Derek Parker - Biography

Biography

He was born in Looe, Cornwall, and educated at Fowey Grammar School (1941–49). He worked as reporter with The Cornishman (Penzance) (1949–55) then as drama critic with The Western Morning News (Plymouth) (1956–70). Subsequently he worked as writer, announcer and interviewer with TWW (Independent Television, Cardiff) being the first face to be seen at its opening transmission, then as freelance writer and broadcaster for BBC radio and television, reading the news from Alexandra Palace and broadcasting from Portland Place. He was a drama script advisor to ABC Television. During the 1960s and 1970s he wrote and introduced innumerable radio programmes about the arts, including series about the ballet and opera, and features on individual artists, interviewing among others Tamara Karsavina and Margot Fonteyn, Boris Christoff and Maggie Teyte. He introduced long-running series both for BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service, such as The Poem Itself, which attracted criticism and comment from many listeners in America and Australasia, and The Paperback Programme. He reviewed non-fiction and television for The Times, was a columnist for The Listener, and contributed to The Spectator. He reviewed for The Good Book Guide from its opening issue until 2002.

He was author with his wife (astrologer Julia Parker) of The Compleat Astrologer (1971), the first popular modern textbook of astrology, which sold over a million copies in fourteen languages. This has been followed by a number of other books about astrology, including 2001's Parkers' Astrology. In The Question of Astrology (1970) Parker examined modern attitudes to the subject, quoting the views of many authorities both approving and disapproving of it. During the same year he discussed astrology in a radio programme with Dr Jonathan Miller, Michel Gauquelin and others. This was the first BBC programme to cover astrology from the point of view of both supporters and sceptics; previous coverage had been largely sceptical. Both he and his wife have lectured on astrology in Europe, the Americas and Australia. They migrated to Australia in 2002.

Parker has been editor of Poetry Review and of The Author; Chairman, Society of Authors (1981–82) and member of its Grand Council; member of the Grand Council of the Royal Academy of Dance; member of the General Committee, Royal Literary Fund (1969–2002) (as Registrar 1977-2002). He regularly introduces programmes of classical music for Fine Music, 102.5 FM, a Sydney radio station broadcasting on the Web from Fine Music.com