The £3,000 Observer/Anthony Burgess Prize for New Writers
To launch the annual prize, Tim Adams, editor of the New Review, recalls a writer’s doomed vocation. Here's how to enter.
Anthony Burgess's Eulogy for Terence Kilmartin
In 1991, Anthony Burgess, then 74, delivered a eulogy reflecting on his life writing reviews for the Observer, which he did for over 30 years. Burgess, author of A Clockwork Orange, was candid about his own efforts, remarking, "Reviewers are lazy," a comment he attributed to George Orwell, who wrote that a reviewer "looks older than he is" and "sits at a table covered with rubbish which he dare not disturb, for there may be a small cheque lying under it."
Reflections on the Reviewers' Profession
Burgess noted that most reviewers start with high hopes and noble aspirations. He admitted his own decline began at the Yorkshire Post, where he sensed a "great silence" from readers, receiving only one letter responding to his comment that British orchids have no smell: "They do, you know," a horticultural lady wrote. Burgess joked that he decided to "arouse some more interest by reviewing a book of my own."
Author's Summary
The article highlights Burgess's candid insights on the reviewer's profession, emphasizing the decline from idealism and the humorous lengths Burgess went to engage readers, acknowledging the challenging realities of literary critique.