Elected: 2016
Year of birth: 1938
Year of death: 2017
Author of Obituary: Richard Eyre
If death is but a crossing of the world
Or a gentle scull across the River Styx
With the boat’s slim sails only half unfurled,
It’s still a journey that no one picks
Through preference. We crowd on the shore, keen
To honour you, to garland your farewell
With blasts of trumpets as you skim between
The banks, and winds of love and praise propel
You, friend-blessed and heart-sent, to the other side.
There you’ll rest indelible in our minds’ inventory
Where your wit, your open-hearted joy and pride,
Will stand, with wisdom, witness to your glory.
There you’ll hoard the exegesis in your last breath
Of the malign mystery of life that’s death.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/jan/29/sir-christopher-bland-obituary
Fellows are nominated by peers and elected by our Council of writers – our governing Board. Being elected a Fellow of the RSL is a lifetime honour. This role gives them the opportunity to support other writers, readers and the future of literature. The RSL connects writers in the Fellowship to one another, and to a wider readership.
