A David Walliams (London, 52 years old) He just doesn’t care what people think of him. Williams by birth – a surname that was too generic – decided to change his stage name to give it a little more spark and take himself, in the process, a little less seriously. Like a caricature of himself, a stereotypical British man, he orders a cup and some chocolates to sweeten the conversation at five in the afternoon. I like dark chocolate because I can eat more of it, he explains to the third chocolate.
The successful author spends a few days in Madrid before taking the train to Barcelona, where he will pronounce the pregn of Sant Jordi’s Day this afternoon. For me it is surreal to write a story and have someone in Spain, miles from my living room, enjoy it as much as I do. If you think about it, it’s insane. So having the opportunity to meet the readers and share this important speech It makes me very excited and, at the same time, it makes me very nervous, he admits.
Walliams is the first writer of children’s and young people’s literature to enjoy such a privilege in the entire history of Sant Jordi and, if we take a look at the sales lists, there are plenty of reasons for his choice: more than 56 million copies of his stories and novels They have been sold all over the world, translated into 55 languages - including Spanish and Catalan. Titles such as Grandma gangster, Dogbot y rat snacks.
Walliams has achieved success through his own merit, but this inevitably causes his work to be compared to another genius of British literature, Roald Dahl, with whom he shares the sarcastic and biting style. I am grateful to exist in the same universe as Dahl, I admire him very much and he has been a teacher for all of us who dedicate ourselves to this. But I try not to listen to what people say because you don’t always run the risk of believing them: just as they compare you to him, they can start saying that your books are shit. I limit myself to listening only to my own conscience, he says.
Last year, much of Roald Dahl’s work was on the verge of being censored in its original version. The Puffin publishing house, in connivance with the writer’s heirs, wanted to remove from the pages from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Witches o Matilda expressions considered offensive, such as fat, dwarf or ugly old woman. I think that political correctness is getting out of hand, I don’t think that people are bothered that there are certain inappropriate words in a book that was written 50 or 60 years ago. Maybe I’m not in the right social group, but those things don’t offend me. Including a note or notice that explains the context can be educational, but significantly altering the meaning of a text seems like vandalism to me, says Walliams.
It’s something that worries me because what are we going to do, then? Are we going to cut scenes from movies, re-edit song lyrics, cover paintings, ban plays? We’re going to go crazy with this whole censorship thing if it doesn’t end, just because someone decided to start pointing out what didn’t seem right to them at a given moment.
Precisely in The boy in the dress (2008) -illustrated by Quentin Blakelike most of Dahl-Walliams’ books, tells the story of Dennis, a 12-year-old aspiring footballer, who is encouraged by a rebellious friend to cross-dress. The reactions of his family, colleagues and schoolmates are immediate. Nor those of (adult) readers and critics. Why do parents seem more concerned about what their children read than about the threats they may encounter on the Internet, far from their control?
We are being too overprotective, we don’t let children find something that is valid for them outside of what we consider strictly appropriate. It’s a pretty snobbish attitude, says Walliams. When she was young she watched movies about gunmen, violent action scenes where they slapped or addressed women in a sexist way, like in the James Bond saga. I knew that was not right, I have seen it as I grew up, but they never caused me any trauma, she maintains.
In addition to being a writer, the prolific David Walliams has also developed a multifaceted career as an actor, comedian and presenter. He started as a comedian in television series Little Britain y Rock Profile and shared a jury table with the controversial Simon Cowell in the television contest Britain’s Got Talent. Explains that, in humor, there is a fine line between what can be said and what cannot: Sometimes it is like walking a tightrope, in permanent tension, when uncomfortable topics are discussed. But I think, in a way, we all censor ourselves daily. It’s something as simple as not saying everything we think when we are talking to someone.
Walliams publications have become one of the largest multimedia entertainment brands in the UK today. Several of his novels and stories have remained at the top of the general lists of best-seller books for 79 weeks and more than 241 weeks on the children’s lists, an achievement that no other children’s writer has achieved in his country. His literary universe also includes television adaptations, theater productions, a line of merchandising and even an attraction. at Alton Towers theme park. Even so, in the midst of technological effervescence, Walliams recognizes that it is more difficult than ever to attract the attention of children since the competition is too attractive.
It is quite a challenge because there are infinite distractions and stimuli. When I was little, There was only one free-to-air channel, and the cartoon programming started at four-thirty pm. The rest of the time, nothing. Now my 10-year-old son has a console, an iPad to watch series and movies, and a mobile phone. What are you going to do against that? Children want something to entertain them, so I try to make my books as entertaining as possible to live up to their expectations, he says. It is true that we have all read boring books, it is part of the process of training us as readers, but if we manage to hook them with intergenerational phenomena such as Harry Potterthen they will be the ones who demand to go to the bookstore.