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Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Obituary: Alex Wheatle, writer
Alex Wheatle, author, playwright and screenwriter, at the Hay Festival 2024 on May 25, 2024 in Hay-on-Wye, Wales. Dubbed the Bard of Brixton, British writer Alex Wheatle was an award-winning novelist, playwright, and youth mentor. Born in London to Jamaican parents and raised in care, Wheatle turned his life into thinly disguised fiction, documenting the realities of black British life with unparalleled depth and authenticity. Imprisoned after the 1981 Brixton riots, Wheatle's Rastafarian cellmate encouraged him to read and changed his life. Wheatle's books, including Brixton Rock, East of Acre Lane, Crongton Knights and Cane Warriors, gave voice to the struggles and triumphs of young black people navigating a complex world. In 2008, he was awarded an MBE for services to literature. Alex Wheatle died on March 16 aged 62. — APL/agencies
The Guardian
06-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Alex Wheatle obituary
Best known as the author of the Crongton series of young adult novels, Alex Wheatle, who has died aged 62 of prostate cancer, was a writer, speaker and activist whose well-observed stories based on his own life gave a painful and vivid picture of his tough early years and adolescence in south London. His experiences, of growing up in an abusive care system, police brutality and a spell in prison, shaped Alex's worldview and he wanted others to know about them; his passion and anger were tempered but never dulled by his subsequent success as a writer. Known as the Brixton Bard, he wrote fiercely but with understanding, energy and humour in a series of adult novels, starting with Brixton Rock (1999), before switching to young adult (YA) fiction. In 2020 Alex's early life was the focus of Steve McQueen's film Small Axe: Alex Wheatle, the fourth drama in his BBC television anthology series highlighting institutional racism and the black British experience from the late 1960s to the early 80s. Alex was placed in care as a toddler and grew up in Shirley Oaks, a children's home in Croydon where, it was later revealed, physical, mental and sexual abuse had been widespread over decades; he wrote of the violence inflicted on him in Sufferah: Memoir of a Brixton Reggae Head (2023). He was born in Brixton, the son of Almira Gunter, who was married with four children when she arrived in the UK in 1961, where she met Alfred Wheatle, also from Jamaica, who worked as a carpenter. Soon after Alex's birth, his mother returned home, leaving her baby son with his father, who struggled to cope. At 15, Alex was moved from Shirley Oaks to a social services hostel in Brixton. Here, he had his first experience of the West Indian community and was quick to embrace his black identity with clothes, hair, language and particularly reggae music, appearing as DJ Yardman Irie at 16 and becoming a founder member and the lyricist of the Crucial Rocker sound system group. He was also active in the struggle against police racism and brutality, and was arrested and given a prison sentence for his involvement in the Brixton uprising of 1981. Alex's cell mate during his four months in Wormwood Scrubs was Simeon, a Rastafarian who recognised the younger man's deep feelings of isolation. 'He understood too well that I was disconnected from my roots, culture and people from the moment I was taken into care at two and a half,' Alex wrote later. 'He took it upon himself to reconnect me. He pushed CLR James's The Black Jacobins into my eager hands. 'This will tell you ah liccle something about where you come from and where you stand in the struggle,' he said.' He introduced Alex to other black authors including Chester Himes, who Alex later cited as the inspiration for his own writing, along with Maya Angelou, Charles Dickens, Linton Kwesi Johnson and John Steinbeck. But when Alex began to write, it was his life not books that inspired his debut novel, Brixton Rock; set in 80s south London, its central character, 16-year-old Brenton Brown, carries the same story of neglect and subsequent rebellion against authority. It was praised by critics and won the London Arts Board new writers award in 1999. This was followed in 2001 with East of Acre Lane, 'a similarly hard-hitting slice of social commentary', said one critic, set against the backdrop of the 1981 riots; and several other books including The Dirty South (2008) and Brenton Brown (2011), a sequel to Brixton Rock. He also drew on his own story for Uprising, a one-man play he wrote and first performed in 2011, in London and on tour, before touring it again in 2012 as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of Jamaican independence. Despite his success, and being made MBE for services to literature in 2008, Alex became disillusioned with adult publishing – 'I felt like I was this token black writer who writes about ghetto stuff' – and turned instead to fiction for young adults, telling similar stories but in a lighter style and with more imaginative licence. Instead of recreating Brixton, Alex created Crongton, his own fictional world, with a multicultural cast of pumped up, slang-speaking teenagers navigating life on an inner-city estate. Character-led and told mostly through raucous dialogue, the Crongton stories gave a realistic picture of growing up in contemporary Britain. The switch to YA brought Alex immediate success. Liccle Bit (2015) was longlisted for the Carnegie medal in 2016 and Crongton Knights (2016) won the Guardian children's fiction prize. 'There was a real sense of excitement, both in the room and among readers, when Alex was announced as the 50th winner of the Guardian children's fiction prize,' remembers Claire Armitstead, then books editor at the Guardian. 'Here were sexting and gang violence and early-morning bailiffs' visits to tower block flats: the stuff of grim news headlines freshly minted in a glorious invented slang that gave his characters ownership of their stories with not a whiff of condescension. As the author and prize judge David Almond said, the novel 'hummed with the beat of real life'.' More Crongton books followed, including Straight Outta Crongton (2017) and Kerb Stain Boys (2018), as well as YA novels exploring aspects of black history including Cane Warriors (2020), on a slave rebellion in Jamaica in 1760, and Kemosha of the Caribbean (2022), about an escaped slave girl's adventures as a pirate. A 10-part BBC comedy drama series, Crongton, based on the books, launched in March. I first met Alex when he won the Guardian children's fiction prize. I was inspired by his passionate belief that, by telling the stories of his life and the lives of other children like him, he could make a difference to young readers who had largely been excluded from representation in books. He later summed up what the recognition brought by the award meant to him: 'I still see myself sometimes as 'little Alex' who never thought he would achieve anything. You grow up with this low self-esteem that is hard to fight against.' He spoke in schools and at festivals, encouraging young people to write their own stories. Aine Venables, the education manager of Hay festival who took him on a week's tour speaking to children across Wales, said: 'Alex's life experience and his warmth grounded his writing, and his storytelling brilliance captivated thousands of young people.' Last year, as a 'Thinker in Residence' at Hay, speaking to audiences of all ages, Alex advocated for greater interventions by government and those involved in the book world to do more to help even the very youngest children to enjoy reading so that their lives, like his, could be changed. He also campaigned for Prostate Cancer UK, having been diagnosed with the disease in 2023, speaking honestly to men, particularly black men, to debunk fears about the necessary check up. He is survived by his wife, Beverley (nee Robinson), whom he married in 1999, and their three children, Marvin, Tyrone and Serena. Alex Alphonse Wheatle, writer, born 3 January 1963; died 16 March 2025
The Independent
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Crongton creator Alex Wheatle dies aged 62 after prostate cancer
Alex Wheatle, who wrote a string of books about life on London's streets for young black men including the Crongton series, has died at the age of 62 after having prostate cancer. The author, who was known as the ' Brixton Bard', was diagnosed with the condition in 2023, and campaigned for awareness of the cancer. Born on January 3 1963, Wheatle grew up in children's homes and began by writing lyrics then progressed to poetry, short stories and novels. He was also known for being part of the 1981 Brixton riot – which saw him being sent to prison, and inspired Sir Steve McQueen to direct the film Alex Wheatle about the writer's life for the anthology series Small Axe. Wheatle would later contribute to the BBC programme Battle For Brixton, and put out the fiction book East Of Acre Lane about the events. His first novel, Brixton Rock, about a troubled London teenager getting to grips with finding his family, was published in 1999. Wheatle's A Crongton Story series, about children growing up on a council estate and facing gang wars and other struggles, has been made into the upcoming BBC show Crongton – set to begin airing on Monday. His family posted on his Instagram, saying: 'It is with great sadness to inform you that Alex Wheatle our 'Brixton Bard' sadly passed away on Sunday March 16 2025 after his fight with Prostate Cancer. 'Alex has 26 years of legacy for you all to continue and enjoy by reading his novels, watch again the self-titled episode Alex Wheatle from the Small Axe TV series and also watch the new upcoming Crongton TV series as he looks over us in spirit. 'Alex's family would like to thank you all for your support over the years in his work and we ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time.' Author Dorothy Koomson, known for the novel and TV drama The Ice Cream Girls, wrote on Instagram that she was 'heartbroken'. She added: 'He was a wonderful person and writer. A brilliant and empathetic human being. He leaves an incredible legacy. Lots of love to those who were closest to him. Rest in peace and glory, Alex.' Fellow Prostate Cancer UK supporter and actor Colin McFarlane said he was 'shocked and saddened'. He added: 'Sadly, tragic deaths like these are all too common. We're losing far too many beloved Dads, brothers, sons, and friends to the most common cancer in men, simply because too many are diagnosed too late – and the situation is at its worst when it comes to black men. 'On several occasions when I met Alex, we talked about the desperate need for a national screening programme, and for GPs to be empowered to reach out and speak to black men about their higher risk and their right to a PSA blood test. 'Prostate cancer is curable if it is diagnosed earlier, and one day I hope we can stop losing brilliant men like Alex to this disease.' Wheatle joined Prostate Cancer UK in calling for the Government to overhaul NHS guidelines to allow GPs to proactively start conversations with black men about their increased risk of prostate cancer and their options for a quick and simple PSA blood test from the age of 45. Keith Morgan, associate director of Black Health Equity at Prostate Cancer UK, said: 'We're deeply saddened to hear of the loss of Alex Wheatle MBE. 'Our hearts go out to his family, friends, and the thousands he inspired through his work and activism. 'His book East Of Acre Lane had a big impact on me growing up as a young man in London, and his powerful words will live on to inspire the next generation. 'I'm proud to have worked with him later in life as he used his platform, and his own shocking late-stage diagnosis, to raise vital awareness of prostate cancer and campaign for change.' He added that one in four 'black men will get prostate cancer, double the risk of other men', and said that men like Wheatle 'are dying twice as much from a cancer that is treatable if caught early'. When he received his honour in 2008 for services to literature, Wheatle said: 'I know some people might say the MBE's got 'empire' on it, but there is no British empire any more. 'But more importantly, it shows young kids coming up that they can achieve and you can be successful.' On Instagram, publisher Hachette Children's Group said they were 'incredibly saddened', and added that he 'leaves behind a legacy of rich and powerful' stories. 'We are extremely proud at Hachette Children's Group to publish Alex's acclaimed and award-winning Crongton series,' the statement also said. 'He will be remembered for his astonishing creative talent, enormous generosity to other writers and his ability to bring joy to any room. 'We will miss him very much and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time.'
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Alex Wheatle, ‘the Bard of Brixton', who rose from tough beginnings to become an award-winning novelist
Alex Wheatle, who has died aged 62, rose to become Britain's pre-eminent black novelist after a difficult and inauspicious upbringing; his early story, which involved unhappy years in care and a spell in prison, was told in 'Alex Wheatle' (2020), one of the five films that made up the director Steve McQueen's BBC television series, Small Axe. Wheatle's writing was very much a reflection of the post-Windrush black experience in the UK; despite his life's dark start, his work is riven with a subtle humour. His debut novel Brixton Rock (1999), which received the London Arts Board New Writers Award, told the story of a boy growing up in a children's home and struggling to find his feet. 'Wheatle gives us a fascinating snapshot of black English in the early Eighties,' said the Telegraph. Wheatle's early struggles furnished the plotlines of many of his nearly 20 books, earning him the sobriquet 'Bard of Brixton'; although sometimes disguised, Brixton and its south London environs framed much of his work. Alex Alphonso Wheatle was born to Jamaican parents in Brixton on January 3 1963. Although his mother, Almira Gunter, née Panceta Da Costa, had had five children in Jamaica, her marriage there was volatile, and in 1961 she travelled to London, securing a job at Woolworths in Brixton. She met Wheatle's father Alfred, a carpenter – then, when she was six months pregnant with Alex, her husband arrived from Jamaica looking for her. A solution was arrived at: after she had given birth, she would return to Jamaica and Alfred would bring up the child. But he did so only until the boy was two, then went back to Jamaica. Alex was taken into care and spent most of his childhood at Shirley Oaks children's home in Croydon. Many years later, the home would become infamous for the psychological and physical abuse residents had suffered. Wheatle, who in later years campaigned to uncover the truth about the home, recalled: 'I would be beaten with everything, almost every day. Fire pokers. Bits of wood. Coal being thrown at me. Wooden hairbrushes. Shoes. The abuse I suffered was purely physical. Others were abused sexually, but I never was.' At the home Alex was painfully aware that he had no one. Every Sunday family members would pay visits, but his never did. 'I used to hate Sundays,' he recalled. 'Relatives were coming down and I would put on my best clothes. It really, really broke me. I used to get up really early and watch the first parents walking down to our cottage, wondering if mine would walk down behind them. But that was never the case.' He chronicled his time at Shirley Oaks in his 2023 memoir Sufferah, which tells the story of how reggae became his salvation following a childhood marred by abuse, imprisonment and police brutality. Wheatle was also partly saved by his love of reading. 'When I was about eight I was given a copy of Treasure Island. I loved it. I had an aptitude for reading from very early. When I read in bed it transported my mind to different places. Tom Sawyer transported me to the USA and I could imagine I was on a raft down the Mississippi.' Reggae provided further escape routes: in his mid-teens, under the name of Yardman Irie – who would later become a character in his second novel, East of Acre Lane – he helped to establish the Crucial Rocker sound system. 'I wrote lyrics for performances in community halls, youth clubs, house parties and blues dances.' These first efforts at writing for public consumption coincided with his move from Shirley Oaks to living alone in Brixton. But before his writing could develop, he was arrested during the Brixton riots in 1981 and given a four-month jail sentence. Fortunately for Wheatle, his cellmate at Wormwood Scrubs was an older Rastafarian who encouraged Wheatle to educate himself, introducing him to such authors as Chester Himes, Richard Wright, CLR James and John Steinbeck. But it would be nearly 20 years before Brixton Rock was published. During this time Wheatle married, became a father of three and travelled to Jamaica and tracked down his parents. Two years after Brixton Rock came East of Acre Lane, the story of Biscuit, a young petty criminal who becomes embroiled in ghetto politics and small-time gangsterism. 'Wheatle weaves witty patois dialogue and cool, crisp narrative into a tone of playful irony, wholly free of rant or rancour,' said the Telegraph. A consequence of several meetings with his parents was Wheatle's 2005 book Island Songs, a mature and measured work set largely in Jamaica, epic in scope, tragic yet hilarious, with calm and spacious prose. Ten years later Alex Wheatle was writing excellent and well-received Young Adult novels, though they were enjoyable for all ages. His 2016 YA novel Crongton Knights, set in a disguised Brixton, won that year's Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and was adapted for a BBC television series due to come out later this year. Cane Warriors (2020) was a riveting fictionalised version of a Jamaican slave rebellion in 1760. In 2024 Alex Wheatle was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which had already spread to his bone marrow. Aware of the propensity of black men to suffer from the disease he embarked on an awareness campaign, drawing on his experiences working in prisons, lecturing about literature and teaching self-help through writing. In 2008 Wheatle was appointed MBE for services to literature. Alex Wheatle married, in 1999, Beverley Robinson; they had a daughter and two sons. Alex Wheatle, born January 3 1963, died March 16 2025 Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
