Paul Barker (writer)

Paul Barker (born 1935 in the West Riding of Yorkshire) is a British journalist and writer.

Barker was educated at local schools in the Calder Valley and won an Exhibition (scholarship) to Brasenose College, Oxford, to read French. Before taking up his place at Oxford, he did National service and was commissioned as an officer in the Intelligence Corps, and while in the Army studied Russian language at Cambridge University. After taking his Oxford degree, he then went on to the École Normale Supérieure in Paris for a year as lecteur. He joined the London staff of The Times in 1959, but early in 1964 left to join the recently founded New Society as a staff writer. He went on to The Economist, but returned to New Society almost at once - in 1965 - as deputy editor. In 1968 he succeeded Timothy Raison, the first editor of New Society, and edited the magazine until 1986. Subsequently, he was a columnist on The Sunday Times and a regular writer for the London Evening Standard, the Times Literary Supplement and Prospect Magazine. He is currently a senior research fellow with the Young Foundation, as well as being a freelance journalist, broadcaster and author.

One of Paul Barker's most significant and controversial contributions to New Society during the 1960s concerned issues around physical planning and space. In 1969 Barker collaborated with Reyner Banham, Peter Hall and Cedric Price on the article "Non-Plan: an experiment in freedom", which he published in New Society. Kazys Varnelis gives the background to this article:

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