G. Peter Winnington (Author of Vast Alchemies, a biography of Mervyn Peake and editor of Mervyn Peake: The Man and his Art)
writes to me this morning:
'We have a staunch supporter in Mike Moorcock: he wrote recently
'I was in a bookshop a couple of days ago and the assistant told me he
was reading /Vast Alchemies/. I told him to read no other book; that
yours was the only one worth reading. He said how he was enjoying it.
Why don't you print a short letter from me [in Peake Studies]
suggesting that all readers ask their public libraries to order /MP
Man and Art/ ? That would be a start. /You /can't suggest it, of
course, but /I/ could.''
A fine idea that might be applied more widely?
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/nonfic/Peake.htm
Tuesday, 6 March 2007
Monday, 5 March 2007
Calming down
Apologies for the bile in the previous post. Blogger no.2 just had a rant about music journalists. It must be a Monday thing.
If you'd like to judge for yourselves the page for In the Shadow of Islam is
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/modclas/intheshad.htm
I've calmed myself down by beginning a pet project of mine - making our website more author focussed. I've created author pages for Tarjei Vesaas, Anna Kavan and Anais Nin:
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/Authors/Anais%20Nin.htm
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/Authors/Tarjei%20Vesaas.htm
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/Authors/Anna%20Kavan.htm
Which I hope will eventually become link based resources for fans of many of our fantastic authors. Annoyingly I could find very little in English for Tarjei Vesaas on the internet. If anyone can find anything - biogs, appreciations, essays etc. I'd be much obliged.
Also you can now see and hear Miranda Miller talking about Loving Mephistopheles on You Tube at this address:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8UNriQQddc
Something that we will be doing with more authors I hope.
And finally, I got a very nice phone call from the publicist at the excellent quarterly journal Slightly Foxed - a publication to which everyone should be subscribed.
http://www.foxedquarterly.com/
If you'd like to judge for yourselves the page for In the Shadow of Islam is
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/modclas/intheshad.htm
I've calmed myself down by beginning a pet project of mine - making our website more author focussed. I've created author pages for Tarjei Vesaas, Anna Kavan and Anais Nin:
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/Authors/Anais%20Nin.htm
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/Authors/Tarjei%20Vesaas.htm
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/Authors/Anna%20Kavan.htm
Which I hope will eventually become link based resources for fans of many of our fantastic authors. Annoyingly I could find very little in English for Tarjei Vesaas on the internet. If anyone can find anything - biogs, appreciations, essays etc. I'd be much obliged.
Also you can now see and hear Miranda Miller talking about Loving Mephistopheles on You Tube at this address:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8UNriQQddc
Something that we will be doing with more authors I hope.
And finally, I got a very nice phone call from the publicist at the excellent quarterly journal Slightly Foxed - a publication to which everyone should be subscribed.
http://www.foxedquarterly.com/
In the shadow of apathy?
A great previous post by blogger number 3 (!) a recent but temporary addition to our staff from Shakespeare and Company Paris. Isabelle Eberhardt, the writer she mentions has been on our list a while. A couple of years ago the people at P.O.P. added her first volume, In the Shadow of Islam, to our Modern Classics series fully intending to bring out the next two volumes in the trilogy a few months down the line after the obvious success of the first. It had everything: a great piece of writing (which should be all that matters) AND one that ticked all the boxes imaginable for those who like their boxes ticked, very independent woman, clash between Islam and the West, love, travel, there was even a TV documentary starring a journalist following in Eberhardt's footsteps. And? nothing, nope, nada or as Eberhardt would have said; 'rien'. Those that like our books ( < enough) stocked it, those that don't seem to (> > > many) didn't. We're still struggling to bring out the sequel. There are far far too many great and importantauthors in the same leaky boat.
A comment in the Bookseller two weeks ago by an editor being interviewed for her editorial success in bringing out the Peter Kay autobiography.
'Books are important, but not that important. It sounds quite wanky to say that, but it keeps you in check'
It WOULD be difficult not to get 'out of check' musing on the importance of Peter Kay's middle aged ramblings. Or the thoughts of Chantelle. For which said editor was also responsible.
Or take the person who decides what books go on Richard and Judy (For which a publisher must commit to spending thousands pounds even to be considered) who says that she 'hates the word literary' it 'puts people off' apparently.
I saw the best minds of my generation etc.
A comment in the Bookseller two weeks ago by an editor being interviewed for her editorial success in bringing out the Peter Kay autobiography.
'Books are important, but not that important. It sounds quite wanky to say that, but it keeps you in check'
It WOULD be difficult not to get 'out of check' musing on the importance of Peter Kay's middle aged ramblings. Or the thoughts of Chantelle. For which said editor was also responsible.
Or take the person who decides what books go on Richard and Judy (For which a publisher must commit to spending thousands pounds even to be considered) who says that she 'hates the word literary' it 'puts people off' apparently.
I saw the best minds of my generation etc.
Friday, 2 March 2007
Isabelle Eberhardt
"For those who know the value of and exquisite taste of solitary freedom (for one is only free when alone), the act of leaving is the bravest and most beautiful of all."
“Last year I left this place to the gusts of winter” The opening to Eberhardts first volume of autobiographical writings ‘In the Shadow of Islam’.
Isabelle Eberhardt, after narrowly escaping assasination and having been banished from French Algeria and imprisoned several times, lived only to the fragile age of 27. Defeated finally in 1904 by Malaria and swept away in a terrible flood she was found surrounded by the muddy pages of her manuscript. Pieced together by an anarchist editor friend, her remaining works were collected into 3 volumes of passionate poetical travel writing. Winding, desert, travellers tales of passion and nihilism. Rebel, adventurer, kif-smoking Isabelle travelled under the firm belief that everything that happened happened for a reason and that her life was dependent on chance. She was and is a true feminist hero, a radical of her time; “ women cannot understand me,” she opines “ they see me as a freak”. Dressing as a man, speaking many languages and riding horses from the encouragements of her father she was able to travel freely and wildly and where chance took her. She was known to hang out with local young vagabonds, wrestling with soldiers in the barracks or found sleeping in the local kif-joints.
Her writing is sensual and descriptive in her search for dirt, freedom, expression and moments of glorious sensation, of sunlight, food, love, religious musings and the people and places she visited are all wound together.
Ah Isabelle, a new heroine then? Time to seek her out…
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/modclas/intheshad.htm
Blogger no. 3
“Last year I left this place to the gusts of winter” The opening to Eberhardts first volume of autobiographical writings ‘In the Shadow of Islam’.
Isabelle Eberhardt, after narrowly escaping assasination and having been banished from French Algeria and imprisoned several times, lived only to the fragile age of 27. Defeated finally in 1904 by Malaria and swept away in a terrible flood she was found surrounded by the muddy pages of her manuscript. Pieced together by an anarchist editor friend, her remaining works were collected into 3 volumes of passionate poetical travel writing. Winding, desert, travellers tales of passion and nihilism. Rebel, adventurer, kif-smoking Isabelle travelled under the firm belief that everything that happened happened for a reason and that her life was dependent on chance. She was and is a true feminist hero, a radical of her time; “ women cannot understand me,” she opines “ they see me as a freak”. Dressing as a man, speaking many languages and riding horses from the encouragements of her father she was able to travel freely and wildly and where chance took her. She was known to hang out with local young vagabonds, wrestling with soldiers in the barracks or found sleeping in the local kif-joints.
Her writing is sensual and descriptive in her search for dirt, freedom, expression and moments of glorious sensation, of sunlight, food, love, religious musings and the people and places she visited are all wound together.
Ah Isabelle, a new heroine then? Time to seek her out…
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/modclas/intheshad.htm
Blogger no. 3
Wonderful web reviewers
Another thoughtful and beautifully written review from the Dove Grey Reader, this time on Kokoro:
http://dovegreyreader.typepad.com/dovegreyreader_scribbles/
This even though she missed our launch - we'll have to see what we can cook up in Devon!
And a very amusing column on our loving mephs launch from Duncan Fallowell
http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/index.php?menuID=4&subID=1220
Sociopaths? Nous?
http://dovegreyreader.typepad.com/dovegreyreader_scribbles/
This even though she missed our launch - we'll have to see what we can cook up in Devon!
And a very amusing column on our loving mephs launch from Duncan Fallowell
http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/index.php?menuID=4&subID=1220
Sociopaths? Nous?
Frightening adverts
The Bookseller magazine carries two dark boxes in its classified section this week:
CALDER BOOKSHOP seeks successor
CALDER PUBLISHING seeks successor
Scary stuff.
The Guardian mentions our forthcoming Ken Russells in one of its gossip columns today:
'Ken Russell has written a BOGOF book. The veteran film director always had a pretty cavalier approach to mere facts in his films, and has now written waht he calls 'novel biographies' of the composers Edward Elgar and Frederick Delius. And best of all, Elgar: The Erotic Variations and Delius: A Moment with Venus, come bound together as one chunky volume: 'Two Novels in one book!' as the publisher chirps.'
The problem with attempting irony is that you're never sure who is being it when. Also no mention of us and no mention of the other book - Maev Kennedy (who wrote the article) might have said 'a BOGOF of BOGOFs from Ken Russell - famous of course for Quadrophenia'
I'm not sure that makes sense.
CALDER BOOKSHOP seeks successor
CALDER PUBLISHING seeks successor
Scary stuff.
The Guardian mentions our forthcoming Ken Russells in one of its gossip columns today:
'Ken Russell has written a BOGOF book. The veteran film director always had a pretty cavalier approach to mere facts in his films, and has now written waht he calls 'novel biographies' of the composers Edward Elgar and Frederick Delius. And best of all, Elgar: The Erotic Variations and Delius: A Moment with Venus, come bound together as one chunky volume: 'Two Novels in one book!' as the publisher chirps.'
The problem with attempting irony is that you're never sure who is being it when. Also no mention of us and no mention of the other book - Maev Kennedy (who wrote the article) might have said 'a BOGOF of BOGOFs from Ken Russell - famous of course for Quadrophenia'
I'm not sure that makes sense.
Thursday, 1 March 2007
Every day is a book day
So books have been relegated to Clintons status have they?
Ten P.O.P. books that no one should be without:
1. The Ice Palace, Tarjei Vesaas
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/modclas/icepal.htm
2. Silence/Scandal Shusaku Endo (I prefer the latter, everyone else the former)
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/modclas/silence.htm
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/modclas/scandal.htm
3. Narcissus and Goldmund, Hermann Hesse
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/modclas/narcissus.htm
4. Ice, Anna Kavan
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/modclas/ice.htm
5. Two Serious Ladies, Jane Bowles
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/modclas/twoser.htm
6. Three Cornered World, Natsume Soseki
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/modclas/threecorn.htm
7. Secret Protocols, Peter Vansittart
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/fiction/Secret%20Protocols.htm
8. Year of the Hare, Arto Paasilinna
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/fiction/Year%20of%20the%20Hare.htm
9. The Man Who Planted Trees, Jean Giono
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/fiction/man%20who%20planted%20trees.htm
10. Confessions of a Mask, Yukio Mishima
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/modclas/con_mask.htm
Ten P.O.P. books that no one should be without:
1. The Ice Palace, Tarjei Vesaas
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/modclas/icepal.htm
2. Silence/Scandal Shusaku Endo (I prefer the latter, everyone else the former)
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/modclas/silence.htm
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/modclas/scandal.htm
3. Narcissus and Goldmund, Hermann Hesse
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/modclas/narcissus.htm
4. Ice, Anna Kavan
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/modclas/ice.htm
5. Two Serious Ladies, Jane Bowles
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/modclas/twoser.htm
6. Three Cornered World, Natsume Soseki
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/modclas/threecorn.htm
7. Secret Protocols, Peter Vansittart
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/fiction/Secret%20Protocols.htm
8. Year of the Hare, Arto Paasilinna
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/fiction/Year%20of%20the%20Hare.htm
9. The Man Who Planted Trees, Jean Giono
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/fiction/man%20who%20planted%20trees.htm
10. Confessions of a Mask, Yukio Mishima
http://www.peterowen.com/pages/modclas/con_mask.htm
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