Literary titan a 'man of great elegance'

WRITER, publisher, intellectual and epicurean Christopher Pearson has died peacefully in his sleep in Adelaide at the age of 61.

WRITER, publisher, intellectual and epicurean Christopher Pearson has died peacefully in his sleep in Adelaide at the age of 61.

Pearson, a columnist with The Weekend Australian, was renowned for his sharp literary intellect, generous spirit and wit.

A late convert to Catholicism, he was a close friend and mentor of Tony Abbott, one-time speechwriter to former prime minister John Howard and an influential editor of The Adelaide Review.

The Opposition Leader said last night Pearson had been "a very strong influence and family friend for 20 years".

"Australia will miss him," Mr Abbott said. "His death has shaken many people. There is a profound sense of loss this evening. His influence went far beyond his writing and editorship of The Adelaide Review. For the last 20 years he has been the glue that held conservative thought together in Australia."

Pearson edited Mr Abbott's books and speeches.

Mr Howard was shocked to be told last night of Mr Pearson's death. "He was a gentle, true intellectual, a man of great faith and naturally talented, with great instincts," Mr Howard said.

"The force of his Christian decency made him friends across the political divide.

"He had an extraordinary literary knowledge. His writing was so transparent. It was always hard for anybody to be a political speechwriter, but I found him to have an immense knowledge of Australian literature. I am really very sorry, it is very sad."

His friends and influence spanned the political divide. South Australian Health Minister Jack Snelling attended Pearson's 60th birthday celebration in 2011, together with Mr Abbott.

Last night, Mr Snelling spoke of Pearson as "a very generous person, generous with his time and (who) always made himself available to help and offer advice".

Pearson has been a columnist for The Weekend Australian for the past 11 years, and before that for The Courier-Mail.

The Australian's editor-in-chief, Chris Mitchell, said yesterday: "He was a rare breed -- a man with literary and political insight, fully engaged in the life of the mind, the spirit and the body.

"He understood economics and public policy. The Adelaide Review under his editorship was one of the most interesting and pluralist weeklies in this country. I, and his many friends at The Australian and at News Limited, will miss him."

Poet Les Murray said Pearson was "a man of great elegance" and had stayed in touch over three decades. "He was very intelligent and perceptive," he said. "He ran a good newspaper, which he was squeezed out of in the end."

Murray said Pearson had a "good eye for finding authors". "He could turn his mind to it all -- from politics, to literary works and restaurants, wine and film," he said.

Writer Peter Goldsworthy said Pearson was an "editorial genius". "Myself and a lot of other writers owed a lot to his encouragement, especially during his days at the helm of The Adelaide Review -- he fostered a lot of people," he said. "His editorship of the Review were his golden years and the monthly parties were quite something to behold. There was fantastic hospitality.

"He was a great literary stylist. He could recite more poetry by heart than anybody I'd ever met."

Pearson was born in Sydney on August 31, 1951, to Sue (nee Dutton), a teacher and librarian, and Bob Pearson, an Anglican priest who later worked for IBM.

After the family moved to South Australia in the 1960s, Pearson attended Adelaide's Scotch College, where he developed what he would later describe as a lifelong antipathy for sports.

He later gained a bachelor of arts degree from Flinders University and a graduate diploma in education from the University of Adelaide.

Pearson took on the editorship of the struggling Adelaide Review in 1984 after a brief career as a sub-editor at The Advertiser, and as a tutor. The magazine was backed with modest financial support from friends he had made at college and university.

It went on to become nationally recognised for the quality of its writers and range of views, assembled and edited (in hard copy) by Pearson.

Pearson was widely regarded as a political conservative, but he was happy to publish works by Labor's Mark Latham and former South Australian Labor premier Don Dunstan, as he was to carry pieces by Mr Abbott.

Later, he served on the boards of the Australian National Museum and SBS.

Pearson was received into the Catholic Church a little more than a decade ago, embracing Catholicism with gusto and reading widely on doctrinal issues.

He campaigned for the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the 1970s and was open about his homosexuality, but remained an opponent of same-sex marriage.

A solemn requiem mass will be held for Pearson in Adelaide towards the end of the week.