David Sweetman (16 March 1943 – 7 April 2002) was a British writer, critic, teacher and broadcaster.

Early life

Born David Robert Sweetman in 1943, he left Dilston in 1960 to study Fine Art at King's College, Newcastle (University of Durham), as a scholarship student. At King's he formed what would become a lifelong friendship with

Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. He became known as the frontman of the band Roxy Music and also launched a solo career. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established ...

, an artist and performer. After graduation, he went to Africa to teach English. He took a diploma at Makerere College in Uganda and wrote a series of textbooks on teaching English for the British Council in Tunisia, as well as a series of adventure books (''Skyjack over Africa'' and other titles) and biographies (''Queen Nzinga: The Woman Who Saved Her People'', among other titles in his series called Makers of African History) published by Longmans for younger African readers to encourage their language skills. Toward the end of the decade, he taught English and art at a school in Dar es Salaam.

Writer and poet

Sweetman was a frequent and prolific book reviewer and a poet of some distinction. His poems were published in a number of periodicals including '' The Listener'', the ''

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'', the ''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

'' and ''

Quarto Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...

''. In 1981, Faber published a collection, ''Looking into the Deep End'', which became a Poetry Book Society Choice. His important survey Women Leaders in African History was published in 1984. In 1986, ''Zeffirelli'', a biography of Italian film director

Franco Zeffirelli Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (; 12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019) was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post–World War II e ...

was published. He then turned to writing artist biographies. His 1990

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

biography, ''The Love of Many Things'' (also published as ''Van Gogh: His Life and His Art'') became an award-winning book. This was quickly followed by biographies of

Mary Renault Eileen Mary Challans (4 September 1905 – 13 December 1983), known by her pen name Mary Renault ("She always pronounced it 'Ren-olt', though almost everyone would come to speak of her as if she were a French car." ), was a British writer best k ...

(1994),

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...

(1995), and ''Explosive Acts:

Toulouse-Lautrec ''Comte'' Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901), known as Toulouse-Lautrec (), was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist, and illustrator whose immersion in the colourful an ...

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

Félix Fénéon Félix Fénéon (; 22 June 1861 – 29 February 1944) was a French art critic, gallery director, writer and anarchist during the late 19th century and early 20th century. He coined the term '' Neo-Impressionism'' in 1886 to identify a group of ...

, and the Art & Anarchy of the Fin de Siecle'' (1999). He had a novel, ''A Tribal Fever'', published in 1996. A generous man with an acerbic wit, his London home was often filled with African refugees. He also wrote a series of cookbooks and created restaurants with his longtime companion, Thai chef Vatcharin Bhumitchitr."Obituary, David Sweetman: Gifted writer committed to Africa and Thailand"
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Broadcaster

In 1971, Sweetman, who had been associated briefly with the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...

, became presenter of " Poetry Workshop," one of

BBC Radio London BBC Radio London is the BBC Local Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Greater London. It broadcasts on FM broadcasting, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at Broadcasting House in Langham Plac ...

's first literary programmes. Sweetman co-produced the weekly programme with

Denis Boyles Denis Boyles was a journalist, editor, university lecturer and the author/editor of several books of poetry, travel/history, criticism, humor, practical advice and essays, including ''Design Poetics'' (1975), ''The Modern Man's Guide to Life'' (198 ...

, an American poet and journalist, for Wanda's Factory, a London "underground" literary cooperative. He interviewed a number of important literary figures for the programme, including

Stephen Spender Sir Stephen Harold Spender (28 February 1909 – 16 July 1995) was an English poet, novelist and essayist whose work concentrated on themes of social injustice and the class struggle. He was appointed U.S. Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry ...

and

Lawrence Durrell Lawrence George Durrell (; 27 February 1912 – 7 November 1990) was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer. He was the eldest brother of naturalist and writer Gerald Durrell. Born in India to British colonial pa ...

. He subsequently became a television documentary director and producer, collaborating with

Roderick Gradidge Roderick Gradidge Architectural Association School of Architecture, AA Dipl. ARIBA (3 January 1929 – 20 December 2000) was a British architect and writer on architecture, former Master of the Art Workers Guild and campaigner for a traditional a ...

for a series on architecture, with

Stephen Bayley Stephen Paul Bayley (born 13 October 1951) is a Welsh writer and critic, known particularly for his commentary on architecture and design. He was founding CEO of the Design Museum in London in 1989, and has been a regular architecture, art and ...

for a series on design, and with

Anton Dolin Anton Dolin may refer to: * Anton Dolin (ballet dancer) (1904–1983), English ballet dancer and choreographer * Anton Dolin (film critic) Anton Vladimirovich Dolin (; ) is a Russian film critic, journalist, radio host, blogger and podcaster. ...

and

Wayne Sleep Wayne Philip Colin Sleep (born 17 July 1948) is a British dancer, director, choreographer, and actor who appeared on the BBC series '' The Real Marigold on Tour'' and ITV's '' The Real Full Monty''. Early life Wayne Sleep was born in Plymou ...

for a series on the ballet. Sweetman's documentary reports were also broadcast on Omnibus. Sweetman was diagnosed in early 2000 with

multiple system atrophy Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder characterized by tremors, slow movement, muscle rigidity, postural instability (collectively known as parkinsonism), autonomic dysfunction and ataxia. This is caused by progr ...

and died in London two years later.

References

* Profile
How we met: David Sweetman and Franco Zeffirelli
in The Independent, 23 March 1993, by Fiametta Rocco. * Interview
The Hidden Depths of Quite Contrary Mary
in the Observer, 28 March 1993.

External links

Madly Gifted
Article by David Sweetman on the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

Hans Prinzhorn Hans Prinzhorn (6 June 1886 – 14 June 1933) was a German psychiatrist and art historian. Biography Born in Hemer, Westphalia, he studied art history and philosophy at the universities of Tübingen, Leipzig and Munich, then receiving his doctor ...

collection * Obituary i
The Independent
11 April 2002, by Andrew Best * Obituary i
The Guardian
12 April 2002, by David McGillivray {{DEFAULTSORT:Sweetman, David 1943 births 2002 deaths English biographers English broadcasters English literary critics Deaths from multiple system atrophy Neurological disease deaths in England English gay writers British LGBTQ broadcasters People from Corbridge Writers from Northumberland English LGBTQ poets English LGBTQ novelists British male poets English male novelists 20th-century English poets 20th-century English novelists 20th-century British biographers 20th-century English male writers English male non-fiction writers British male biographers 20th-century British LGBTQ people