Talk of the Town

Why Orwell Matters

Mon. Apr. 28, 7:30-9:00 pm

With: Stan Persky, author and Philosophy Instructor at Capilano College.

Graham Good, author and professor of English at UBC.

Craig Jones, lawyer and former President of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.

Ian Slater, political scientist, novelist and author of The Road to Airstrip One: The Development of George Orwell's Political and Social Thought from Burmese Days to 1984.

• There will be a prize draw for one free copy of Why Orwell Matters at the event.

Few modern writers in English have had as much influence on the world of ideas as George Orwell. Through his novels, most notably Animal Farm and 1984, his essays, journalism and criticism, he has changed how we think about the world. But he wrote his last word more than a half century ago. One of the best ways to test a public figure's currency and influence today is to see how often they appear in the news. The search engine Google will do that for you. A recent search of George Orwell turned up 254 citations -- in the news! And the articles that mentioned him were from places as diverse as Japan, Palestine, Australia, Singapore, Pakistan and Milwaukee Wisconsin. A regular Google search delivers an astounding 199,000 hits.

So one can say with confidence THAT Orwell matters and the question now becomes, why does Orwell matter, and what does he have to say to us today? It is a challenge that noted author and journalist Christopher Hitchens took up in his recently published book Why Orwell Matters. Hitchens believes that the three great subjects of the twentieth century were imperialism, fascism and communism and that Orwell was right on all three. By right, Hitchens means that Orwell's understanding, analysis and insight into the great issues of our time were both prescient and profound. Using Hitchens book as a jumping off point, our Talk of the Town panel will engage in a wide-ranging discussion of Orwell and the enduring importance of his ideas and his writing. Read Why Orwell Matters before the event and come prepared to add your opinion or to simply talk about what Orwell's writing has meant to you.

Hitchens on Orwell

" What [Orwell] illustrates, by his commitment to language as a partner of truth, is that 'views' do not really count; that it matters not what you think, but how you think; and that politics are relatively unimportant, while principles have a way of enduring, as do the few irreducible individuals who maintain allegiance to them."

Timothy Garten Ash on Orwell

"To say 'read him because he mattered a lot in the past' will hardly attract new readers to Orwell. Fortunately, there is a more compelling reason we should read Orwell in the twenty-first century: he remains an exemplar of political writing. Both meanings of exemplar are required. He is a model of how to do it well, but he is also an example-a deliberate, self-conscious, and self-critical instance-of how difficult it is."

Praise for Why Orwell Matters

"[Hitchens] makes a spirited defense of his author-hero against all who, in his eyes, have traduced or misinterpreted him…For readers new to Orwell [Why Orwell Matters] is a good, forcefully argued introduction. Existing devotees should thank Mr. Hitchens for stripping off layers of ideological over-paint" -- The Economist

"A robust and provocative read. Like Orwell's own best prose, it is a strongly argued, chatty and witty book, combining acute close readings…with personal anecdote, a generous aside here and a knee in the groin there." -- Andy Croft, The Guardian

Why Orwell Matters is published by Basic Books and more information is available at their web site: http://www.perseusbooksgroup.com/perseus-cgi-bin/display/0-465-03049-1.

With: Stan Persky, author and Philosophy Instructor at Capilano College.
Graham Good, author and professor of English at UBC.
Craig Jones, lawyer and former President of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association

Why Orwell Matters, books by the panelists and books by Orwell are either available or can be ordered through the UBC Bookstore.

Links & Readings

www.theatlantic.com/unbound/interviews/int2002-10-23.htm

The Atlantic Online interviewed Hitchens about Why Orwell Matters in October 2002.

www.newyorker.com/printable/?critics/030127crat_atlarge
www.newyorker.com/printable/?online/030127on_onlineonly01

The New Yorker published a critical review of Why Orwell Matters by Louis Menand as well as an on-line interview with Menand.

www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030217&s=diarist021703

Writing in the New Republic, Leon Wieseltier presents what he thinks Menand should have learned from Orwell.

www-hoover.stanford.edu/publications/digest/014/ash.html

In the Hoover Digest, Timothy Garten Ash wrote about Orwell and Politics in 2001.

www.online-literature.com/orwell/

The Literature Network has published many of Orwell's essays on-line as well as two novels (Animal Farm and 1984).

www.assumption.edu/dept/history/His130/PoliticsAndLanguage.html

Orwell's famous essay, Politics and the English Language, is available on-line here.

The Complete Works of George Orwell (20 vols.)

Every word of Orwell's writing that has been found to date has been published in The Complete Works of George Orwell (20 vols.) edited by Peter Davidson, published by Secker & Warburg. Most of his well-known fiction and non-fiction has been published in Penguin paperbacks.

The Politics of Literary Reputation

The Politics of Literary Reputation by John Rodden (published by Oxford University Press, 1989) is an insightful examination of the battles by various camps to "claim" George Orwell. It is available at the Vancouver Public Library: http://www.vpl.vancouver.bc.ca/.

The Road to Airstrip One: The development of George Orwell's political and social thought from Burmese Days to 1984

Ian Slater's analysis of Orwell is available at the Vancouver Public Library and will be re-issued by McGill-Queens University Press later this year.