Talk:Roly Drower

This page was proposed for deletion by Winged Blades of Godric (talk · contribs) on 20 September 2019.

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Contested deletion[edit]

This article should not be speedily deleted for lack of asserted importance because of Drower's prominence in Manx life, a prominence that was great enough for him to be the focus of feature articles in the Guardian, the Irish Times and the Brittany Press Agency as well as in the media of the Isle of Man itself. His death occasioned at least six obituaries, a radio program and several memorial meetings. Eleven years after his passing, his poetry and journalism continue to be read and discussed on the Isle of Man and elsewhere. He is also worth reading about, I think, because of his extraordinary character. He was quite exceptional for his polymathic eccentricity - not many biographies combine astrophysics, poetry, music, politics, satire and presiding over a Bohemian commune. --Niggle1892 (talk) 19:36, 9 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Niggle1892, you might get better results if you add references to the article properly. Check out Referencing for beginners for guidance. Good luck on your article!

Schazjmd (talk) 19:46, 9 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, Niggle1892. I was a bit too hasty in placing the speedy deletion tag earlier, I admit, and for that, I apologize. I erred there; it's clear that Mr. Drower was quite polymathic and prominent. I don't think this article is in danger of further deletion initiatives, at least not from me. I look forward to reading and learning more about Roly Drower, that's for sure! —Javert2113 (Siarad.|¤) 00:10, 10 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, Javert2113. It was very gracious of you to reconsider your view of Roly Drower's eligibility for a Wikipedia biography. I'm glad that you're not really quite as stern as your namesake in Les Miserables! Thank you for your kindness. Best wishes.Niggle1892 (talk) 14:05, 10 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

A postscript[edit]

If anyone has read this article with any interest, might I suggest clicking on its link to the article about David C. Jewitt? The two articles complement each other in a curious antisymmetry. Drower came from a background of modest wealth and privilege, Jewitt from comparative poverty. They met at university, where they were close friends and, in terms of academic success, equals, both winning first class honours degrees (equivalent, I think to Summa Cum Laude in the US). Both then embarked on postgraduate research with a view to becoming professional astronomers. Jewitt pursued his career with fiercely single-minded determination, and became in due course probably the world leader in his field, securing on the way more than $800,000 in academic prizes alone: he is now a much respected professor in Los Angeles, a world away from his roots in one of the most deprived parts of London. Drower, perhaps even more brilliant than Jewitt, had a ceaselessly restless mind that darted hither and thither from science to pure mathematics to poetry to music to politics, never focusing on any one of his interests for long enough to achieve the eminence that his gifts seemed to promise. He ended up dying in his fifties, described by a national newspaper as penniless, obviously worn down by the stress of fighting a quixotic legal battle in the service of resisting ecocide. Two astonishingly intelligent men; each, in his own way, heroic; one who went from rags to riches, the other from riches to rags; one heaped with prizes and honours, the other in an early grave. It's a story that cries out for a novelist.Niggle1892 (talk) 16:51, 20 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]