Paul William Roberts
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Paul William Roberts (1950 – May 17, 2019) was a Canadian writer who spent many years in Toronto before moving to the Laurentians in Quebec upon losing his vision. Born in Wales and educated at
Exeter College, Oxford (Let Exeter Flourish) , old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall'' , named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter , established = , sister_college = Emmanuel College, Cambridge , rector = Sir Richard Trainor ...
, where he gained a second in English Language and Literature, Roberts moved permanently to Canada in 1980. He lived for several years prior to this in India, where he taught at
Bangalore University Bangalore University (BU) is a public state university located in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The university is a part of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and affiliated by Univer ...
and studied
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
at the
Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916 ...
in
Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...
. While working on his first novel, ''The Palace of Fears'', he worked as a television producer at the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, and then the CBC and Citytv in Toronto, and was one of the original cohosts of
TVOntario TVO Media Education Group (often abbreviated as TVO and stylized on-air as tvo) is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario ...
's literature talk series '' Imprint''. He covered both the
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
and 2003
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
wars for '' Harper's'', winning numerous awards and accolades, including the 2005 inaugural
PEN A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity wh ...
'Paul Kidd Award for Courage in Journalism'. While known to be a friend of ''Harper's'' editor Lewis H. Lapham, whom he regards as a
mentor Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...
, he was believed to be something of a recluse. His non-fiction writing has always received highly enthusiastic reviews, but is difficult to categorize, being more memoir, political critique and history than travelogue. In 2008 Roberts lost vision in both eyes and was declared legally blind. Roberts had completed an historical novel on Queen Victoria's father, the Duke of Kent and several works of fiction and memoir when he died before publishing. He died on May 17, 2019


Political stance

Although praised by
Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky i ...
and others on the Left for his tireless opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and ongoing US policies in the Middle East and
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...
, Roberts' criticisms of
neoconservatism Neoconservatism is a political movement that began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist foreign policy of the Democratic Party and with the growing New Left and ...
and its influence over foreign policy seem to stem from deeper philosophical differences with the ideas of Leo Strauss, who many regard as the founder of the new
Right Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical ...
's ideology. Roberts contended that Strauss is guilty of a fundamental and possibly willful misreading of
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
that stems from using
al-Farabi Abu Nasr Muhammad Al-Farabi ( fa, ابونصر محمد فارابی), ( ar, أبو نصر محمد الفارابي), known in the West as Alpharabius; (c. 872 – between 14 December, 950 and 12 January, 951)PDF version was a renowned early Isl ...
's Commentary rather than the Socratic texts. He also placed Strauss within the context of
Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his car ...
, Adorno,
Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; ; 26 September 188926 May 1976) was a German philosopher who is best known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. He is among the most important and influential philosophers of the 20th centur ...
and other exponents of what he termed "philosophical fascism". Roberts was a long-time friend of the writers Martin Amis, with whom he shared a house at Oxford, and
Christopher Hitchens Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was a British-American author and journalist who wrote or edited over 30 books (including five essay collections) on culture, politics, and literature. Born and educated in England, ...
. Roberts was for many years a supporter of
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
but he increasingly criticized Israeli policies and expressed sympathy for the plight of Palestinians, stating that he viewed them as "more sinned against than sinning".


Works

*''River in the Desert: Modern Travels in Ancient Egypt'' – 1992; (hardcover); (paperback) *''The Palace of Fears: a novel'' – 1994; *''Empire of the Soul: Some Journeys in India'' – 1996; (hardcover); (paperback) *''Journey of the Magi: In Search of the Birth of Jesus'' – 1995; *''The Demonic Comedy: Some Detours in the Baghdad of Saddam Hussein'' – 1997; *''Smokescreen: One Man Against the Underworld'' – 2001; *''A War Against Truth : An Intimate Account of the Invasion of Iraq'' – 2004; *''Homeland: a novel'' – 2006;


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Paul William 1950 births 2019 deaths Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Academic staff of Bangalore University Canadian male novelists Canadian non-fiction writers Canadian people of Welsh descent Canadian television talk show hosts Canadian male non-fiction writers