He could put Rambo and Rimbaud in the same sentence, virtually invented TV criticism – and, from his epic poems to his chat show quips, shot an Aussie rocket into the English language. Robert McCrum pays tribute to his great friend
The death of Clive James breaks as its own kind of “fake news”, a moment so long anticipated and imagined – not least by its irrepressible protagonist, merrily riffing on Mark Twain and the rumours of his death being “exaggerated” – that now Clive is no longer with us, it’s hard to take in, to comprehend or quite believe.
For his readers and fans, his audience, this is a moment of infinite sorrow at the passing of a beloved Australian, a supreme entertainer, and a polyvalent literary wizard who, in “the home stretch” (as he called it) managed to be courageous, witty, stoical, inspiring, provocative and sublime, often simultaneously.
Related: Clive James obituary
Continue reading...
0 comments:
Post a Comment