Re: Intrusions of Real Life


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ Previous # Next ] [ Start New Thread ] [ TarBoard ]

Posted by Alan Hakim on August 09, 2003 at 18:07:00 from 212.137.136.117 user awhakim.

In Reply to: Re: Intrusions of Real Life posted by John Wilson on August 09, 2003 at 11:43:39:

There is a very relevant contribution to this discussion in Norman Willis' talk to the TARS 1995 Literary weekend, entitled What Arthur Ransome Means To me. Norman has of course gone on to be TARS' President, but at that meeting he spoke as a former General Secretary of the British TUC, and an ordinary TAR.
He pointed out that he was not drawn to AR by the connection with the Russian Revolution, nor indeed by sailing, fishing or even sea shanties:
My explanation is simple ... Peter Powell was the policeman's son who lived opposite with whom I shared many of the long golden summers of childhood ... It was Peter who took me on the long trudge through the town one holiday morning to discover the local library, and in particular, AR's Swallows and Amazons. It was love at first sight ... These were the most exciting, interesting and glamorous books I'd ever read then ... A working class lad in the Thames valley, whose father was a 'government labourer' and whose mother (at a time when the two lowest paid jobs were laundries and canteens) worked in the canteen of a laundry, did not go away for holidays ... And here I read this book about children having holidays, LONG holidays – a freedom, a cloudburst of of choices I could not possibly have experienced. Joy.
He goes on to look at many of the subjects discussed in this thread, and concludes with the advice, Don't analyse AR's magic to death.

And, speaking of the Literary Weekend, it's not too late to book for this year's, at Greenwich on September 5th-7th, but it soon will be. Norman will be there. Get in touch with me if you're interested.



Follow Ups:



Post a Followup

Name:
Eel-Mail:

Existing subject (please edit appropriately) :

Comments:

Optional Link URL:
Link Title:
Optional Image URL:

post direct to TarBoard test post first

Before posting it is necessary to be a registered user.


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TarBoard ]

Courtesy of Environmental Science, Lancaster

space