Dilys powell biography of nancy
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Her last piece, a review of Barry Lyndon, appeared in The Times on the day of her death. She remained as film critic at The Sunday Times until 1976; her collected reviews were published in 1989. In addition to her journalism she appeared on radio, as a contestant on the BBC radio panel game My Word!, for nearly thirty years and wrote books about film and travel, particularly about Greece.
From 1931 to 1936, Powell spent part of each year in Greece, frequently attending excavations where her husband was working. On her return to Britain Powell was appointed film critic on The Sunday Times, and in 1941 she found war work with a Greek connection in the Political Warfare Executive, which oversaw Britain's propaganda in occupied Europe.
While at Oxford she met an archaeologist, Humfry Payne, whom she was to marry in 1926. In addition to her journalism she appeared on radio, as a contestant on the BBC radio panel game My Word!, and wrote books about film and travel, particularly about Greece.
Writing by Dilys Powell
- Descent from Parnassus, (1934), London: Cresset Press (Essays on modern poets).
- Remember Greece, (1941), London: Hodder & Stoughton.
- The Traveller’s Journey is Done, (1943), London: Hodder & Stoughton, (Humfry Payne at the British School of Archaeology at Athens).
- Films since 1939, (1947), London: Longmans, Green & Co (for the British Council).
- Coco, (1952), London: Hodder & Stoughton (a biography of a dog).
- An Affair of the Heart, (1958), London: Hodder & Stoughton.
- The mirror of the present, (1967), London: John Murray, (Presidential address to the Classical Association at the University of Reading).
- The Villa Ariadne, (1973), London: Hodder and Stoughton, ISBN 0-340-17770-5.
- The golden screen : fifty years at the films, (1989), London: Pavilion, ISBN 1-85145-342-3 (ed George Perry).
- The Dilys Powell film reader, (1991), Manchester: Carcanet, ISBN 0-85635-912-2.
Sources
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Powell, Dilys |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 20 July 1901 |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | 3 June 1995 |
| Place of death | |
- 1901 births
- 1995 deaths
- People from Bridgnorth
- People from Bournemouth
- Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford
- British journalists
- British radio personalities
- British film critics
- English film critics
- Cinema of the United Kingdom
- The Sunday Times people
- People educated at Talbot Heath School
.
She later became film critic for Punch until its first closure in 1992, and she continued to write for The Sunday Times, now commenting on films being shown on television, until the week of her death.She had a gift for the pithy comment, and her memorable phrases about films and the people of the film world are still frequently quoted by other journalists.
New edition by Eland in 2016: ISBN 978-1-78060-035-2
One of the most respected film critics, Dilys Powell reviewed the week's releases for the Sunday Times from 1939 to 1976, then went to the weekly journal Punch, as well as contributing to journals such as Sight and Sound.
Unlike the other 'Sunday lady', C.A.
She continued these visits when she was able until the Second World War intervened. To quote from the British Film Institute: "... They had no children.
She continued her periodic visits to Greece after 1936, until the Second World War intervened. She resigned her post at the ITA in 1956 in protest at the government's refusal to come up with funding which it had promised to the authority in the 1954 Television Act.
Her journalism led a change in the writing of cinema criticism.
she was open to new directions in cinema and was not constrained by the middle class shibboleths of "good taste", unlike her rival C. A. Lejeune, film critic for The Observer from 1928 to 1960." She remained film critic at The Sunday Times until 1979 — a compilation of her reviews was published in 1989 as The Golden Screen — but from 1976 she also began writing about films on television, which she continued to do until the end of her life.
She went to Talbot Heath School in Bournemouth and afterwards obtained a first class honours degree in modern languages at Somerville College, Oxford. To quote from the British Film Institute: "...
Dilys Powell
Early life and education
Born in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, to Thomas Powell, a bank manager, and Mary Jane Lloyd, Dilys Powell attended Talbot Heath School, Bournemouth before reading modern languages at Somerville College, Oxford.
At Oxford she met an archaeologist, Humfry Payne (19 February 1902 – 9 May 1936), whom she married in 1926.
After her graduation with a first-class honours degree, Powell spent a period as personal assistant to Lady Ottoline Morrell before joining the literary department of The Sunday Times in 1928.
In 1929 her husband Humfry Payne was appointed director of the British School of Archaeology at Athens.
Lejeune, she was open to new directions in cinema, and was not constrained by the middle-class shibboleths of 'good taste' and the literary and realist parameters of quality British cinema. She also served as film critic for Punch until its first closure in 1992.
She had a gift for the pithy comment, and her memorable phrases about films and the people of the film world are still frequently quoted by other journalists.
After graduation Powell spent a period as personal assistant to Ottoline Morrell before being appointed to the literary department of The Sunday Times in 1928.
In 1929 her husband was appointed director of the British School of Archaeology at Athens and from 1931 until his death in 1936 (they had no children) Powell spent part of each year in Greece, frequently attending excavations where her husband was working.
She was awarded a CBE in 1974 and a BFI Fellowship in 1983.
Bibliography
Christopher Cook (ed), The Dilys Powell Film Reader, 1991.
Brian McFarlane, Encyclopedia of British Film
Dilys Powell
Elizabeth Dilys Powell (20 July 1901 – 3 June 1995) was a British journalist, author and film critic.
She was born into a middle class family in Bridgnorth, Shropshire.