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Jonathan Bowden

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For the footballer, see Jon Bowden.

Jonathan David Anthony Bowden (12 April 1962 – 29 March 2012)[1] was an English right-wing writer and political activist. Initially a Conservative, he later became involved in far-right organisations such as the British National Party. Bowden has been described as a "cult Internet figure", even after his death.[2]

Early life and formal education

Bowden was born in Kent, England, and attended Presentation College in Reading, Berkshire. His mother suffered from severe mental illness,[2] and died when Bowden was 16 years old.

Bowden was largely self-educated.[2] In 1984, he completed one year of a Bachelor of Arts history degree course at Birkbeck College, London University, as a mature student, but left without graduating. He subsequently enrolled at Wolfson College, Cambridge University, in autumn 1988, but left after a few months.

Political career

Conservative Party

He began his political career as a member of the Conservative Party in the Bethnal Green and Stepney Constituency Association.[citation needed]. In 1990, he joined the Conservative Monday Club, and the following year made an unsuccessful bid to be elected onto its Executive Council. In 1991, he was appointed co-chairman with Stuart Millson of the club's media committee,[3] and was also active in the Western Goals Institute.[4] In 1992, Bowden was expelled from the Monday Club.[5]

Revolutionary Conservative Caucus

Bowden and Stuart Millson co-founded the Revolutionary Conservative Caucus in November 1992[6] with the aim of introducing "abstract thought into the nether reaches of the Conservative and Unionist party".[4] The group published a quarterly journal entitled The Revolutionary Conservative Review. By the end of 1994, Millson and Bowden parted company and the group dissolved.

In 1993, Bowden published the book Right through the European Books Society. He was also reported to be a prominent figure in the creative milieu responsible for the emergence of Right Now! magazine.[7]

Freedom Party

Bowden then joined the Freedom Party, for which he was treasurer for a short time,[8] and subsequently was a member of the Bloomsbury Forum, in company with Adrian Davies,[9]

British National Party

In 2003, Bowden broke with attempts to influence Conservatism and moved into political activity by joining the British National Party (BNP), becoming a popular speaker. He was appointed Cultural Officer, a position its leader Nick Griffin created to give Bowden officer status within the organisation. However, in July 2007, Bowden resigned and left the BNP.

Although he resumed public speech-making at BNP organised meetings in the localities away from the party's national events, he never re-joined the party and cut all ties after the May 2010 general election.

London Forum

Bowden made speeches on many topics to The London Forum, a far-right discussion forum.[10]

Views

The ideas that Bowden held to be true include that inequality is good for society, that "liberalism is moral syphilis" and that white people are justified in asserting their cultural, ethnic, psychological and spiritual superiority.[2]

Bowden's espoused pagan religious beliefs.[2]

Death

Bowden died of heart failure at his home in Berkshire on 29 March 2012, aged 49,[citation needed] shortly after being released from the psychiatric ward of a hospital, where he was admitted after suffering a mental breakdown.[2]

Books

  • Mad (London: Avant-Garde Publishing, 1989); (Nine-Banded Books, 2009) ISBN 978-0578006406
  • Aryan (London: Egotist Press, 1990)
  • Sade (London: Egotist, 1992); (Nine-Banded Books, 2013) ISBN 978-0989697217
  • Brute (Egotist Press, 1992)
  • Skin (London: Egotist Press, 1992)
  • Axe (London: Egotist, 1993); (London: The Palingenesis Project, 2014). ISBN 978-1909606074
  • Craze (London: Egotist Press, 1993) ISBN 1-872181-17-1
  • Right (London: European Books Society 1994); (London: The Palingenesis Project, 2016) ISBN 978-1909606159
  • Collected Works, 6 vols. (London: Avant-guarde, 1995)
  • Standardbearers – British Roots of the New Right, edited by Adrian Davies, Eddy Butler & Jonathan Bowden; Beckenham, Kent, 180pps, (April 1999)
  • Apocalypse TV (London: The Spinning Top Club, 2007). ISBN 978-0-9557402-0-6
  • The Art of Jonathan Bowden (1974–2007) (London: The Spinning Top Club, 2007). ISBN 978-0-9557402-2-0
  • The Fanatical Pursuit of Purity (London: The Spinning Top Club, 2008). ISBN 978-0-9557402-3-7
  • Al-Qa’eda Moth (London: The Spinning Top Club, 2008). ISBN 978-0-9557402-5-1
  • Kratos (London: The Spinning Top Club, 2008). ISBN 978-0-9557402-1-3
  • A Ballet of Wasps (London: The Spinning Top Club, 2008). ISBN 978-0-9557402-6-8
  • Goodbye Homunculus! (London: The Spinning Top Club, 2009). ISBN 978-0-9557402-9-9
  • The Art of Jonathan Bowden, Vol. 2 (1968–1974) (London: The Spinning Top Club, 2009). ISBN 978-0-9557402-4-4
  • Lilith Before Eve (London: The Spinning Top Club, 2009). ISBN 978-0-9557402-8-2
  • Louisiana Half-Face (London: The Spinning Top Club, 2010). ISBN 978-0-9565120-2-4
  • The Art of Jonathan Bowden, Vol. 3 (1967–1974) (London: The Spinning Top Club, 2010). ISBN 978-0-9565120-1-7
  • Our Name is Legion London: The Spinning Top Club, (2011). ISBN 978-0-9565120-3-1
  • Colonel Sodom Goes to Gomorrah (London: The Spinning Top Club, 2011). ISBN 978-0-9565120-4-8
  • Locusts Devour a Carcass (London: The Spinning Top Club, 2012). ISBN 978-0-9565120-5-5
  • Spiders are Not Insects (London: The Spinning Top Club, 2012). ISBN 978-0-9565120-6-2
  • Pulp Fascism (San Francisco: Counter-Currents, 2013). ISBN 978-1935965640
  • Western Civilization Bites Back (San Francisco: Counter-Currents, 2014). ISBN 978-1935965770
  • Demon (London: The Palingenesis Project, 2014). ISBN 978-1909606043
  • Blood (London: The Palingenesis Project, 2016). ISBN 978-1909606098
  • Heat (London: The Palingenesis Project, 2017). ISBN 978-1909606197
  • Deathlock (London: The Palingenesis Project, 2017). ISBN 978-1909606210

Creative works

Bowden was an Outsider artist whose works are collected in three book volumes.[citation needed]

He appeared in two avant-garde films, Venus Flytrap (2005) and Grand Guignol (2009), both directed by the Italian film-maker Andrea Lioy.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ "Jonathan Bowden 1962-2012". Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Clements, Tom (4 September 2019) "I fell down the rabbit hole of alt-right propaganda and this is what I learned" The Independent
  3. ^ Monday Club News, July 1991 edition, p.2. – Monday Club Executive Council Minutes, 13 May 1991. This position did not, however, afford Bowden a seat on the Council
  4. ^ a b Interview with Bowden Archived 7 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Sonia Gable and Adam Carter, "New Right chairman dies" Archived 21 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Searchlight, 26 April 2012
  6. ^ The Revolutionary Conservative, issue no.2, 1993, p.16.
  7. ^ Right Now!
  8. ^ Freedom Party website
  9. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 5 March 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ YouTube
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