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The President and His Daughters Enjoy Buying Books

November 24, 2012 /0 Comments/in , /by

Just like last year around this time, President Obama and his daughters went shopping at a local bookstore today, on what is known as #SmallBizSat. They shopped at One More Page Books in Arlington, VA. No word yet from the White House, who tweeted out this picture, about which bookstore they were at (in Arlington, VA), nor what books the bookselling staff are wrapping up here. It sure is great to see the First Family buying books like this, a shot of high-profile bookbuying the book industry can really use.

Here are more photos from the Obamas’ visit to the bookstore. Photo credit for all these photos is “AP PHOTO/J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE”

 

#FridayReads, Nov. 23–“The Double Game” and “Gotham”

November 23, 2012 /0 Comments/in , /by

This week, more of a #FridayRe-Reads than a #FridayReads

#FridayReads, Nov. 23–The Double Game, Dan Fesperman’s brilliant riff on the spy novel genre, and Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 by Edwin Burrows and Mike Wallace.  It may be the distractions of the holiday week–I’ve just been re-reading a couple of favorites. Last summer I blogged about Fesperman’s novel, and found it so irresistible I’ve picked it up again. The author ingeniously embeds plot points and clues in his story from books by giants of the genre–Le Carre, Ambler, Greene, Buchan, Childers, and others–actual volumes that are in the personal library of the novel’s narrator. It’s a true tour de force, and so good I find myself challenged to say something truly intelligent about it. It was published last August, and I’ve been a bit disappointed to see that it seems to have been published without the notice it deserves.

Gotham, published by Oxford University Press in 1999, is a rare book written by scholars in that it is as readable as any novel or potboiler. Although the narrative proceeds chronologically from the establishment of New Amsterdam through the incorporation of the five boroughs in to one great city, there are tremendous set pieces in it–on the electrification of the metropolis; the Draft Riots; the rise of a national publishing scene from Manhattan, and many others. A second volume, bringing the history of the city up to the present, is due to be published at some future point. Meantime, I relish this initial volume, so good on so many aspects of New York City history. Before publication it was praised by the late Edward Robb Ellis, about whom I blogged on the latest anniversary of his birthday. I published four books by Ellis, including his worthy predecessor to Gotham, The Epic of New York City. Eddie blurbed Burrows’ and Wallace’s book, saying, “Gotham is a masterpiece. It is the best history of New York ever written. It will be read a century from now.”

This week I’ve also read and savored writer Nick Paumgarten’s thorough examination of the Grateful Dead’s library of in-concert live recordings that’s running in the current New Yorker. I actually disagree with some of his dismissive conclusions about the Dead’s music, but am appreciative of the effort he went to in listening to these many hours of music, as well as visiting with the archivists and band members such as Phil Lesh.

1970–Fairport Convention, Live

November 22, 2012 /0 Comments/in , /by

A thank-you to all the readers of this blog, here’s a musical present:
Some nice Brit-folk rock harmonizing from Fairport Convention, a group whose music I always enjoyed,  on albums  such as “Unhalfbricking”).  Today at Political Animal blogger Ed Kilgore has shared a song the group played live, sometime in 1970, perhaps at an outdoor festival. I never heard it until today. It’s called  “Now Be Thankful.” If you like them too, after the song concludes there’s a lot more of them playing their repertoire, on youtube. They changed personnel a lot, but always kept to a high level.

The National Book Awards–Debating How to Move Forward

November 21, 2012 /0 Comments/in , , /by

Here’s an excellent literary commentary from Publishers Weekly, by indie book publishers Chris Fischbach and Fiona McCrae, on how the National Book Awards could be reformed–and equally important, the direction they believe the reforms should not take. The 2012 Awards were given last week, so this is very timely, with Fischbach and McCrae noting a recent NY Times article which reported that “the National Book Foundation is reviewing changes to its procedures in order to ‘create more splash’ and in particular to address criticisms that ‘in recent years judges had preferred little-known authors, which diminished the award’s stature.’”

They urge the Foundation not to make the annual awards into a contest that merely rewards “big books’ by “big authors” from “big publishers,” which most of the year “get the lion’s share of attention.” By contrast, they say, “the annual national awards provide an opportunity to audit the year’s books and to come up with lists that either echo the year’s noise and/or illuminate books that for whatever reason have remained under the mainstream radar. The element of surprise and discovery, we would argue, is absolutely part of the value of these awards.” I also found that the Times article mentioned some good ideas that are being contemplated, such as involving younger book industry people at award-related events during NBA week. For my part, I think the Foundation should continue doing more to reach out beyond the book industry to involve avid readers.

I recommend you read the excellent column by Fischbach and McCrae which affirms the vibrancy of the independent publishing spirit.
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Nov. 28 Graywolf Press Update: Speaking of Graywolf, PW‘s Claire Kirch has also published this profile of them, Graywolf Press in a New Era. Last, I made one of Graywolf’s current titles, Mary Jo Bang’s new translation of Dante’s Inferno, my #FridayReads last April 27.  

Find a Way to Preserve Libraries, So We All May Flourish

November 20, 2012 /0 Comments/in /by

In the UK, Canada, and the USA public libraries are under threat of reduced funding, outright defunding, and total closure. Increasingly, authors are inserting themselves into public discussions of the future of libraries. In Toronto, Margaret Atwood helped prevent drastic cuts to the city’s library budget, but only after a local politician, the brother of Mayor Rob Ford, made a fool of himself. According to the Toronto Star, upon learning that Atwood had urged  Torontonians to let City Council know of their determined support for libraries, Councillor Doug Ford

“said that the literary icon and activist—who took him to task on Twitter for saying, erroneously, that his Etobicoke ward has more libraries than Tim Hortons [coffee shops]—should get herself elected to office or pipe down. ‘Well good luck to Margaret Atwood. I don’t even know her. If she walked by me, I wouldn’t have a clue who she is,’ said the councillor and advisor to his brother, Mayor Rob Ford, after a committee meeting on proposed cuts. ‘She’s not down here, she’s not dealing with the problem. Tell her to go run in the next election and get democratically elected. And we’d be more than happy to sit down and listen to Margaret Atwood.’”

What followed was an outpouring of support for Atwood so pronounced that both Fords have since backed off of their effort to close Toronto libraries.

Aggressive know-nothingism is also found among American politicians. In 2000 Senator Hillary Clinton referred to E.B. White in a debate during her campaign for re-election. Incredibly, then-Governor George Pataki told media in the post-debate spin room said,  “It doesn’t sound to me like that guy was a New Yorker or understood New York the way we do.”

The future of libraries is especially dire in Britain, due to the severe austerity imposed by David Cameron’s government, hitting all sectors of British society, from schools to rubbish pick-up to recreation to the libraries. This week, author Jeannette Winterson gave an impassioned speech at the British Library where she called for dragooning tax revenues due from the UK divisions of Amazon, Google, and Starbucks to support the country’s endangered library systems. Controversy has attached to those three companies over their apparent efforts to park profits from their UK operations in offshore tax havens. According to The Guardian’s report, Winterson took a very personal turn toward the end of her remarks.

She ended by telling the story of how she discovered TS Eliot in her local library in Accrington, aged 16 and about to be thrown out of the house by her mother “for breaking a very big rule – the rule was not just No Sex, but definitely No Sex with your own Sex”. Scared and unhappy, Winterson went to collect her mother’s books from the library–including Murder in the Cathedral, which her mother had assumed was “a gory story about nasty monks”. Winterson took a look, having never heard of TS Eliot, and saw it was written in verse.

“The librarian told me he was an American poet who had lived in England for most of his life. He had died in 1964, and he had won the Nobel prize. I wasn’t reading poetry because my aim was to work my way through ENGLISH LITERATURE IN PROSE A-Z. But this was different. I read: ‘This is one moment/ But know that another/ shall pierce you with a sudden painful joy.’ I started to cry,” she said.

She went outside and read the whole thing, sitting on the steps. “The unfamiliar and beautiful play made things bearable that day, and the things it made bearable were another failed family–the first one was not my fault but all adopted children blame themselves,” she said. “The second failure was definitely my fault. I was confused about sex and sexuality, and upset about the straightforward practical problems of where to live, what to eat, and how to do my A-levels. I had no one to help me, but TS Eliot helped me. I had no one to help me, but the library helped me. That’s why I’m here tonight.”

Publishers Weekly on Political Books, w/My Take on the National Climate

November 20, 2012 /0 Comments/in , , /by

A couple days after President Obama’s re-election last week, I was invited by Rachel Deahl of Publishers Weekly to comment on the current and future climate for political books.  She asked “what narratives seem to be emerging, or what narrative(s) you might be looking for.”  I heard from a friend today that this week’s print issue of the magazine has Rachel’s story, and though I haven’t seen that version yet, she just sent me a link to the story on line. It’s posted at the PW site, under the headline:  “Let’s Get Political”. I invite you to read the published story–there are seven publishing people quoted in it. Due to space I’m sure, the email comment I’d submitted was abridged, so I’m glad I can post my full remarks below, edited lightly for this space. Rachel also asked for a head shot, and since I’m not sure if the magazine used it, I’ll pasted in here at the bottom of the post.
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Hi Rachel,

I’ve been through many presidential book cycles, and it is true that books published for the benefit of the out-party (anti-Bush books from 2000-08; anti-Obama books 2009-2012) tend to flourish in these times.

However, what I’d like to be seeing now as an author’s representative, a political blogger, an editor, and a reader is a break from the more vituperative titles. I think even rabid partisans are tiring of these titles and are beginning to show less suport for them than in the past. I think what we need, and what the politically engaged reading public craves, are vigorously reported books in which the author, while not reining in his opining or editorial comment, nonetheless allows a pointed narrative to emerge from the facts of their story. An example from years past of what I’m looking for now is typified by Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickled & Dimed.

For the many authors, and publishers, who’ve featured criticism of Pres. Obama in their books, I think they need to look in the mirror and offer work that is as much self-critical as it is bashing of the president. I suggest this not as a partisan from the other side, but as a way for them to establish and enhance their own credibility with a more diverse readership. After all, there must be some critical self-assessment in the wake of an election that did not go the way of their advocacy, lest they lose all credibility with a more general readership, and remain in the bubble that bred their lack of prescience.

For authors on the left or from the more traditional center, I look at Michael Grunwald’s The New New Deal (S&S, August 2012, my Oct. 12 #FridayReads blog entry), as an example of the kind of book I’d be looking for. Extensive reporting of facts (about the 2009 Federal stimulus) that build a case for his thesis that the Recovery Act was the most consequential legislation since the New Deal. The point of view in Grunwald’s book emerges from the reporting, not the other way around.

I will add that one genre I’ve not tired of is the traditional, Theodore White-style “Making of the President” narrative. My longtime author David Pietrusza has done books like this for such years as 1920, 1948, and 1960. I think it’s too late now for me to work on one of those about 2012, but I’d sure like to read one. That is, not a magazine piece, but a deeply reported and full textured portrait of the campaign.

Thanks for asking for my input, Philip

The Great Gray Bridge
Philip Turner Book Productions
Speakerfile profile page

Welcoming Burma to a Better World

November 19, 2012 /0 Comments/in , /by

Update: Late Monday this photo by the Washington Post’s David Nakamura of an embrace between Aun Sang Suu Kyi and Hillary Clinton, with President Obama looking on, hit the newswires. Happy to add it to this post.

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Some human rights activists are criticizing President Obama for making Burma a stop on his current visit to Southeast Asia. They say the country still holds captive many political prisoners, and that it’s too soon to favor them with a presidential visit. I share their concern that the gains made over the past year aren’t sufficient, and that reversals in the process may still occur. And yet, I believe that the visit, which brings with it not just the president but Hillary Clinton and the whole force of the State Department is the best way to ensure progress and forestall a return to the repression of the past decades.

The NY Times reports that while sharing a dais with Aung San Suu Kyi President Obama said of Burma today:

“‘You must reach for the future you deserve, a future where a single prisoner of conscience is one too many. You need to reach for a future where the law is stronger than any single leader.’”

The Times adds that “Although human rights activists criticized him for visiting while hundreds of political prisoners remain locked up and violence rages through parts of the country, Mr. Obama used the occasion to nudge Myanmar to move further.” The president was greeted on arrival “by further promises of reform by the government, which announced a series of specific commitments regarding the release of political prisoners and the end of ethnic violence. Although Mr. Obama stayed just six hours, his visit was seen here as a validation of a new era. . . . John Sifton of Human Rights Watch said that if the promises [Prime Minister] Mr. Thein Sein announced Monday were kept, it would ‘be a huge step in the right direction for the people’ and future of Myanmar, although he maintained it could have been achieved without rewarding the government with a presidential visit so soon.”

Readers of this blog may recall that last winter I attended the opening of an exhibit put on by The Mantle: a forum of progressive critique at Gallery 35 of Burmese artists whose work spanned the period before the loosening and after it had begun. The latter pieces reflected an early, wary response to the government’s new openness, and blogged about it at the time.  The art was really compelling too, not just as political messages. I’ve posted some of the images here–there are lots more at the original post.

In September, when Aung San Suu Kyi visited Washington, I shared two great pictures from her visit, like the one below taken with Hillary. I’m glad America is engaged this way, not just with Burma, but also reaching out to Thailand and Cambodia on this presidential trip, and look forward to seeing more diplomacy like over the next four years. Though China’s dominance in the region is undeniable, American influence with these smaller countries with growing economic dynamism, is going to be very important, for American trade and public approval.

J.R.R. Tolkien Renounced Racial Politics in 1938 Letter to a German Publisher

November 18, 2012 /1 Comment/in /by

Here’s another gem from Letters of Note, the second from the epistolary blog I’ve posted today, after this earlier example concerning the Cleveland Browns football team. The latest shows that in 1938, a German publisher interested in possibly translating The Hobbit for its market, asked J.R.R. Tolkien for “proof of his Aryan descent.”  According to blog curator Shaun Usher, “Tolkien was furious, and forwarded their letter to his publisher along with two possible replies—one in which their question was delicately side-stepped, and one, seen below, in which Tolkien made his displeasure known with considerable style.”

Before presenting the text of that second letter, it’d be pertinent to mention that when I studied biblical criticism, one of my subject areas  at Franconia College, the English-language translation of the bible I used most was the Jerusalem Bible, a special scholarly translation published in 1966. As can be seen below from the acknowledgments facing the title page, “the list of principal collaborators in translation and literary revision,” included Tolkien, a renowned and prolific linguist who by some estimates knew more than 30 languages, including many ancient tongues from the ancient near east.

Dear Sirs,

Thank you for your letter. I regret that I am not clear as to what you intend by arisch [Aryan]. I am not of Aryan extraction: that is Indo-Iranian; as far as I am aware none of my ancestors spoke Hindustani, Persian, Gypsy, or any related dialects. But if I am to understand that you are enquiring whether I am of Jewish origin, I can only reply that I regret that I appear to have no ancestors of that gifted people. My great-great-grandfather came to England in the eighteenth century from Germany: the main part of my descent is therefore purely English, and I am an English subject — which should be sufficient. I have been accustomed, nonetheless, to regard my German name with pride, and continued to do so throughout the period of the late regrettable war, in which I served in the English army. I cannot, however, forbear to comment that if impertinent and irrelevant inquiries of this sort are to become the rule in matters of literature, then the time is not far distant when a German name will no longer be a source of pride.

Your enquiry is doubtless made in order to comply with the laws of your own country, but that this should be held to apply to the subjects of another state would be improper, even if it had (as it has not) any bearing whatsoever on the merits of my work or its sustainability for publication, of which you appear to have satisfied yourselves without reference to my Abstammung [lineage].

I trust you will find this reply satisfactory, and remain yours faithfully,

J. R. R. Tolkien

I admire the explicit philo-semitism that Tolkien adopted in his reply, as I have indicated with the emphasis in bold. Here’s the acknowledgments page from the Jerusalem Bible.