[Jan Iwaszkiewicz]

Sad news indeed.

[Gregory Dowling]

I just found this thread from 1st January 2008 in which Sam first presented John's poem "The Examiners" to the Sphere, before John had actually joined us.

[Nicholas Stone]

This is very sad news. John was a first-rate poet and an extremely generous man. He was a terrific person to talk to and learn from, immensely helpful and kind. I will miss him.

I agree that Selected and Collected volumes should be forthcoming.

[Ed Shacklee]

To say this is sad is inadequate; to forget John and his his brilliant, often extremely funny poems is impossible.

We will not see his like again.

So my thought is that, as we wait and hope for a selected and/or collected book of poems, we should roll up our sleeves a bit. I'll be posting a John Whitworth poem on Facebook every day for the next little while. If you happen to run across one of more of his books on Amazon, I'd ask you to consider leaving a review. Tell a friend or a stranger, give away a copy of Joy in the Morning or Girlie Gangs at Christmas or on birthdays, anything to spread the word. It would be a way of remembering, but also a gift to everyone else who has not heard of him yet. My two cents, anyway.

Best,

Ed

[Michael F]

More praise.

I found this interview following Gregory's link above. John was very well read and I always loved reading his takes on other poets. This interview is a delight for that, and for his honest (neither falsely modest nor self-prepossessed) appraisal of himself.

[Bill Carpenter]

A great loss to all who benefited from his poems and commentary on the Sphere. I wonder how far along is his next book.

[Jayne Osborn]

Today I received a very nice email from Lucy at The Spectator, thanking me for letting her know about John.

John's wife still can't go ahead and arrange the funeral as the coroner seems to be dragging his heels.

Jayne

[Cally Conan-Davies]

Excellent idea, Agent!

And Michael F. - thanks for the interview link. What a character!

It is a sort of lovely-strange phenomenon how Les and John died almost side-by-side, timewise.

[Martin Elster]

Here is a tribute to John in The Society of Classical Poets.

https://classicalpoets.org/2019/04/3...april-22-2019/

[Ann Drysdale]

Just to let you know that, at her request, I have copied all these posts and sent them to John's wife, Doreen. She thanks you all for your "really splendid tributes".