David Sedaris introduced me to Denton Welch on 10 May 2020. Asked in a Guardian interview which book he was ashamed not to have read, David replied “anything by Denton Welch”.
In my normal busy life, I’d clock the name with interest, then forget it within the hour. Being in lockdown and furloughed from work, however, I got straight onto Wikipedia and settled down with a cup of tea to find out which author my favourite essayist wanted to read.
Ten minutes later, I opened “Maiden Voyage” on my Kindle. A week later, I added “In Youth is Pleasure” and “A Voice Through a Cloud”. A week later, by now thoroughly obsessed, I added Denton’s letters to Eric Oliver to my Kindle and ordered three REAL books! I browsed furtively for expensive first editions (maybe even a SIGNED copy!), all the while knowing that I am the sort of passionate admirer that Denton found tiresome and embarrassing…
Readers, I’m female, and Denton could be quite the misogynist. And I would want to ask him question after question. Above all, I would want to muse on whether Denton would have achieved the same immortal reverence afforded to peers such as Evelyn Waugh, E.M. Forster and Noel Coward if he hadn’t been injured so badly at the age 20. If his remaining 13 years hadn’t been full of suffering and self-doubt. If he’d lived a long, full and happy life, continuing to record his daily experiences in such vivid and evocative detail that his devoted readership came to rival that of JK Rowling.
We’ll never know, of course, so there’s no point spending too much time wondering. But those of us who love Denton Welch’s work know that we’re members of a select group. Our lives have been enriched by an under-rated genius.
If you’ve found this blog, you’re probably as interested in Denton as I am. Maybe there’s something about his work that you’re bursting to discuss; maybe you’ve found a rare Denton resource to share; maybe you’re a proud Denton Welch family member. I’ll be charting my daily picnics with Denton (that man loved a picnic!), building to a comprehensive resource for those who love his work.
Dear ‘Rosalind’ (I’m assuming that’s not your real name!)
I’m so glad you’ve been looking at Wikipedia for all things Denton – I’ve been spending lockdown updating and creating the majority of the material there, but I was beginning to wonder if anyone was reading it! In particular I find reference-less Wikipedia entries truly irksome so most of my recent energies have been going in to giving as much of the information a cross-reference.
My own Denton obsession goes back quite a while and I’ve amassed all sorts of bits and pieces (although no art alas) over the years – all the dustjackets on Wikipedia are of my copies. I’d be happy to help out with anything you’re after.
Hi Steven – thank you so much for the Wikipedia page! I’ve referenced it at least once pretty much every day for the last few weeks, and it’s super useful! Thank you for the offer of help – I’m enjoying reading all the readily-available materials, and will look forward to digging deeper after that. How did your Denton obsession start?
It goes back quite a while! I came across a copy of I Left My Grandfather’s House in the RCA library and was hooked. I was struck by how close his view of the world was to mine, and this was amplified when I saw his self-portrait (first of all on a postcard at the NPG). We could have been brothers – his hair was a touch more curly, and I was a few inches taller, but it was creepily like looking back at myself.
I suppose it was also that I was quite close to the age of his death. As such, it was perhaps my first reflection on my own mortality: what would it be like if I, too, could count my life in terms of months remaining?
Morbidity aside, it became like an addiction of sorts, as I think most experiences of DW’s writing tends to be. I do not think I have read quite so much of any writer so quickly ever since!
Finding your art brother sounds quite the surreal experience! I agree that DW easily becomes an addiction. I’m still hugging myself with the excitement of knowing I have undiscovered Denton yet to come – the Fragments and the journals. Can’t wait!