U2start.com | R.I.P. Christopher Nolan

Novelist and U2's 'inspiration' dies at 43

Christopher Nolan, an Irish poet and novelist who helped inspire super-group U2, has died at 43.

Nolan choked on a piece of food on Friday at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, according to a statement from his family carried in the Irish media. The hospital confirmed his death on Saturday.

"Christopher Nolan was a gifted writer who attained deserved success and acclaim throughout the world for his work," Irish President Mary McAleese said in a statement, adding that his achievements were "all the more remarkable given his daily battle with cerebral palsy".

Nolan attended high school with members of U2 and the band paid tribute to his achievements in Miracle Drug which appeared on their album, How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.

Nolan's brain was starved of oxygen during birth, leaving him unable to speak or control his arms or legs. He might have remained isolated from the outside world were it not for a drug, Lioresal, which restored some of his muscle function. His parents nurtured their partially paralysed son's literary talent.

Using a "unicorn stick" strapped to his forehead to tap the keys of a typewriter, Nolan laboriously wrote out messages and, eventually, poems and books as well.

Bernadette Nolan, Christopher's mother, said her son was 11 when his writing first turned lyrical.

"He wrote of a family visit to a cave that was illuminated by electric lights: He said it was 'a lovely, fairy-like effect to the work of nature,'" she told The Associated Press in a 1987 interview. "It was just that turn of phrase," she said. "I thought, that's unusual for a kid of 11."

The next day Nolan wrote a poem packed with metaphors and peppered with alliteration, which his mother said showed a mind "just like a spin dryer at full speed".

His father Joe read his son poetry and passages from James Joyce's Ulysses. Christopher took to writing early: He published Dam-Burst of Dreams, a collection of poetry, at the age of 15. Even then critics compared it to Joyce.

His autobiography, Under the Eye of the Clock: The Life Story of Christopher Nolan won the prestigious Whitbread Award in 1988. The third-person account describes Nolan's longing for an education and the liberation of finally being able to type out his feelings.

The book was a frank but sometimes hilarious account of his disability: he described his arm flying out to grab a woman's skirt and how his mouth sometimes remained stubbornly shut when he wanted to take communion.

As novelist Margaret Drabble noted, the book was "not merely another tale of brave strife against odds", adding that Nolan was "a writer, a real writer who uses words with an idiosyncratic new-minded freshness".

Nolan disliked sentimental stories about his disability. Although the Under the Eye of the Clock drew offers to have his book made into a movie, Nolan refused on the grounds that the production would be a sympathy piece, according to the Irish Independent.

"I want to highlight the creativity within the brain of a cripple and, while not attempting to hide his crippledom, I want instead to filter all sob-storied sentiment from his portrait and dwell upon his life, his laughter, his vision, and his nervous normality," the newspaper quoted him as saying.

markp91

16 years

R.I.P. indeed.

I always felt that the story behind Miracle Drug was the most beautiful they ever had. Best story of U2 By U2, without a doubt.
But at least he found rest now.

vanquish

16 years

Phew, what a relief, for a minute there I thought that you meant Christopher Nolan the director.

What a terribly ignonimous way to die, choking on a piece of food.

Will U2 be performing at his funeral?

thefly07

16 years

Originally posted by markp91:R.I.P. indeed.
I always felt that the story behind Miracle Drug was the most beautiful they ever had. Best story of U2 By U2, without a doubt.
But at least he found rest now.

perfectly said Mark. Death is certainly inevitable but never the less unfortunate when it comes. Christopher was certainly a special light in the world. R.I.P.

thefly07

16 years

Originally posted by vanquish:Phew, what a relief, for a minute there I thought that you meant Christopher Nolan the director.

What an ignonimous way to die, choking on a piece of food.

Will U2 be performing at his funeral?

isn't this kind of insensitive?

just saying

vanquish

16 years

Originally posted by thefly07:[..]

isn't this kind of insensitive?

just saying

If you want to read it as such...

I didn't know the man at all, I posted my thoughts,.
I'm not going to post an eulogy if that's what you were expecting.

WIRE

16 years

R.I.P Christopher, for someone with such a disability you achieved a great deal. Your legacy will live on in your poetry.

WIRE

MWSAH

16 years

Not the best way to go..that he may rest in peace.

MirrorballBoy

16 years

What a terrible way to pass away indeed. I must admit I don't know much about him, so thanks for the info Yeah.

That he may find his rest..

Risto

16 years

Rest in Peace

LikeASong

16 years

May he... ?

germcevoy

16 years

Originally posted by vanquish:[..]

If you want to read it as such...

I didn't know the man at all, I posted my thoughts,.
I'm not going to post an eulogy if that's what you were expecting.

Don't post at all then. Insensitive tit.

Sad sad news indeed. Miracle Drug becomes a truly fantastic song when you hear Christophers story. rest easy.

R.I.P. Christopher Nolan

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