Writers pay tribute to Bradbury

Andrew Motion: Desolated

Fellow writers were among the first to pay tribute to Sir Malcolm Bradbury, who has died at the age of 68 after a long illness.

Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, who took over the writing course established in 1970 by Bradbury at the University of East Anglia, called it "desolating news".

"He was a man of immense charm, affability and kindness, with no side to him," said Motion.

Bradbury was "a marvellous teacher with an exceptional track record," novelist Anita Brookner told The Times.

Novelist David Lodge said: "Malcolm was my oldest and warmest writer friend. He was not only an important novelist but a man of letters of a kind that is now rare."

Passion

Author Ian McEwan, one of his first students, said being a student of Sir Malcolm's was "extraordinary luck".

Speaking to Radio 4's Today programme, Mr McEwan, now an acclaimed author, said: "I got the full force of his fabulous scholarship and immense passion for other writers.

"Every time I finished a story I had Malcolm's undivided attention...his open-minded, scrupulous literary judgement brought to bear on my work."

He said Bradbury was "a marvellous ambassador" for the novel worldwide.

"He really dedicated his life to the celebration of it."