Was J G Ballard one of the most important writers of the late Twentieth Century? For my vote, yes.
Was he the leading light of the British New Wave? Certainly, yes.
Was he one of the foremost authors of dystopian ficiton? Forever will he be.
James Graham Ballard was a master of the short story as well as the novel, and with Empire of the Sun, author of one of the most honoured post-war memoirs. He was such a unique voice in the realm of literature that not just his individual novels, like The Drowned World, High Rise, Concrete Island and The Crystal World which all successfully stand alone as treatises of the manifestation of the human condition, but with his short stories, Ballard's work achieved its own definition of philosophy and style.
From the Collins English Dictionary:
Ballardian: (adj) 1. of James Graham Ballard (born 1930), the British novelist, or his works (2) resembling or suggestive of the conditions described in Ballard's novels and stories, esp dystopian modernity, bleak man-made landscapes and the psychological effects of technological, social or environmental developments.
He courted controversy with his novels Atrocity Exhibition and Crash, both becoming works of inspiration for artists, philosophers and a lot of writers.
And with his skills as a restrained but finely styled wordsmith, he depicted the neurotic psychology of ourselves in past, present and especially, future. And these past, the presents and futures were all our now, but morphed and distorted into environments that expressed our human condition in all its magnificent mundanity.
And one final note, Mr Ballard wrote Day of Creation, which is one of my very, very favourite novels. And so, his passing at the age of of 78 is a sad event for me. He gave us so much extraordinary work, but this world could still have done with a little bit more.
J G Ballard 15 November 1930 - 19 April 2009
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