Book description
A collection of stories from some of the world's greatest writers about
their own public humiliation.
Humiliation is not, of course, unique to writers. However, the world of
letters does seem to offer a near-perfect micro-climate for
embarrassment and shame. There is something about the conjunction of
high-mindedness and low income that is inherently comic; something about
the very idea of deeply private thoughts - carefully worked and honed
into art over the years - being presented to a public audience of
dubious strangers that strays perilously close to tragedy.
Here, in over eighty contributions, are stories about the writer's
audience, the fellow readers, the organiser, the venue, the
'hospitality', or the often interminable journey there and back. There
are the experiences of teaching and being taught, reviewing and being
reviewed, of festivals and writers' retreats, symposia, signing
sessions, literary parties and prizes, the trips abroad, with all the
attendant joys of translation and, finally, the bright worlds of
television and radio that can bring so many more people to share in your shame.
These are the best stories: those told against the teller…
Contributions from, among others: Simon Armitage, Margaret Atwood,
Julian Barnes, Louis de Bernieres, Margaret Drabble, Roddy Doyle, AL
Kennedy, John Lanchester, Patrick McCabe, Rick Moody, Andrew Motion,
Andrew O'Hagan, Colm Toibin, Irvine Welsh, James Wood. Robin Robertson
is an editor and an award-winning poet. He lives in London.
