Hoey, PJ and McGowan, L (2023) Don Davies & Hugh McIlvanney: Literary football reporters who elevated British sports journalism. In: McGowan, L and Symonds, K, (eds.) Intersections of Sport and Society in Creative Writing. Springer, Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd, pp. 31-46. ISBN 978-9819955848

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Abstract

For many years the journalism on the sports pages of British newspapers was looked upon with condescension, seen as frivolous in comparison with the serious intentions of the news and op-ed departments. However, this attitude failed to recognise the contributions of several sports writers whose use of metaphor and allusions to high culture elevated sports journalism in Britain. Among the most important and innovative writers in the post-war period were the Guardian’s Don Davies and the Observer’s Hugh McIlvanney. Davies brought a deep knowledge of classical literature and culture in writing about football in his native North West of England before his death in the Munich air disaster in 1958. McIlvanney, whose inventive use of metaphor and striking turn of phrase saw him revolutionise sports reporting in and become the only sports writer to be voted Journalist of the Year in Britain.

Item Type:	Book Section
Uncontrolled Keywords:	creative non-fiction; Don Davies; football; football journalism; football writing; Hugh McIlvanney; soccer; soccer writing
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN4699 Journalism G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > GV561 Sports
Divisions:	Humanities & Social Science
Publisher:	Springer
SWORD Depositor:	A Symplectic
Date Deposited:	06 Sep 2022 13:53
Last Modified:	30 Nov 2023 15:06
DOI or ID number:	10.1007/978
Editors:	McGowan, L and Symonds, K
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/17513

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