Remembering a tragic Sussex artist and poet who died at 37

A West Sussex artist and poet who tragically died at the age of 37 just when he was on the cusp of success is remembered in two major new publications.
Michael GlendeningMichael Glendening
Michael Glendening

They are being brought out by his brother Jonathan to mark the 25th anniversary of his sudden death “when his childhood heart condition simply caught up with him.”

Michael Glendening lived between Twineham and Albourne in Mid Sussex, then for the last two years in Lewes where he’s buried.

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Jonathan explained: “The first book is the paperback novella Tangier by Michael, which recounts his ill-fated trip to Morocco in 1984. The second book, Echoes – The Life, Art & Poetry of Michael Glendening 1958-1995, is a 290-page large-format deluxe coffee table book, filled with hundreds of his sketches, watercolours and oils, plus over 100 of his poems from five collections.”

Jonathan is independently publishing the books through Blurb. Tangier is out already, RRP £7.49 for the paperback, or £3.99 for the ebook – ISBN 9781715201463. ECHOES will be available on the 25th anniversary of Michael’s death on October 23. The books will be available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and the ebooks from Blurb.

Polegate-based Jonathan, Michael’s younger brother, has directed four feature films, the Brighton-based Summer Rain, and the Tom Felton horror film 13hrs and has written numerous screenplays and published the horror-adventure novel Ravenswing.

Michael would have been 63 now. He lived in Edinburgh, Paris and Glasgow before returning to Sussex and making his home in Lewes. Michael was a committee member of Brighton Poets, and ran various poetry groups in Lewes, where his final solo exhibitions as an artist were held.

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Jonathan explains: “I’ve always been frustrated that my brother died so young, just as he was on the cusp of success. His poetry was regularly published and he was starting to be booked for regular solo exhibitions of his art. He was pushing boundaries, always striving for a purity of art, be it in the written word or his paintings and then for it to be cut short just as all his hard work was seemingly about to pay off was very upsetting.

“So, back in 2010 I started to photograph all the remaining art of his that I could find, hoping to find a way of bringing him, through his art, back. Then suddenly, I realised that the 25th anniversary of his death was approaching and this was the best opportunity I had to mark the occasion and bring to fruition the project that I had started in 2010.

“And as I sorted through his manuscripts looking for the poems to compliment the images, I found his manuscript for Tangier, nine hand written drafts, and one typed! Thus, I assumed the typed one was the finished one, so I decided to publish that separately as it’s a narrative story – and I knew it would be at a more user-friendly end of the price scale than the compilation of his life’s work. Tangier tells the story of how Michael, then aged 26, intended to hitchhike across the Sahara,‘if he managed to survive a weekend sleeping rough in Tangier… Let’s just say it doesn’t go well!

“Echoes became quite a comprehensive look at my brother’s life, art and poetry, partly as I wanted to celebrate his work, and mainly because I know this is a sort of one-time-only situation; this is the anniversary to mark.

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“As talented as my brother was, I know that I have to move on in my own life and projects. So Echoes is over-flowing with his life’s work, art and poetry – as the definitive and final book on the life and work of a supremely talented artist.

“Obviously, I hope the books find an appreciative audience but the most important thing for me, was just to do it and create the books so that his art and words have the opportunity to find an audience, rather than sitting unloved and unknown in dusty trunks in an attic.

“Michael actually left behind hundreds of diaries and notebooks so there is the potential of a biography… but I’d rather let his art and poetry tell the story of his life.”

Jonathan added: “I had hoped to mark the 25th anniversary of my brother’s death (October 23) with a poetry reading of his work at his graveside in Lewes, followed by a book launch event for Echoes and Tangier with his art on display at a bookshop or gallery in Lewes, but obviously the Covid 19 situation makes it hard to plan or book in advance with any confidence, but I do hope to do something!”