David Widgery (27 April 1947 – 26 October 1992) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Marxist writer, journalist, polemicist, physician, and activist.

Biography

Widgery was born in

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

and grew up in Maidenhead, Berkshire. He contracted

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

as a child and was expelled from sixth form for publishing a magazine. In 1965, Widgery met

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

, then visited

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, where he encountered the

civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

, followed by

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. On return to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, he studied medicine at the Royal Free Hospital Medical School before writing for the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British Political magazine, political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney Webb, Sidney and Beatrice ...

'' and '' Oz'' magazines, becoming co-editor of ''Oz'' during 1971. Widgery joined the International Socialists in 1967, remaining in the group when it became the Socialist Workers Party in 1977. He began working at Bethnal Green Hospital in 1972, worked at St Leonard’s Hospital in the late 1970s and later in the decade he published his first book, ''The Left in Britain, 1956–68''. Widgery contributed to ''Ink'', '' Time Out'' and '' City Limits'', also writing for the ''New Statesman'', '' Socialist Review'', ''

International Socialism Proletarian internationalism, sometimes referred to as international socialism, is the perception of all communist revolutions as being part of a single global class struggle rather than separate localized events. It is based on the theory that ...

'' and ''

New Society ''New Society'' was a weekly magazine of social inquiry and social and cultural comment, published in the United Kingdom from 1962 to 1988. It drew on the disciplines of sociology, anthropology, psychology, human geography, social history and so ...

''. He also presented a paper at the ninth symposium of the National Deviancy Conference in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

(7–8 January 1972) on "The Politics of the Underground". His books include ''The Chatto Book of Dissent'' (1991), an anthology of dissident writings co-edited with

Michael Rosen Michael Wayne Rosen (born 7 May 1946) is a British children's author, poet, presenter, political columnist, broadcaster and activist who has written 140 books. He served as Children's Laureate from 2007 to 2009. Early life Michael Wayne Ro ...

, ''Some Lives!: A GP's East End'' (1991), the story of his experience as a doctor in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

's East End, ''The National Health: A Radical Perspective'', and ''Beating Time'' (1986), an account of the

Rock Against Racism Rock Against Racism (RAR) was a political and cultural movement which emerged in 1976 in reaction to a rise in racist attacks on the streets of the United Kingdom and increasing support for the far-right National Front at the ballot box. Betwe ...

movement of the late 1970s. When Widgery died, aged 45, excess alcohol, barbiturates and pethidine were found in his bloodstream, but it is not known whether this was an accidental or intentional overdose. One obituary described Widgery as "a radical

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

intellectual on permanent loan to revolutionary

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

Publications

* Widgery, D. (1976), ''The Left in Britain, 1956-68'' (Peregrine Books) * Widgery, D. (ed) (1980), ''The Book of the Year: September 1979 to September 1980'' (Inklinks) * Widgery, D., ''The National Health: A Radical Perspective'' * Widgery, D. (1986), ''Beating Time'' * Widgery, D. (1989), ''Preserving Disorder (Essays on Society & Culture)'' (

Pluto Press Pluto Press is a British independent book publisher based in London, founded in 1969. Originally, it was the publishing arm of the International Socialists (today known as the Socialist Workers Party), until it changed hands and was replaced ...

) * Widgery, D. and Rosen, M. (eds) (1991), ''The Chatto Book of Dissent'' (Chatto) * Widgery, D. and Shelton, S. (1991), ''Some Lives!: A GP's East End'', London:

Sinclair Stevenson Sinclair-Stevenson Ltd is a British publisher founded in 1989 by Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson. Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson became an editor at Hamish Hamilton in 1961. Thirteen years later in 1974 he became managing director, establishing ...

. * Widgery, D. (1991), ''Marketa Luskacova: Photographs of Spitalfields'' (

Whitechapel Art Gallery The Whitechapel Gallery is a public art gallery in Whitechapel on the north side of Whitechapel High Street, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The original building, designed by Charles Harrison Townsend, opened in 1901 as one of the ...

)

References

External links

Catalogue of Widgery's papers
held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Widgery, David 1947 births 1992 deaths British anti-racism activists British communists British humanists British male journalists British Marxists 20th-century English medical doctors British socialists British Trotskyists Drug-related deaths in England Barbiturates-related deaths Male non-fiction writers Marxist journalists Marxist writers People from Chipping Barnet People from Maidenhead People with polio Socialist Workers Party (UK) members