Donald George Bradman
Martin Chandler |Published: 2001
Pages: 10
Author: Rosenwater, Irving
Publisher: Private
Rating: 4 stars
It took until 1998 for Rosenwater to select Donald Bradman as the subject of one of his monographs, and Ninety Not Out celebrated the ninetieth birthday of the great man. Three years later The Don’s long innings came to an end and, unsurprisingly, Rosenwater chose to publish an obituary.
Rosenwater’s tribute comes in two parts, first a poem, and then an essay. The poem, entitled simply DGB: In Memoriam begins:-
The spell alas is over now.
A sea of silence lies.
Great things were conqueringly done
That illumined the skies.
Three further verses follow before Rosenwater concludes with:-
The volcano, awesome in its might, is stilled.
The present from the past unties.
The spell alas is over now:
A sea of silence lies.
To describe the essay that follows as a hagiography would, if anything, be an understatement. It is always obvious when reading Rosewater’s work that he chooses his words with the utmost care, but the more so here. Rosenwater clearly intended to write the ultimate tribute to the ultimate batsman and it is difficult argue that he did not achieve that.
Donald George Bradman is a remarkable piece of work, yet one which has been seen by a vanishingly small number of people. This one didn’t appear anywhere else, and Rosenwater produced just 30 copies which he distributed amongst his friends. As time has passed copies have occasionally come onto the market, and I dare say most have found their way into the hands of collectors of Bradman memorabilia, so this one is difficult to track down a copy of, but well worth reading if you get the opportunity.
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