JR Ackerley

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Ackerley and his dog Queenie

JR Ackerley , full name Joe Randolph Ackerley , (born November 4, 1896 in Herne Hill , Kent ; died June 4, 1967 in Putney near London ) was a British novelist , playwright , poet and magazine editor known for his eccentricity .

life and work

Ackerley was the son of actress Netta Aylward and Arthur Roger Ackerley, co-founder of the fruit importer Elders & Fyffes . Arthur was first married to Louise Burckhardt, who was portrayed in the painting Lady with Rose by John Singer Sargent .

Ackerley's educational path was interrupted by his deployment in World War I, during which he was captured and imprisoned in Germany for eight months . In 1921 he graduated from Magdalene College , Cambridge . He processed his war experiences in the play The Prisoners of War (1925). A five-month position as the private secretary of an Indian maharajah in 1923 provided the material for his humorous Hindoo Holiday: An Indian Journal (1932).

From 1928 Ackerley worked for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), where he was from 1935 to 1959 the publisher of the Listener , the company's weekly magazine. Although he published very little himself during his time with the BBC, he developed close relationships with many London writers , especially with EM Forster , about whom he wrote a posthumous portrait (1970) . Most of all, however, he valued the affectionate relationship with his German shepherd , which he wrote about in My Dog Tulip in 1956 .

Ackerley often claimed he was incapable of inventing. His works are best known for his uncensored honesty and obsession with the truth , which includes his frank comments about his homosexual relationships. The humorous novel We Think the World of You (1960), largely based on personal experience, is the strange story of a man's love for his beloved's dog. Ackerley's autobiography My Father and Myself (published posthumously in 1968 ) describes the remarkable double life of his father, a wealthy banana importer who secretly supported two families in separate locations. A posthumous collection of Ackerley's correspondence was published in 1975 as The Ackerley Letters .

In 1982, the PEN Ackerley Prize was launched in his memory and honors an autobiography by a British author every year .

Works in translation

  • Evie, Frank & Johnny , translated by Daniel Göske, Steidl Verlag, Göttingen 1991, ISBN 9783882431896 .
  • Hindu Holiday: An Indian diary , translated by Dorothee and Daniel Göske, Steidl Verlag, Göttingen 1996, ISBN 9783882434156 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b J.R. Ackerley. In: Encyclopædia Britannica . Retrieved August 8, 2020 .
  2. ↑ About. jrackerley.com, accessed August 8, 2020 .
  3. ^ PEN Ackerley Prize. jrackerley.com, accessed August 8, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Ackerley, JR
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Joe Randolph Ackerley (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British writer and editor
DATE OF BIRTH November 4, 1896
PLACE OF BIRTH Herne Hill , Kent
DATE OF DEATH 4th June 1967
Place of death Putney , London