Peter Stead, the creator of the International Dylan Thomas prize and a prominent Welsh academic and broadcaster, has died at the age of 82. His friend and colleague pays tribute to a man who spent almost his entire academic career at Swansea University, where he lectured in modern history from 1966 to 1997.
Academic and Broadcasting Career
Stead was a well-known figure in Welsh public discourse, contributing as a commentator in print and a broadcaster on radio and television. For many years, alongside journalist Patrick Hannan, he represented Wales on BBC Radio 4's Round Britain Quiz.
The International Dylan Thomas Prize
He is best remembered for establishing the International Dylan Thomas prize in 2005. The award is open to writers under the age of 39, the age at which Thomas died, and covers poetry, fiction, drama, and scriptwriting. Initially awarded biennially with support from various sponsors, Stead took great pride as founder president in seeing it become an annual award from 2014, backed by Swansea University. Notable winners include Rachel Trezise, Max Porter, Guy Gunaratne, and Patricia Lockwood.
Early Life and Education
Peter was born in Barry, a seaside resort, the elder son of Elvira (nee Price) and John Stead. Due to his father's postings as a policeman, the family moved around south Wales, and Peter came to claim its various coastal and valley towns as his own. He attended Barry grammar school before moving to Gowerton grammar school in 1957. He then studied history at Swansea University, graduating with a first-class degree in 1964. He began doctoral research but joined the staff within two years, remaining at the university apart from two stints as a Fulbright scholar in the US and a late appointment as an external professor at the University of Glamorgan. He served as senior lecturer until taking early retirement in the 1990s. Witty and eloquent, he was adored by his students.
Publications and Interests
His early academic work focused on the dynamics of Lib-Lab politics in Edwardian Wales and adult education in the south Wales coalfield, notably in his book Coleg Harlech (1976). Increasingly, his attention turned to popular culture. In 1989 he published Film and the Working Class, followed in 1991 by a study of his hero Richard Burton, So Much: So Little. In 1993 he wrote about Dennis Potter, and in 2002 he published Acting Wales: Stars of Stage and Screen. The performative genius of 20th-century south Wales was his thematic passion, leading to essays and co-edited volumes on rugby and football players, boxers, opera singers, and actors. In many ways, he embodied that world himself, seeking to proclaim the legacy of its cultural worth and global impact.
Personal Life
In 1971 he married cosmologist Elizabeth Hilton, who survives him.
