British
author P.D. James didn’t start writing until she was nearly 50, and she didn’t
stop until she died last Thursday at age 94.
She rose to fame for her series of 14 detective novels starring police
commander and poet Adam Dalgliesh – who she named after one of her teachers at
Cambridge High School. All told, she
wrote 18 crime novels with a remarkable 15 being made into movies.
The
winner of many, many writing awards, she was also selected by her peers to lead
The Society of Authors – a post she started “temporarily” in 1997 and
reluctantly left due to failing health in 2013. Forced to leave school at age 16 because her
family did not have much money and she needed to work, and because her father
did not believe girls needed an education, she finished her life as the holder
of 7 honorary doctorate degrees from some of the world’s most prestigious
institutions.
On
learning to write, she once said: “(You) learn
to write by doing it. Read widely and
wisely. Increase your word power. Find your own individual voice through
practicing constantly. Go through life
with your eyes and ears open and learn to express that experience through
words. Open your mind to new
experiences, particularly to the study of other people. Nothing that happens to a writer, however
happy, however tragic, is ever wasted.”
P.D.
James
This
great writer will truly be missed, but her words and her wisdom will never die.
Share A Writer’s Moment with a friend by clicking the g+1 button below.
No comments:
Post a Comment