Australian author Clive James has sadly passed away at his UK home in Cambridge, north of London.
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Family and friends of the acclaimed poet attended his funeral today. He was first diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia almost ten years ago, his agent confirmed on Twitter.
“Clive died almost 10 years after his first terminal diagnosis and one month after he laid down his pen for the last time,” the statement said. “He endured his ever-multiplying illnesses with patience and good humour knowing until the last moment that he had experienced more than his fair share of this ‘great, good world’.”
Clive worked as a critic for various publications both in Australia and the UK, as well as publishing many books of poetry. He also hosted his own television show on the ITV network called Clive James on Television until his defection to the BBC in 1989 (where he launched a similar series called Saturday Night Clive).
The Unreliable Memoirs writer was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1992, which was upgraded to Officer level (AO) in the 2013 Australia Day Honours. He was also awarded the Orwell Prize for Writing and Broadcasting in 2008 and was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2012.
The illness saw “the kid from Kogarah” more active than ever, with eight books published since his 2010 diagnosis, as well as a weekly column for The Guardian called “Reports of My Death” until mid-2017. The column covered “life, death and everything in between.”
Clive’s daughter, Claerwen, referred to him as “a showman and a recluse at the same time,” according to 9 News.
