Martin Rowson

Martin George Edmund Rowson (born 15 February 1959) is a British cartoonist and novelist. His genre is political satire and his style is scathing and graphic. His work frequently appears in The Guardian and The Independent. He also contributes freelance cartoons to other publications, such as The Daily Mirror and the Morning Star.

Education

Rowson was educated at the independent Merchant Taylors' School in Northwood in north-west London, followed by Pembroke College at Cambridge where he read English Literature.

Life and career

Rowson has had a number of books published, including graphic adaptations of The Waste Land and Tristram Shandy. He has also turned his hand to prose, writing a novel called Snatches, published in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape in the spring of 2006 (ISBN 0-224-07604-3). It is a comic journey through history, focusing on the "stories of the worst decisions the human race has ever made". His 2007 novel, Stuff, is part autobiography, part history of his family and upbringing. In 2008 he published The Dog Allusion: Gods, Pets and How to Be Human, arguing that religion is a complete waste of time and money — much like keeping pets. (The title is itself an allusion to the Richard Dawkins book The God Delusion.)

Rowson was appointed "Cartoonist Laureate" of London when Ken Livingstone was Mayor, and his cartoons appeared in the Mayor's newsletter, The Londoner. In 2006 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Journalism from the University of Westminster. He is also an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society.

Rowson was adopted as a child.^[1] He is married and has two teenage children. Who's Who lists his interests as "cooking, drinking, ranting, atheism, zoos, collecting taxidermy".^[2]

He is also a distinguished supporter of the British Humanist Association.^[3]

On 15 September 2010, Rowson, along with 54 other public figures, signed an open letter published in The Guardian, stating their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI's state visit to the UK.^[4]

References

1. ^ BBC Radio 4, 'Thinking Allowed', 19/05/2010
2. ^ 'ROWSON, Martin George Edmund', Who's Who 2008, A & C Black, 2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007.
3. ^ Humanism.org distinguished supporters
4. ^ "Letters: Harsh judgments on the pope and religion". The Guardian (London). 15 September 2010. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/15/harsh-judgments-on-pope-religion. Retrieved 16 September 2010. 

External links

• Morning Star interview with Martin Rowson
• Martin Rowson cartoons at The Guardian
• Interview alongside Steve Bell
• Cartoonist Laureate page at the Mayor of London's website
• Biography of Rowson from the British Cartoon Archive, University of Kent
• Rowson on Hogarth - a video presented by Martin Rowson at Tate's website.

Persondata
Name	Rowson, Martin
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	15 February 1959
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death