John Crompton
John Crompton was born on the Isle of Wight, and raised in Hampshire, Dorset and Kent. He worked as an Educational Sergeant in the National Service before completing his university studies in English and Education. He then worked as a teacher, lecturer and tutor in English, Drama and Education in various schools, colleges and universities.
John has written academic papers on education, drama and literature. He has poems published in various small magazines, as well as Macmillan ‘Topliners’ for reluctant readers: Up the Road and Back (1978), A Fox Under My Bed (1979), Wild and Penned (Editor, 1980). He has written with Margaret Crompton When Queen Victoria Came to Tea, a one act play, and The Sellwood Girls (Magic Oxygen, 2015).
Q: If you could travel in the past, which one of the great writers would you like to meet and why?
A: Joseph Conrad. Became devotee at university, inspired to acquire elementary Polish. 40 years committee member, Joseph Conrad Society (UK). First editor of its journal. Published papers. Consider his fiction offers deep insights into C20 and human life in all aspects.
Q: Do you have a favourite quote?
A: Brightness falls from the air; / Queens have died young and fair; / Dust hath closed Helen’s eye. / I am sick, I must die. / Timor mortis conturbat me.
Q: Who is your person of inspiration?
A: Margaret Crompton.
