John Spurling (author)

John Antony Spurling[1] (born 17 July 1936) is a Kenyan-English playwright and author who has written thirty plays and four books. Spurling won the 2015 Walter Scott Prize for The Ten Thousand Things. Spurling worked in various other capacities between the 1960s and 1980s, including announcing for BBC Radio from 1963 to 1966 and critiquing art for the New Statesman from 1976 to 1988.

Early life and education

On 17 July 1936, Spurling was born in Kisumu, Kenya, to Antony Cuthbert Spurling (1906-1984), QC, resident magistrate and Crown Counsel at Kisumu and Nairobi, later Solicitor-General of Trinidad, and Attorney-General of Gambia and of Sierra Leone,[2][3] and Elizabeth Frances, daughter of J. C. Stobart.[4][5] After growing up in Nairobi, Spurling left Kenya for England when he was ten;[6] he was educated at the Dragon School, in Oxford.[7] For his post-secondary education, Spurling studied at Marlborough College during the 1950s before completing a Bachelor of Arts from St John's College, Oxford in 1960.[8]

Career

While completing his education, Spurling served as a second lieutenant[9] in the Royal Artillery from 1955 to 1957.[8] Upon completing his schooling, he served as a referendum officer in Southern Cameroons from 1960 to 1961.[5] Spurling was a BBC Radio announcer from 1963 to 1966 and reviewed books and radio programs for The Spectator from 1966 to 1970.[8] In 1976, Spurling became an art critic for the New Statesman and held the position until 1988.[10]

Spurling began his career as a playwright at the age of twelve when he wrote about Julius Caesar's invasions of Britain. His plays became stage productions during the 1960s and 1970s with plays about Che Guevara, Ovid, and Chairman Mao.[11] In the 1970s, Spurling started adapting plays for television and radio. By 2015, Spurling's written works totalled thirty plays and four books.[8][6]

Awards and honours

In 2010, Spurling became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.[12] In 2015, Spurling was awarded the Walter Scott Prize for his book The Ten Thousand Things.[13]

Personal life

In 1961 Spurling married writer (Susan) Hilary, daughter of circuit judge Gilbert Alexander Forrest;[14][15][16] they have three children.[8]

gollark: And Olivia.
gollark: <@356107472269869058> YOUR response to Newcomb's paradox? Also baidicoot.
gollark: On the large scale online tests I've seen it was split about 50/50; weird that we lean so one box.
gollark: Fun!
gollark: You could argue that this makes the paradox also infohazardous since discussion of it means predictions will be more accurate and you lose some ability to choose.

References
  1. International Who's Who of Writers and Authors, 23rd edition, Europa Publications, Taylor & Francis Group, 2008, p. 685
  2. The Colonial Office List, H.M. Stationery Office, 1951, p. 643
  3. https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540891.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-169342?rskey=TeX0li&result=193
  4. http://www.johnspurling.com/about.html
  5. Evory, Ann, ed. (1981). "Spurling, John 1936-". Contemporary Authors. New Revision. 1. Detroit: Gale Research Company. p. 621. ISBN 0810319306.
  6. "John Spurling wins top prize at Borders Book Festival". BBC. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  7. http://www.johnspurling.com/about.html
  8. Kirkpatrick, Kirk; Vinson, James, eds. (1988). "Spurling, John". Contemporary Dramatists (Fourth ed.). Chicago and London: St. James Press. p. 500. ISBN 0912289627.
  9. http://www.johnspurling.com/about.html
  10. Stringer, Jenny, ed. (1996). "Spurling, John". The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Literature in English. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 638. ISBN 0192122711.
  11. Thorner, Robin (7 August 1971). "Stretching the romantic agony". The Guardian. p. 8.
  12. "John Spurling". The Royal Society of Literature. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  13. Bradley, Jane (13 June 2015). "Spurling's Ten Thousand Things wins Walter Scott Prize". The Scotsman. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  14. International Who's Who of Writers and Authors, 23rd edition, Europa Publications, Taylor & Francis Group, 2008, p. 685
  15. The Solicitors' Journal, vol. 121, 1977, p. 648
  16. Kelly's Handbook to the Titled, Landed and Official Classes, 95th edition, Kelly's Directories Ltd, 1969, p. 764
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