Alan Roughley (1952–2014)

Alan Roughley, 1952-2014

Alan Roughley forged a close friendship with Liana Burgess in the years following Anthony Burgess’s death, their relationship growing as they met at James Joyce conferences and other events that engaged their mutual interest. The idea of a Manchester-based foundation to promote the works of Anthony, both in academia and the general public, grew out of their conversations, and when Liana decided to make the foundation a reality she turned to Alan to help realize her vision.

The International Anthony Burgess Foundation came into being in 2003 and opened the doors of its Tatton Grove site in summer 2004. In the years following that success, Alan hosted conferences, edited the critical collection Anthony Burgess and Modernity (MUP, 2008), and carried the Burgess Foundation’s torch to speaking engagements across the UK and Europe, North America and Asia. Truly the Burgess Foundation would not exist today without Alan’s vision and energy.

Alan was also a noted Joyce scholar – indeed, it was in this capacity that he first met Anthony and Liana Burgess. He earned his doctorate at the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, Canada, in 1985, and held positions at universities in Canada and Australia before joining the Department of English at Liverpool Hope University.He published works on Joyce including James Joyce and Critical Theory: An Introduction (1991) and Reading Derrida, Reading Joyce (1999).

In 2010 Alan resigned his positions at Liverpool Hope University and the Burgess Foundation, and he and his partner Nuria Belastegui, and his stepdaughter Nuria – nicknamed Cuqui – moved to Salt Spring Island, off the coast of British Columbia. Alan died in his home on Salt Spring.

Patrick McDonagh (www.anthonyburgess.org)