“If Donald Trump could get there, anyone can!” says Nick Toczek with a twinkle in his eye. We are on the subject of writer’s block. “I refuse to accept it,” says the best-selling author.
“I fight against it all the time!” says Nick, who was in the city to perform at Rangoli Metro Art Centre. “Write something, even if it’s not good. I revisit what I write and rework it,” he adds.
But it is one thing to be a writer, and quite another when you want to write, especially when there is hesitation around it. “I give the same advice I do to school children,” says Nick, who works as a poet, magician, storyteller, novelist, and in advertising. “Don’t worry about misspelling a new word you learnt. If you fear using a wrong phrase, then you limit yourself. You can get your writing checked and get guidance on how to improve your work.” Nick’s sheer range of abilities amazes, which also includes being a magician, puppeteer, stand-up comic, and radio broadcaster. “I’ve got a low boredom threshold. If I get remotely interested in anything, I do it in extremes. I used to enter crosswords, then discovered sudoku. I won a sudoku competition several times! And I even entered a competition of being able to finish hot food that nobody could!” While we are on the subject, we discuss curry which is hugely popular in the UK. “I’ve been eating curries since I was eight,” adding, “I ate masala dosa for breakfast here.” The conversation veers to his more than 40,000 public appearances. “I have visited almost 50 countries!”
Among Nick’s poems, The Dragon who Ate Our School is most popular. “I was writing about dragons burning down a school. I then thought the dragon could eat the school. And then it became the dragon could eat the school, but not the school dinner.” Comedy is his forte. “I still write comedy a lot. Quite a lot of my poetry is humorous.” Just when you find yourself admiring his humour, he gets serious to tell you that he has written a political book. “For Routledge, I have written a book, Haters, Baiters and Would-be Dictators , which is about anti-Semitism.”
Nick could talk endlessly about his work and his travels across the world, but there are people waiting at the British Council for him to complete his creative writing workshop. He takes his leave by concluding that his ideas are inspired by real life. “My writing draws from every aspect of being a human in the world. I love the way words fit together. I write while music is playing because that gives me melody and rhyme.”
