I photographed Northern Irish poet and novelist Nick Laird, author of Glover's Mistake (Buy Now), on September 14, 2007. Along with writers Simon Armitage and Richard Murphy, he was contributing to at a panel discussion at the Louis MacNeice Centenary Conference at Queen’s University Belfast. Using a Sony Cybershot DSC-H1 5.1, with the inbuilt flash, the photo was taken from the front row of the lecture theatre, during the panel discussion. So, clearly, there’s been considerable manipulation.

I wanted a photograph of Laird that reflected both his growing ‘stardom’ within the literary world, as well as the possible isolation this might bring with it. A combination of his considerable talents, publication by Faber, good looks, and his marriage to best-selling author Zadie Smith, has made Laird something of a media darling. I imagine this is a situation that’s both a blessing and a curse – especially in the rarefied world of poetry, where any hint of public success invariably initiates a reappraisal of your literary worth.

I hope the extreme adjustment of contrast levels and blackout of the background creates an image that conveys Laird’s pop-art/pop-star appeal. But, at the same time, perhaps that mask’s downcast expression suggests the negative impact of media interest.
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Paul Maddern is published by Templar Poetry. The Beachcomber’s Report is due in Nov. 2010. His art work has been bought by the Naughton Gallery, Queen’s University Belfast, and his photographs have appeared in Fortnight, as cover art for Landing Places (Dedalus Press, 2010), and in programmes for the Belfast Festival. With poet and critic Alex Wylie, he co-edits the new online journal, Poetry Properr, and as part of his doctorate he created the Seamus Heaney Centre Digital Archive.