Ian Rodger

Ian Graham Rodger (14 June 1926 – 30 August 1984) was an English radio critic, author, and translator of Swedish texts into English. In 1982 he published Radio Drama, which was the first historical survey on the subject of radio dramatics.

Early life and education Born in Brentford, Rodger was educated at Westminster School. He joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1944 and later served in the Intelligence Corps until his discharge from the armed forces in 1947. He was an early staff member of the student newspaper, Palatinate, working alongside Harold Evans and Paul Edwards.

Career Rodger had stints as a reporter at the Newcastle Journal (1952–54) and the Scottish Daily Mail (1954–55); he then spent a year in Sweden as a freelance journalist.

On his return from Sweden he began scripting radio plays and was later hired by The Listener as a critic. He published a series of novels with a Swedish setting: The Sun is Dead (1959), Nine Flowers – A Novel in Summer (1961) and Seven Beds to Christmas (1967).

In 1977 he was the organiser of the first international conference devoted to radio drama. Held at Collingwood College, Durham, it attracted a "surprisingly large number of people from all over the world", including a group of German academics who had been studying and teaching British radio plays.

Personal Rodger married Irish broadcaster and writer Mary Russell and had three children. He died of motor neurone disease in 1984.

Selected publications Fiction

Non-fiction