Former South African journalist, writer and poet, Lewis Sowden died here last night of a heart attack and was buried here today. He was 71. His widow, Dora Sowden, is also a journalist for South African newspapers and dance critic of “The Jerusalem Post.” Mr. Sowden was, until his aliya to Israel in 1966, assistant editor and theater critic of the prestigious “Rand Daily Mail.” In Israel he continued his work in journalism, serving as a correspondent for the South African morning newspaper group which includes the “Mail.”
A native of Manchester, England, Mr. Sowden went to South Africa at the age of eight and took an MA degree at Witwatersrand. In addition to several documentary books on South Africa, he earned fame for his novels which were all published in England and which included “The Man Who Was Emperor,” “The King of High Street,” and “The Crooked Blue Gum.” He also published three books of poetry: “Poems With Flute,” “Poems With the Bible,” and “The Charmed Fabric.” A fourth collection, “The Jaffa Road,” is due to be published shortly.
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