Every once in a while, I am amazed when I hear about literary freedom being compromised. However, I am astonished if it happens in my own city.
The BBC reports on the cancellation of a reading and book signing that Waterstone’s Cardiff branch would host for Welsh poet Patrick Jones. His collection of poems ‘Darkness is where the stars are’ is described as questioning the beliefs in society. However, a campaign by the christian organisation Christian Voice, led to Waterstone’s deeming it prudent to cancel the event to avoid potential disruption to the store and consequently led to the author signing his books on the street.
Waterstone’s spokeperson said ‘(t)he book remains available through Waterstone’s and we are very happy for that to be the case. We don’t act as a censor, we stock books in the tens of thousands and would only remove them from sale on the advice of the publisher’.
Stephen Green of Christian Voice said the decision was a triumph ‘for the Lord, not for us. Just the knowledge that we were on our way has put the fear of God into the opposition’.
Ultimate creative recycling for writers of notes and novels. Don’t suck on your pencil tip though !
Quack research is not only confined to the realm of science. Since the closure of the Harry Potter series, literary criticism, academic analysis and unfortunately also quack research has jumped on the creation by J.K. Rowling.
Professor Stephen Brown of Ulster University, marketing expert, has conducted research among readers ages 7 and over. The results showed Harry Potter readers divided into four groups that corresponded to the four houses of Hogwarts. From the Telegraph;
His research found ‘Hufflepuff’ readers take the tales at a slow, steady and systematic pace and enjoy re-reading the books over and over.
‘Gryffindor’ readers are eager and energetic and will devour the latest Potter book in one sitting, but quickly move on to new things.
‘Ravenclaws’ are subversive and take the stories with a pinch of salt, while ‘Slytherin’ readers are not fussed about the books. They prefer the films but pretend to have read the books when it suits them.
The interesting thing that Prof. Brown says is that ‘[t]he less committed types will now begin deserting Harry Potter, jeopardising sales. It is an interesting time in the development of the Potter brand because a lot of people have moved on. It will only be people who revel in his world who will continue with their admiration of the brand’.
While first of all I question the validity of the research and would like to know how large the group of interviewees was and how the research was conducted, there are some very well-worded opinions on the topic over at The Hog’s Head, like this one by Red Rocker;
What does that mean exactly “deserting Harry Potter”? Not buying any more of his books? Although there are some extremists out there who might buy more than one copy of a book, most readers only need to buy one copy and re-read that if they feel the need. Books are not like boxes of cereal, which need to be replaced once consumed. So what is he talking about when he talks about the HP brand? The movies? the hats and cards and costumes and wands and Hallowe’en costumes? The books about HP? The merchandising stuff has nothing to do with the staying power of a book.
(…) As for equating the four kinds of readers with the four houses of Hogwarts, there are is a big problem with his logic. As explained above, brand loyalty doesn’t apply to books, even to a series, because most series end. (And this series has definitely ended). There could be loyalty to the author. But Brown doesn’t talk about that. So being a “Hufflepuff” vs being a “Gryffindor” or “Ravenclaw” or even “Slytherin” has no meaning in terms of buying behaviour. In terms of marketing, a “Slytherin” who buys but does not read a HP book is no different than a “Hufflepuff” who buys a book and is eternally loyal to it ever after.
So readers of Harry beware, according to this research you should first do an online check of the Hogwarts house that you’d most likely be in, so that you know whether you should be rereading to book or not.
The British Library has released a series of 57 recordings of British and American authors on CD. The recordings include interviews and recitation of own work, some of which has not been heard since the initial recording.
From The Guardian;
Rare recordings of some of the last century’s greatest writers are to be released for the first time – from F Scott Fitzgerald reciting Othello to Tennessee Williams lambasting critics and Raymond Chandler drunkenly slurring his way through an interview with Ian Fleming.
The British Library CDs are a literary goldmine, with recordings of 30 British writers and 27 from the US, most of whom are being heard for the first time since they were in front of the microphone. They include the only surviving recording of Virginia Woolf, the sole recording of Arthur Conan Doyle, battily explaining the importance of spiritualism and the existence of telepathy, and Gertrude Stein incomprehensibly explaining how she writes.
‘The Spoken Word: British Writers and American Writers’ by The British Library, price £19.95.