Everitt, Anthony 1940–

(Anthony Michael Everitt)

PERSONAL:

Born January 31, 1940; son of Michael Anthony Hamill and Simone Dolores Cathérine Everitt. Education: Cheltenham College and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, B.A. (Hons Cantab.).

ADDRESSES:

Home—Wivenhoe, Essex, England. Agent—Christopher Sinclair Stevenson, 3 South Terrace, London SW7 2TB, England. E-mail—anthony@pentheus.demon.co.uk.

CAREER:

Writer, educator, and arts administrator. National University of Iran, Tehran, lecturer; South East London College of Further Education, London, England, lecturer; Birmingham College of Art, Birmingham, England, lecturer; Trent Polytechnic, Nottingham, England, lecturer, 1963-72; Birmingham Post, Birmingham, art critic, 1970-75, drama critic, 1974-79, features editor, 1976-79; Midland Group Arts Centre, Birmingham, director, 1979-80; East Midlands Art Association, director, 1980-85; Arts Council of Great Britain, member of the Drama Panel, 1974-78, member of the Regional Committee, 1979-80, deputy secretary-general, 1985-90, secretary-general, 1990-94. Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, chairman, 1976-79; Birmingham Arts Lab, Birmingham, chairman, 1977-79; Council of Regional Arts Associations, vice-chairman, 1984-85; Committee for Arts and Humanities CNAA, member, 1986-87; General Advisory Council IBA, member, 1987-90; Performing Arts Committee CNAA, member, 1987-92; Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, visiting professor of performing and visual arts, 1996—; City University, London, visiting lecturer, 1996—; consultant to strategic reviews of the Hong Kong Development Council, 1999, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, 2000, Arts Council of Wales, 2001, Irish Arts Council, 2001.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Honorary fellow, Dartington College of Arts, 1995; Companion, Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts.

WRITINGS:

Abstract Expressionism, Thames & Hudson Press (London, England), 1975.

(Editor) Trial, Trust, and Tribulation: The Distribution of Roles and Changing Nature of Relations between Governments and Arts Councils, Associations, and Foundations, Arts Council of Finland (Helsinki, Finland), 1996.

Joining In: An Investigation into Participatory Music, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (London, England), 1997.

In from the Margins: A Contribution to the Debate on Culture and Development in Europe, Council of Europe (Strasbourg, France), 1997.

The Governance of Culture: Approaches to Integrated Cultural Planning and Policies, Council of Europe (Strasbourg, France), 1999.

The Creative Imperative: A Report on Support for the Individual Artist in Ireland, Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland (Dublin, Ireland), 2000.

Cicero: A Turbulent Life, John Murray Publishing (London, England), 2001, published as Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician, Random House (New York, NY), 2003.

New Voices: An Evaluation of 15 Access Radio Projects, Radio Authority (London, England), 2003.

New Voices: An Update, Radio Authority (London, England), 2003.

Augustus: The Life of Rome's First Emperor, Random House (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor of articles to periodicals.

SIDELIGHTS:

Anthony Everitt is an English historian who has been deeply involved in arts education and funding in the United Kingdom. He has served in leadership positions in various regional and national arts councils, and was secretary-general of the Arts Council of Great Britain from 1990 to 1994. Since that time, Everitt has been a consultant to European arts funding agencies and a lecturer at Nottingham Trent University and City University in London. Everitt is the author of several works on cultural issues related to the arts, including cooperation between governments and arts agencies, the development of European culture, and financial support for artists and the arts. His study Joining In: An Investigation into Participatory Music, for example, discusses such music programs as orchestral "outreach" tours and music education for adults, and offers recommendations for strengthening music administration throughout Britain.

Everitt's biography of the Roman orator Cicero was published in 2001. In this study, Everitt sets out to reintroduce readers to this political figure, who was well known to generations as the author of political and legal speeches that were studied by students in advanced Latin classes. Marcus Tullius Cicero lived from 106 B.C. to about 43 B.C. and is remembered for his eloquent writings on politics and philosophy. His literary style and his republican political ideals were greatly admired by the framers of the American Constitution, and they remain influential today. According to Jasper Griffin in the Times Literary Supplement, Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician is a "thorough, lucid, and readable account of the career of a remarkable man." Writing in the National Review, Tracy Lee Simmons commented that the book is "a tour de force of historical and biographical reconstruction that reads like a novel."

In 2006, Everitt wrote about another legendary Roman figure in the biography Augustus: The Life of Rome's First Emperor. In this book the author recounts the emperor's final days and untimely death, including his wife's involvement. Everitt also details Augustus's rise to the position of emperor, including a concise synopsis of his childhood and later his power struggle with Mark Antony. Throughout, the author also includes vignettes that provide insight into Augustus's personality and personal habits. Many critics enjoyed Everitt's detailed biography, citing the book's new take on the emperor's life. Augustus provides a "fresh recounting of historical events," noted a reviewer for the Bookdwarf Web site. Others appreciated the author's ability to summarize the life of Augustus in a meaningful way for readers. Everitt takes the emperor's story and makes it "comprehensible to contemporary readers," wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Biography, spring, 2007, Steve Coates, review of Augustus: The Life of Rome's First Emperor, p. 245.

Book, January-February, 2003, Lisa Levy, "The New Old Era: Ancient Greece and Rome," p. 52.

Booklist, October 15, 2006, Kristine Huntley, review of Augustus, p. 19.

Contemporary Review, May, 2001, review of Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician, p. 320.

Economist, April 14, 2001, review of Cicero, p. 3.

Independent, January 3, 2007, Justin Wintle, review of Augustus.

Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2002, review of Cicero, p. 634; July 15, 2006, review of Augustus, p. 709.

Library Journal, September 15, 2002, Clay Williams, review of Cicero, p. 69; September 1, 2006, Clay Williams, review of Augustus, p. 155.

National Review, October 28, 2002, Tracy Lee Simmons, review of Cicero, p. 49.

New York Times Book Review, August 25, 2002, T. Corey Brennan, review of Cicero, p. 23; December 31, 2006, Steve Coates, review of Augustus.

Publishers Weekly, April 1, 2002, review of Cicero, p. 61; July 31, 2006, review of Augustus, p. 65.

Studio International, January, 1976, John A. Walker, review of Abstract Expressionism, p. 67.

Times Literary Supplement, July 10, 1998, John L. Walters, review of Joining In: An Investigation into Participatory Music, p. 20; July 26, 2002, Jasper Griffin, review of Cicero, p. 36.

Washington Monthly, June, 2002, Jeff Greenfield, review of Cicero, p. 48.

ONLINE

Bookdwarf,http://www.bookdwarf.com/ (November 5, 2007), review of Augustus.