Burgess was born to Geoffrey Burgess, an Oxford Times freelance writer and accountant at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. He and his father became the topic of an article for The Daily Telegraph after Christina Hardyment read Byron's Children by Susan Normington. The Burgesses are presumed to be direct descendants of Lord Byron through Hannah Burgess, Byron's probable granddaughter and Geoffrey's great-great-grandmother. Hannah said she is the daughter of William Marshall, who claimed he was the illegitimate son of Byron.[1]
In the 1980s, Burgess aided The Non-Stop Picket of South Africa House that called for Nelson Mandela's release from prison.[1] He described how the Picket became part of his daily routine and that he noticed early picketers lost their motivation and gave up.[2]
Career
1988–1990
In 1988, Burgess interviewed several British black gay men and women in an article he wrote for The Voice.[3] He is a Brixton bedsit poet[1] and his verse, Blue Rhapsody, was published in Once I Was a Washing Machine in 1989.[4] He talked about how difficult it is waiting for literature to be published for those that do not take up writing at a young age.[5] Another verse, The Victims, was published in the 1990 book The Cream of the Troubadour Poets by David Stuart Ryan.[6]
1990–2004
Burgess and Steve Stannard were elected co-treasurers for OutRage! in May, 1990 when it became a not-for-profit organization.[7] Stannard was ousted on September 4.[8]
Burgess became the editor of The Star-News in California, United States on 29 March 2002.[9] In 2003, he wrote a column about Steve Padilla, quoting him from a Mid-Bayfront speech at San Diego Country Club.[10] Padilla claimed Burgess made wrong interpretations about his statement.[11][12] In 2004, Burgess gathered lawsuit information from City Council candidate Steve Castaneda who wanted legal action on his opponent, Dan Hom. After Burgess received hard copies of liens and court cases, his publisher told him to kill the story.[13] The next day, Burgess was removed from his duties as Editor.[14]
