James Hamilton-Paterson (born 6 November 1941) is a
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...
and
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...
.
He is one of the most reclusive of
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
literary exiles, dividing his time between
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
and the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
.
Early life
James Hamilton-Paterson was born on 6 November 1941 in
London, England
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...
. His father was a neurosurgeon who treated the
Aga Khan
Aga Khan ( fa, آقاخان, ar, آغا خان; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imām of the Nizari Ismāʿīli Shias. Since 1957, the holder of the title has been the 49th Imām, Prince Shah Kari ...
and provided the inspiration for the poem "Disease", for which Hamilton-Paterson was awarded the
Newdigate Prize.
He was educated at
Windlesham House, Sussex, Bickley Hall, Kent,
King's School, Canterbury
The King's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for 13 to 18 year old pupils) in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It is Britain's ...
and
Exeter College, Oxford
(Let Exeter Flourish)
, old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall''
, named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter
, established =
, sister_college = Emmanuel College, Cambridge
, rector = Sir Richard Trainor
...
.
Having worked as a hospital orderly at
St. Stephen's Hospital between 1966–1968, Paterson earned his first break as a writer in 1969, when he began working as a reporter for the ''
New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
''. This continued until 1974, when he became features editor for ''
Nova
A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramat ...
'' magazine.
Literary career
Hamilton-Paterson is generally known as a commentator on the Philippines, where he has lived on and off since 1979. His novel ''
Ghosts of Manila'' (1994) portrayed the
Philippine capital in all its decay and violence and was highly critical of the
Marcoses – a view he rescinded with the publication of ''
America's Boy'' (1998), which sets the
Marcos regime Marcos may refer to:
People with the given name ''Marcos''
*Marcos (given name)
Sports
;Surnamed
* Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century)
* Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer
* Nélson Marcos, Portugu ...
into the geopolitical context of the time.
In 1989, ''
Gerontius'' was published, a reconstruction of a journey made by the composer Sir
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...
along the
River Amazon
The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile.
The headwaters of ...
in 1923. Regarded by admirers as being among the best British novels of the 1980s, its poetic language, dreamlike landscapes and lush imaginings won him the
Whitbread Award for first novel.
In 1992, he published ''Seven-Tenths'', a far-ranging meditation upon the sea and its meanings. A mixture of art, science, history and philosophy, this book is a deep, abstract lament on loss and the loss of meaning.
In 2000, he returned to the magazine industry as a science columnist for ''
Das Magazin
''Tages-Anzeiger'' (), also abbreviated ''Tagi'' or ''TA'', is a Swiss German-language national daily newspaper published in Zurich, Switzerland.
History and profile
The paper was first published under the name ''Tages-Anzeiger für Stadt und ...
'' (Zurich) for two years before becoming a science columnist for ''
Die Weltwoche
''Die Weltwoche'' (German for "The World Week") is a Swiss weekly magazine based in Zürich. Founded in 1933, it has been privately owned by Roger Köppel since 2006.
The magazine's regular columnists include the former president of the Social ...
''.
More recently he won acclaim for his Gerald Samper trilogy as well as his non-fiction book ''Empire of the Clouds'', which details the aviation industry in post-war Britain.
Bibliography
Poetry
*''Option Three'' (1974)
*''Dutch Alps'' (1984)
Fiction
*''The View from Mount Dog'' (1987)
*''Gerontius'' (1989)
*''The Bell Boy'' (American title: ''That Time in Malomba'') (1990)
*''Griefwork'' (1993)
*''Ghosts of Manila'' (1994)
*''The Music'' (1995)
*''Loving Monsters'' (2002)
*''Cooking with Fernet Branca'' (2004)
*''Amazing Disgrace'' (2006)
*''Rancid Pansies'' (2008)
*''Under the Radar: A Novel'' (2013)
Children's fiction
*''Flight Underground'' (1969)
*''The House in the Waves'' (1970)
*''Hostage'' (1978)
Non-fiction
*''A very personal war: the story of Cornelius Hawkridge'' (1971)
* ''Mummies: Death and Life in Ancient Egypt'' with Carol Andrews, Collins for
British Museum Publications, 1978,
*''Playing with Water'' (1987)
*''Three Miles Down'' (1990), an account of an underwater search using the
Mir submersibles.
*''Seven-Tenths: the sea and its thresholds'' (1992)
*''America's Boy'' (1998)
*''Vom Meer'' (2010)
*''Empire of the Clouds: When Britain's Aircraft Ruled the World'' (2010)
*''Marked for Death: The First War in the Air'' (2015)
*''Beethoven's Third Symphony 'The Eroica' '' (2016)
*''Blackbird: The Story of the Lockheed SR-71 Spy Plane'' (2017)
*''What We Have Lost: The Dismantling of Great Britain'' (2018)
*''Trains, Planes, Ships and Cars: The Golden Age 1900-1941'' (2020)
References
Profile in the ''Guardian''
External links
James Hamilton-Patersonat
Granta.comJames Hamilton-Paterson talking about 'Gerontius', ICA, 1989
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton-Paterson, James
1941 births
Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford
Living people
People educated at The King's School, Canterbury
People educated at Windlesham House School
Writers from London
English male poets