Warwick Collins
Encyclopedia
Warwick Collins is a British novelist, screenwriter, yacht designer, and evolutionary theorist.
Collins was born in Johannesburg
to English-speaking parents. His father, Robin Collins, was a novelist who wrote under the nom-de-plume Robin Cranford. Robin Collins's novels were written from a liberal perspective and one of them, My City Fears Tomorrow, was banned by the South African apartheid regime. When Warwick Collins was eleven, his family moved to England, and Collins entered The King's School, Canterbury
. He continued his education at the University of Sussex
, where he read Biology
.
His early poetry was featured in Encounter
between 1968 and 1971.
. In 1975 Collins voiced to Maynard Smith the view that natural selection could not drive evolution because it always acted to reduce variation in favour of an optimum type for any environment, whereas the central story of evolution was that of increasing variation and complexity. Collins quoted Darwin in The Origin of Species ("... unless profitable variations do occur, natural selection can do nothing."), and argued that if variation must always occur before natural selection can act, then variation, and not natural selection, drives evolution. He asked Maynard Smith whether he could search for a "strong" theory of variation. Maynard Smith warned Collins that he could not support his efforts to pursue a rival theory to the theory that natural selection drives evolution. Collins replied that he thought the object of science was to question and examine everything, including hallowed theories such as the theory of natural selection. Maynard Smith asserted that, on the contrary, the strength of science was its capacity to agree on certain principles, and act collectively to pursue agreed aims. This difference of view with his tutor made Collins give up his scientific career and pursue other interests instead.
designer and invented and patented the tandem keel
, which was conceived to create high performance at low draft, but which also remains one of the radical keel
s in the America's Cup
. He continues his interest in yacht design with an innovation in hull design called the Universal Hull. This fuses together two classic hull types (the long, thin, easily-driven hull and the beamy commodious hull) in a form which yields the chief virtues of both types of hull. The two hulls are joined above the waterline by a ledge which also acts as a spray ledge. The resulting shape is easily driven because of the long, thin underwater shape but enjoys the accommodation space (above the waterline) of a beamy hull.
In the 1990s Collins turned to fiction, publishing three sailing novels and then a series of more wide-ranging novels, including two (The Rationalist and The Marriage of Souls) which are set in 18th century Lymington. He has published ten novels to date.
Collins's political views are liberal and libertarian, but (in 1979) he was asked by Keith Joseph
to join a Conservative party think tank chaired by John Hoskyns
(who became Chief Political Adviser to Margaret Thatcher
) to work on issues such as privatisation. Collins, though left of centre politically, has always believed, in common with "classical liberals" such as Gladstone
, that the free market is a superior means of distributing wealth than the state.
Collins's political views manifested themselves in his novel Gents (1996) which has recently been republished by The Friday Project
, and was reviewed as an all-time classic in the Times (8 September 2007). Gents, which describes the lives of three West Indian immigrants who run a urinal in London, is considered to be a leading fiction on tolerance. Collins claims it was stimulated in part by his memories of apartheid when he lived as a child in South Africa.
Collins's other fictions include the somewhat luridly entitled Fuckwoman, a spoof on the superhero genre which details the adventures of a feminist vigilante who hunts down men who commit crimes against women. Set in Los Angeles, it also satirises the movie industry, contrasting Hollywood's emphasis on the image over reality. It has been published in French, German and Italian translations and recently in English as F-Woman.
His most recent novel is The Sonnets, a fictional account of William Shakespeare's life from 1592–4, when the London theatres were closed by threat of plague, during which time many scholars believe that the main body of Shakespeare's sonnets were written.
Warwick Collins maintains an occasional blog at "www.publicpoems.com".
Collins was born in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
to English-speaking parents. His father, Robin Collins, was a novelist who wrote under the nom-de-plume Robin Cranford. Robin Collins's novels were written from a liberal perspective and one of them, My City Fears Tomorrow, was banned by the South African apartheid regime. When Warwick Collins was eleven, his family moved to England, and Collins entered The King's School, Canterbury
The King's School, Canterbury
The King's School is a British co-educational independent school for both day and boarding pupils in the historic English cathedral city of Canterbury in Kent. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group....
. He continued his education at the University of Sussex
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
, where he read Biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
.
His early poetry was featured in Encounter
Encounter (magazine)
Encounter was a literary magazine, founded in 1953 by poet Stephen Spender and early neoconservative author Irving Kristol. The magazine ceased publication in 1991...
between 1968 and 1971.
A Silent Gene Theory of Evolution
Collins studied biology at Sussex University, where his tutor was the leading theoretical biologist John Maynard SmithJohn Maynard Smith
John Maynard Smith,His surname was Maynard Smith, not Smith, nor was it hyphenated. F.R.S. was a British theoretical evolutionary biologist and geneticist. Originally an aeronautical engineer during the Second World War, he took a second degree in genetics under the well-known biologist J.B.S....
. In 1975 Collins voiced to Maynard Smith the view that natural selection could not drive evolution because it always acted to reduce variation in favour of an optimum type for any environment, whereas the central story of evolution was that of increasing variation and complexity. Collins quoted Darwin in The Origin of Species ("... unless profitable variations do occur, natural selection can do nothing."), and argued that if variation must always occur before natural selection can act, then variation, and not natural selection, drives evolution. He asked Maynard Smith whether he could search for a "strong" theory of variation. Maynard Smith warned Collins that he could not support his efforts to pursue a rival theory to the theory that natural selection drives evolution. Collins replied that he thought the object of science was to question and examine everything, including hallowed theories such as the theory of natural selection. Maynard Smith asserted that, on the contrary, the strength of science was its capacity to agree on certain principles, and act collectively to pursue agreed aims. This difference of view with his tutor made Collins give up his scientific career and pursue other interests instead.
Other careers
After leaving university, Collins became a yachtYacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
designer and invented and patented the tandem keel
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
, which was conceived to create high performance at low draft, but which also remains one of the radical keel
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
s in the America's Cup
America's Cup
The America’s Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging...
. He continues his interest in yacht design with an innovation in hull design called the Universal Hull. This fuses together two classic hull types (the long, thin, easily-driven hull and the beamy commodious hull) in a form which yields the chief virtues of both types of hull. The two hulls are joined above the waterline by a ledge which also acts as a spray ledge. The resulting shape is easily driven because of the long, thin underwater shape but enjoys the accommodation space (above the waterline) of a beamy hull.
In the 1990s Collins turned to fiction, publishing three sailing novels and then a series of more wide-ranging novels, including two (The Rationalist and The Marriage of Souls) which are set in 18th century Lymington. He has published ten novels to date.
Collins's political views are liberal and libertarian, but (in 1979) he was asked by Keith Joseph
Keith Joseph
Keith St John Joseph, Baron Joseph, Bt, CH, PC , was a British barrister and politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet under three Prime Ministers , and is widely regarded to have been the "power behind the throne" in the creation of what came to be known as...
to join a Conservative party think tank chaired by John Hoskyns
John Hoskyns
Sir John Leigh Austin Hungerford Hoskyns is best known as a Policy Advisor to Margaret Thatcher while head of the Prime Minister's Policy Unit from May 1979 and April 1982...
(who became Chief Political Adviser to Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
) to work on issues such as privatisation. Collins, though left of centre politically, has always believed, in common with "classical liberals" such as Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
, that the free market is a superior means of distributing wealth than the state.
Collins's political views manifested themselves in his novel Gents (1996) which has recently been republished by The Friday Project
The Friday Project
The Friday Project is a London-based independent publishing house founded by Paul Carr and Clare Christian in June 2004. It evolved out of The Friday Thing, an Internet newsletter taking an offbeat look at the week's politics, media activities and general current events, originally written together...
, and was reviewed as an all-time classic in the Times (8 September 2007). Gents, which describes the lives of three West Indian immigrants who run a urinal in London, is considered to be a leading fiction on tolerance. Collins claims it was stimulated in part by his memories of apartheid when he lived as a child in South Africa.
Collins's other fictions include the somewhat luridly entitled Fuckwoman, a spoof on the superhero genre which details the adventures of a feminist vigilante who hunts down men who commit crimes against women. Set in Los Angeles, it also satirises the movie industry, contrasting Hollywood's emphasis on the image over reality. It has been published in French, German and Italian translations and recently in English as F-Woman.
His most recent novel is The Sonnets, a fictional account of William Shakespeare's life from 1592–4, when the London theatres were closed by threat of plague, during which time many scholars believe that the main body of Shakespeare's sonnets were written.
Warwick Collins maintains an occasional blog at "www.publicpoems.com".
Novels
- Challenge (1990) (novel about the America's Cup)
- New World (1991) (sequel to Challenge)
- Death of an Angel (1992) (sequel, set in 2003)
- The Rationalist (1993) (set in 18th century England)
- Computer OneComputer OneComputer One is a science fiction novel of the near future by British novelist Warwick Collins, published in 1993. The novel charts the discovery by Professor Enzo Yakuda that the international civil network of computers known as "Computer One" will come to see humanity as a threat and move to...
(1993) (science fiction) http://www.holkar.net/reading/book.php?book_id=7 - GentsGentsGents is a novel by Warwick Collins first published in 1997. It is set in the unlikely environment of a "Gentlemen's" toilet, somewhere in London.-Plot introduction:...
(1997, republished in 2007 by The Friday ProjectThe Friday ProjectThe Friday Project is a London-based independent publishing house founded by Paul Carr and Clare Christian in June 2004. It evolved out of The Friday Thing, an Internet newsletter taking an offbeat look at the week's politics, media activities and general current events, originally written together...
) - The Marriage of Souls (1999) (Sequel to the Rationalist)
- Fuckwoman (published in French and German in 2002)
- The Sonnets (2008)
External links
- A Silent Gene Theory Of Evolution
- Public Poems – Warwick's blog
- Warwick Collins: Lock Up Your Laptops, ProspectProspect (magazine)Prospect is a monthly British general interest magazine, specialising in politics and current affairs. Frequent topics include British, European, and US politics, social issues, art, literature, cinema, science, the media, history, philosophy, and psychology...
(December 1997).