75-year old Clive James’ new book of poems, Sentenced to Life is published next month. The one-time TV host and searingly brilliant TV critic is currently battling leukaemia, emphysema, and various carcinomas.
"I’ve had a lucky life –where’s the tragedy?" he recently declared in a fascinating interview with Billie JD Porter for Channel 4 News. In the course of the interview, he also read from the new work.
The poem Japanese Maple, concerning his close observations of a tree planted by his daughter, went viral on its publication last year. The author was inundated with online messages from fans expressing their empathy - often through tears - with the poem. Sentenced to Life is published by Picador.
“Death is a big, big theme and it’s universal,” James told The Australian. “It’s going to happen to everyone. I’ve been technically dead now for several years, but I’m getting more productive. It’s brought a new clarity.”
