Clive James, Farewell.

Cherry

By luigi_pagano

Thu, 28 Nov 2019
  • 1233 reads
6 comments
 
What can one say about this man
who was a writer whose intellect
was so splendid that he was held
by many in the greatest respect.
 
He was a poet, a song lyricist,
a novelist and a broadcaster.
He had a wry and deadpan humour
in which he was a supreme master..
 
Those who enjoyed his vast output
can only rue his inevitable demise.
"near to death but thankful for life"
he said, explaining it was no surprise.
 
He'd been diagnosed with leukaemia
as far back as two-thousand and ten
but kept working for nearly ten years
until finally had to hang up his pen.
 
For a long time I followed his career
and of his poetry I was a late convert.
I liked “Jet Lag in Tokyo” but I prefer
“Where the Sea Meets the Desert”.  

 

© Luigi Pagano 2019
Certificate U
Poem
Mutevoli pensieri
Other Non-fiction
Biography

Comments

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

He was a lovely man wasn't he. 

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

He was very likeable as well as erudite, Claudine. His witticism will be missed.
Luigi x

P.S. Thanks for the cherries.

 

Submitted by drew_gummerson on

Very sad to hear the news. What a glittering intellect he was. 

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

A vast intellect and a versatile talent, Drew. He has left a void.

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Well said Luigi. I know he was brilliant and his range boggles me. But what I liked best was how kind he always seemed. Someone it must have been wonderful to know

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

He looked very jovial and funny in his television shows, Di, but his best work was definitely literary. In addition to books and essays, his poetry was excellent and he produced a translation of Dante's Divine Comedy with quatrains instead of terza rima, Remarkable.

Luigi x