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Anthony Burgess was a prolific English writer and composer who is best known for his dystopian novel ‘A Clockwork Orange.’ He was a versatile linguist and translated numerous works, and he was also an accomplished composer who produced over 250 musical works.
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About the Anthony Burgess
John Anthony Burgess Wilson, who published under the name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer and composer.
Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his dystopian satire A Clockwork Orange remains his best-known novel. In 1971, it was adapted into a controversial film by Stanley Kubrick, which Burgess said was chiefly responsible for the popularity of the book. Burgess produced numerous other novels, including the Enderby quartet, and Earthly Powers. He wrote librettos and screenplays, including the 1977 television mini-series Jesus of Nazareth. He worked as a literary critic for several publications, including The Observer and The Guardian, and wrote studies of classic writers, notably James Joyce. A versatile linguist, Burgess lectured in phonetics, and translated Cyrano de Bergerac, Oedipus Rex, and the opera Carmen, among others. Burgess was nominated and shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1973.
Burgess also composed over 250 musical works; he considered himself as much a composer as an author, although he achieved considerably more success in writing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Anthony Burgess was an English writer and composer who published under the name Anthony Burgess. He was known for his dystopian novel ‘A Clockwork Orange’ and his versatility as a linguist and translator.
Anthony Burgess’ most famous novel was the dystopian satire ‘A Clockwork Orange,’ which was later adapted into a controversial film by Stanley Kubrick.
In addition to his novels, Anthony Burgess wrote librettos and screenplays, including the 1977 television mini-series ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’ He also composed over 250 musical works and worked as a literary critic for publications like The Observer and The Guardian.
Anthony Burgess was nominated and shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1973, though he achieved considerably more success as a writer than as a composer.
Anthony Burgess was a versatile linguist who lectured in phonetics and translated works like Cyrano de Bergerac, Oedipus Rex, and the opera Carmen.
Burgess said the 1971 film adaptation of ‘A Clockwork Orange’ by Stanley Kubrick was chiefly responsible for the popularity of the book.
In addition to ‘A Clockwork Orange,’ Anthony Burgess wrote other novels like the Enderby quartet and ‘Earthly Powers,’ as well as studies of classic writers like James Joyce.
21 Quotes by Anthony Burgess
- 1.
One of the delights known to age, and beyond the grasp of youth, is that of Not Going.
Anthony BurgessEnglish writer and composer (1917-1993)
- 2.
He said it was artificial respiration, but now I find I am to have his child.
Anthony BurgessEnglish writer and composer (1917-1993)
- 3.
The downtrodden are the great creators of slang.
Anthony BurgessEnglish writer and composer (1917-1993)
- 4.
I didn’t think; I experimented.
Anthony BurgessEnglish writer and composer (1917-1993)
- 5.
We all need money, but there are degrees of desperation.
Anthony BurgessEnglish writer and composer (1917-1993)
- 6.
Readers are plentiful: thinkers are rare.
Anthony BurgessEnglish writer and composer (1917-1993)
- 7.
Women thrive on novelty and are easy meat for the commerce of fashion. Men prefer old pipes and torn jackets.
Anthony BurgessEnglish writer and composer (1917-1993)
- 8.
A novelist should not be too intelligent either, although… he may be permitted to be an intellectual.
Anthony BurgessEnglish writer and composer (1917-1993)
- 9.
The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent, experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it, if it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.
Anthony BurgessEnglish writer and composer (1917-1993)
- 10.
Books in a large university library system: 2,000,000. Books in an average large city library: 10,000. Average number of books in a chain bookstore: 30,000. Books in an average neighborhood branch library: 20,000.
Anthony BurgessEnglish writer and composer (1917-1993)
- 11.
Life is a wretched gray Saturday, but it has to be lived through.
Anthony BurgessEnglish writer and composer (1917-1993)
- 12.
To write is to become disinterested. There is a certain renunciation in art.
Anthony BurgessEnglish writer and composer (1917-1993)
- 13.
Every dogma has its day.
Anthony BurgessEnglish writer and composer (1917-1993)
- 14.
Bath twice a day to be really clean, once a day to be passably clean, once a week to avoid being a public menace.
Anthony BurgessEnglish writer and composer (1917-1993)
- 15.
It’s always good to remember where you come from and celebrate it. To remember where you come from is part of where you’re going.
Anthony BurgessEnglish writer and composer (1917-1993)
- 16.
The unconscious mind has a habit of asserting itself in the afternoon.
Anthony BurgessEnglish writer and composer (1917-1993)
- 17.
The possession of a book becomes a substitute for reading it.
Anthony BurgessEnglish writer and composer (1917-1993)
- 18.
Violence among young people is an aspect of their desire to create. They don’t know how to use their energy creatively so they do the opposite and destroy.
Anthony BurgessEnglish writer and composer (1917-1993)
- 19.
Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone.
Anthony BurgessEnglish writer and composer (1917-1993)
- 20.
Americans will listen, but they do not care to read. War and Peace must wait for the leisure of retirement, which never really comes: meanwhile it helps to furnish the living room.
Anthony BurgessEnglish writer and composer (1917-1993)
- 21.
If you believe in an unseen Christ, you will believe in the unseen Christlike potential of others.
Anthony BurgessEnglish writer and composer (1917-1993)