'There’s a lot of woman in me! Cassandra especially!'

Living A Little, Meaning A Lot 💛

Wednesday, 18th Nov 2020

5:15 pm - 6:15 pm IST

Howard Jacobson in conversation with Karthika VK. 🎊 [Snippets]

Howard says,

I’ve taught Donne and Hardy – and I’ve also lived in the county where Hardy lived!

My second novel, Peeping Tom is about Thomas Hardy – a reincarnation of Hardy!

Hardy’s poems suited my melancholic nature. I was full of regret even when I had no reason to regret!

Karthika asks,

There’s a lot of ‘Bronte touch’ in your work!

Older women, younger women, etc, not something that many male writers have ventured into!

Have we come into the realm of the end of true ‘literary’ fiction? Do you see less and less challenging writing?

Howard says,

I don’t like the turn of the literary world today.

Publishers today are more interested in diversity. I welcome that.

So publishers are on the lookout for diversity as a literary value, in the publishing world, not to cause offence!

But I feel, if you don’t want to cause offence, you shouldn’t approach writers at all.

Publishers are running scared, frightened about what writers are wanting to say!

And yes! There’s a lot of woman in me! Cassandra especially,

says Howard Jacobson before signing off! 🎶💛☺️