novelist, poeT, playwright: Writers ALL
A very interesting event at the British Library, organised by BBC Radio in conjunction with the Royal Society of Literature, in which some very fine contemporary British voices – Ali Smith, Jay Bernard and James Graham – discuss the complexities that arise at the intersection of art with real life events.
It is interesting how they all see their literary forms as a reflective and often non-deliberative response that is essentially different from that of journalism or reportage in that it creates the space to explore nuance and ambiguity and place it beyond the specificity of time; creating context and texture that questions and enhances the everyday experience.
To take the analogy (of the intersection, which I think is mine) further; as at the road intersection, collisions have a way of occurring irrespective of rules and intentions.
I should say that this was, in the first instance, broadcast on Radio 3 in their Free Thinking programme, but it is also embedded in a really excellent podcast called Arts & Ideas available on the website or also at Apple.