Past Programs
Media, Information and Communication - 2008
Saving endangered words
25/11/2008
The wordsmiths at Collins English Dictionary have identified 24 rarely used words deemed too obscure to be included in the dictionary's 30th anniversary edition to be published next year. But there is a rescue plan. The London Times is spearheading an online campaign to save the endangered words from permanent oblivion, with some of Britain's leading literary lights arguing for their salvation.
André Schiffrin: A Political Education Read Transcript
04/07/2008
André Schiffrin was born in Paris, the son of one of France's most esteemed publishers, into a world that included some of the day's leading writers and intellectuals. This world changed completely when the Nazis marched into Paris on André's fifth birthday. Schiffrin's memoir A Political Education: Coming of Age in Paris and New York recounts the twists and turns of a life that saw Schiffrin become, himself, one of the world's most respected publishers.
Cover design -- Meanjin
24/06/2008
The discovery of a cupboard full of gems from another world is reminiscent of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe from CS Lewis's Narnia series. Sophie Cunningham recently had a 'Narnia moment' when she opened a stairwell cupboard at the old Meanjin office. Inside were 68 years worth of past Meanjinjournals all stacked up in rows.
The first Meanjin under her editorial guidance has come out. Sophie Cunningham said that opening that cupboard was like opening a door on the history of Australian book design, and this Meanjin has a feature on cover design. It is, of course, destined to join those towering columns of history too.
Philip Gourevitch, editor of the Paris Review
20/04/2008
American short story writer Leonard Michaels once said that he hated to use adverbs because the 'ly' endings seemed like sloopy trailers.
This enticing bit of information is in a lost interview that was recently unearthed from the Paris Review archives and features in the latest edition of the literary magazine.
Also in that issue is a charming photo essay about dirigibles that explore the terrain of tree canopies, prospecting for flora and fauna, and a feature on the collages Louis Armstrong made which are now on display in the Louis Armstrong House and Archives at Queens College.
Translating Aesop's fables Read Transcript
13/04/2008
'The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing', 'The Tortoise and the Hare', 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' and 'The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg' are fables commonly told to children, but did you know that Aesop's fables weren't originally intended for children? Aristotle was drawn to them and Socrates put them into verse while he was awaiting execution. Willis Regier, director of the University of Illinois Press, has discovered that English language translations of Aesop's fables have had a colourful history, as he outlines in his essay 'No Children's Tale' in the online journal Chronicle Review.
Nine translators have dominated English versions of these stories. One of the translators brought the printing press to England and another was caught up in royalist battles at the time of Cromwell. His versions were denounced for polluting the minds of children.
Philip Gourevitch, editor of the Paris Review
09/04/2008
American short story writer Leonard Michaels once said that he hated to use adverbs because the 'ly' endings seemed like sloopy trailers.
This enticing bit of information is in a lost interview that was recently unearthed from the Paris Review archives and features in the latest edition of the literary magazine.
Also in that issue is a charming photo essay about dirigibles that explore the terrain of tree canopies, prospecting for flora and fauna, and a feature on the collages Louis Armstrong made which are now on display in the Louis Armstrong House and Archives at Queens College.
Translating Aesop's fables Read Transcript
31/03/2008
'The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing', 'The Tortoise and the Hare', 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' and 'The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg' are fables commonly told to children, but did you know that Aesop's fables weren't originally intended for children? Aristotle was drawn to them and Socrates put them into verse while he was awaiting execution. Willis Regier, director of the University of Illinois Press, has discovered that English language translations of Aesop's fables have had a colourful history, as he outlines in his essay 'No Children's Tale' in the online journal Chronicle Review.
Nine translators have dominated English versions of these stories. One of the translators brought the printing press to England and another was caught up in royalist battles at the time of Cromwell. His versions were denounced for polluting the minds of children.
Islamist publishing industry
25/03/2008
Media stories about the spread of extremist groups tend to focus on the role of the internet as a propaganda tool. Books may seem a rather old-fashioned medium for these globalised networks, but in Indonesia the Islamist publishing industry is booming. Some profitable publishing houses are close to Jemaah Islamiah, Indonesia's most prominent extremist organisation, and some of the texts are translated from Arabic by captured JI members currently in Indonesian prisons. Sidney Jones, senior adviser for the International Crisis Group's Asia Program, has been investigating this publishing industry.
The plight of book reviewing with Gail Pool Read Transcript
25/03/2008
Gail Pool thinks that book reviewing, especially in America where she is based, is in crisis. In Faint Praise she asks what has gone wrong with book reviewing and has some suggestions for improvements.
The business of writing
27/02/2008
The annual gathering of America's Association of Writers and Writing Programs was held in New York recently. The list of speakers boasted names such as John Irving, Joyce Carol Oates and Martin Amis. Writer, columnist and Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Michael Dirda joined the throng.
Publishing prospects in India
25/02/2008
While the Chinese market seems be in everyone's sights this year, we look at the other economic powerhouse, India. Publishing industry insider Andrew Wilkins has been there recently and says that, for English language publishers, India has a decided advantage over China because it's an English-speaking democracy.
Searching for novel writers
21/02/2008
In the 1950s the journal Overland published novels and distributed them to subscribers. The rationale at the time? Big Australian publishers weren't set up to deal with Australian writers. Sounds very like some of the arguments we're hearing now about the difficulties facing literary writers in the current publishing climate. With that in mind, two independent publishers who are not usually associated with novels have decided to get into the novel publishing business.
Meanjin's new editor, Sophie Cunningham
11/02/2008
From contributor to editor -- Sophie Cunningham is the new editor of the literary magazine Meanjin. She hasn't started in the job yet, but how is she going to put her mark on this magazine that's been around since 1940? She's taking over from Ian Britain.
She's had many years in publishing; first at McPhee Gribble/Penguin then, from 1994 until 2003, at Allen & Unwin. She's also been at Lonely Planet and is a freelance writer. Her first novel Geography came out in 2004 and her second book, Bird, is coming out later this year.
Sophie Cunningham joins Ramona Koval on The Book Show.
