William Graham Stanton
 |
William Graham Stanton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Occupation | Radio playwright |
| Nationality | British |
| Spouse | Dorothy Stanton[1] |
| Website | |
| http://www.billstanton.co.uk/ | |
William Graham "Bill" Stanton (18 August 1917 - 6 December 1999) was a British author and radio playwright.
Early life
William Graham Stanton was born in Brightside, Sheffield, the seventh of eight children of John Stanton (a blacksmith) and his wife.[2] His upbringing was in a working class Methodist tradition. His later writings about his experiences as a child described an upbringing rich in love, event and interest.
Stanton's brothers, George and Arthur, were sent to Sheffield University. The depression of the 1930s denied Stanton's family the means to help him through university, and instead Stanton had to settle for sponsorship from the Sheffield Education Committee to train to be a teacher, after which he volunteered for the Army. During the war, he met and married Dorothy Walton from Millhouses,[1] and after the war they ran a private school together. Starting in 1954, he worked for the Vickers-owned English Steel Corporation as a sales representative. When he retired in 1980, it was as Area Marketing Manager for British Steel in Leeds.[4] Throughout his life, Stanton wrote both prose and verse, most of which was unpublished.
Writing career
In 1961, Stanton had a short story, It was never Albert, published by BBC Radio on their Morning Story series.[2] It was the first of a series of twenty-one stories presented by the BBC throughout the sixties and early seventies.
In 1969 he had his first radio play success. The Compost Heap,[5] a play about an old man who had become a burden to his family, was the first of a prodigious output of radio plays. The BBC produced and broadcast ten of Stanton's plays in 1971, more than any other author.[1] Stanton was delighted that they got Wilfred Pickles to play the principal character Albert Smith. He met Wilfred and they became firm friends,[6]. A young Tony Robinson also appeared in the play as the son-in-law Charlie.
Another play that year,Milgrip's Progress was critically acclaimed in reviews in the Listener,[7] and by Gillian Reynolds in the Guardian ,[8].
In 1977, Stanton's first book Treason For My Daily Bread[9] was published. This was a fictional work around the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Stanton also wrote two unpublished books, Fallout in Arden[10] and Moss,[11] a semiautobiographical work.
Teaching and Lecturing
After his successes, Stanton was invited to lecture at weekend courses for aspiring writers. As a teacher, Stanton wanted to inspire rather than instruct. He placed a great emphasis on doing rather than talking. He arranged "workshops" rather than "courses," and out of this came a number of projects. One was the "Workshop 74" at St. Mary's College, Durham, and another was the "Writer's Tutorial." He compiled much of his thinking on writing in a writers manual, published privately by Writers Tutorial, Write Through Rewrite. This was later revised and published as "Making Things Clear."[12]
Later life and death
In 1992, Stanton enrolled at the University of York to read English and American Literature. This gave him the opportunity to study Shakespeare properly. While at York he translated the Middle English poem Pearl[13] for his long assignment. When he graduated in June 1996 with a two one at the age of 79, he was University of York's oldest graduate ever.
Stanton fell ill on 6 December 1999, and was taken to York District Hospital, where he died.
References
- ^ a b c "Bill Stanton". Myvillage.com. Archived from the original on 2008-02-05. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
- ^ a b c "Bill Stanton, Sheffield Author". Made in Sheffield Dot Com. Archived from the original on 2007-08-07. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
- ^ "Bill Stanton 1917-1999". Retrieved 2007-10-07. [dead link]
- ^ "Bill Stanton radio drama, radio plays". Diversity Website. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
- ^ "Bill Stanton Radio Plays". Diversity Website. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
- ^ Steve Lloyd (29th November 1976). "Wilf Pickles talks his life on to tape". The Sheffield Star. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "The Listener". British Broadcasting Corporation. 13th November 1969.
{{cite web}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|date=(help); Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ Gillian Reynolds (8th November 1969). "Arts Guardian". Guardian Newspapers. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ W G Stanton (1977). "Treason For My Daily Bread". Vallency Press (F.H.Books Limited), Guernsey, British Isles ISBN 0905589009. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
- ^ W G Stanton (1995). "Fallout In Arden". unpublished. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
- ^ W G Stanton (1995). "Moss". unpublished. Retrieved 2007-10-14.
- ^ W G Stanton (1989). "Making Things Clear". The Parthenon Publishing Group Limited ISBN 1-85070-205-5. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
- ^ W G Stanton (1995). "A Translation In Verse of The Middle English Poem Pearl". Retrieved 2007-10-02.