Let me offer my condolences too, Wystan. Thank you for posting this
wonderful tribute to your father on Poetryetc and honoring the list as well.
Viva poetry indeed!
Warmly,
Candice
> My father died last night shortly after seven. There are I know many on
> the list
> who know his work and who will be saddened by his death.
>
> He didn't suffer. A cold that had gone to his chest on Saturday was a
> concern
> and he went to hospital. By the end of the day and a range of tests all
> seemed well
> but he was to stay there for a day or two under observation. After dinner
> last night
> his heart stopped all of a sudden.
>
> He turned 90 this year. His last book, The Bells of St Babels, Auckland
> University Press,
> came out earlier this year and won the Montana Prize for Poetry. The
> Carcanet edition
> will be published this week. He had given quite a few readings this year,
> the last being
> a week ago in Auckland. Just before that he was in the studio recording a
> three hours selection
> of his work for the BBC archives. As all this suggests, he surrendered
> very little to age
> before it ran out of patience with him.
>
> Long live poetry!
>
> Wystan.
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