Finding that he had a special aptitude for the game, he decided to give up drinking and with the help of his former Probation Officer, Clive Soley (now

Clive Soley, Baron Soley Clive Stafford Soley, Baron Soley (born 7 May 1939) is a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to 2005, and has since then served as a Member of the House of Lords. Early life He w ...

), he made his first moves back into normal life. He has remained sober since. His chess career continued for ten years and despite the ravages of his years spent on the streets he became a highly rated player, capable of playing four games simultaneously whilst wearing a blindfold and several games simultaneously with sight of the boards. In 2010, his book "Coffeehouse Chess Tactics" was published by the well-known chess publishing house New in Chess, and was shortlisted for the Guardian Chess Book of the Year.

''The Grass Arena''

Having given up his ambition of becoming a Grandmaster, Healy retired from tournament chess and began to write his life story, which was published in 1988 by

Faber and Faber Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel B ...

. ''

The Grass Arena ''The Grass Arena'' is an autobiography that was made into a British film released in 1991. It is based on the true story of John Healy. The book had been out of print for a number of years, but was re-issued on 31 July 2008. Storyline Raised ...

'' was instantly recognised as a classic of the memoir genre, and won many awards including the J. R. Ackerley Award for Literary Autobiography. This was the first book in the history of the prize to win the award outright.

Film

In 1990 Healy's autobiography was adapted into a film of the same name that won many major international awards, including the inaugural

Michael Powell Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company The Archers, they together wrote, produced and directed a serie ...

Award for Best British Feature at the

Edinburgh Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...

. A documentary about Healy's life and work, titled ''Barbaric Genius'', directed by

Paul Duane Paul Duane is an Irish-born writer and director of television and film. Career Duane has directed television programmes including: Ballykissangel, Casualty, The Royal, Small Potatoes and Footballer's Wives. He has also made several short fi ...

and produced by Screenworks Film and TV premiered at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival in 2011. It was nominated for the 2012 Grierson Documentary Award.

Dispute

Following a dispute with Faber and Faber in 1991, the book was put out of print in the UK, and remained so until 2008 when it was republished as a Penguin Classic. It remained in print, however, in France, where it is published by Gallimard. ''The Grass Arena'' was republished in 2008 with a new introduction by actor

Daniel Day-Lewis Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis (born 29 April 1957) is an English retired actor. Often described as one of the preeminent actors of his generation, he received numerous accolades throughout his career which spanned over four decades, incl ...

References

Bibliography

*''The Grass Arena: An Autobiography'' by John Healy Published by Faber & Faber (1988) *''Streets Above Us'' by John Healy Published by Macmillan (1990) *''Coffeehouse Chess Tactics'' by John Healy Published by New In Chess (2010) *''The Metal Mountain'' by John Healy Published by Etruscan Books (2019)

External links

Unofficial website of John Healy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Healy, John 1943 births Living people People from Kentish Town English writers English chess players Criminals from London English male writers English autobiographers Writers from London