BOOKMARKS
The Age
Saturday March 26, 2011
Tensions at the Wheeler; how Sachin Tendulkar bowled over Jeffrey Archer; revivifying the Miles Franklin; a boost for Bereft, and in praise of Hazel Rowley. By Jason Steger. Archer at large . . .JEFFREY Archer has written three "diaries" about his experiences as a guest of Her Majesty after being sentenced to four years and serving two for committing perjury and perverting the course of justice. But he's still sensitive about discussing his jail time. Indeed, he won't at any great length. At the Wheeler Centre this week he answered Jennifer Byrne's first couple of questions about it but clearly bridled at more, saying journalists always focused on 5 per cent of a life and not the other 95 per cent. He obviously felt more time should be devoted to his novels, of which he has sold in the region of 250 million copies. One member of the audience said his performance was "grumpy" and "he even did a little walk-off at the end, no handshake, acknowledgment or thanks to her". Another said there was constant friction between the two on stage, while yet another said that he perceived her as hostile while she seemed fixated on prison and also the character of his father. Interestingly, the first couple of questions that came from the audience were also about prison and he answered them with good grace. But later he wouldn't comment on the evening as a whole.. . . and bowled overIF THE Indian cricketers showed any loss of concentration in Thursday's World Cup quarter-final their team management might consider blaming Archer and the diversions provided by his new book, Only Time Will Tell. Apart from having to sign copies of books for 1500 fans at one event something that would exhaust but thrill any author Archer was tickled pink by approaches he had from Indian cricketing greats Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid saying he was their favourite writer and requesting signed copies of the new novel, the first in a planned five-book series. Archer, who is bonkers about cricket, told Bookmarks that he was delighted the two cricketing legends were fans. But it didn't end there. Management of the Indian team then requested 15 copies of Only Time Will Tell for the rest of the squad. Archer duly signed them and they were dispatched. Next morning, though, who should get on the phone to him but none other than the other modern legend of Indian cricket, V. V. S. Laxman, who is not involved in the current, seemingly endless tournament. He had snared the trifecta of the current Indian masters.A shot in the arm for MilesTHE Trust Company, which administers the Miles Franklin Literary Prize, is clearly taking the notion of revivifying the prize seriously. In addition to upping the prizemoney to $50,000 and holding the awards ceremony in Melbourne for the first time, chief executive officer John Atkin is taking steps to involve more people in the development of the most important literary prize in the country. Last week he had a lunch with, among others, former judges Mark Rubbo and David Marr they quit in 2004 after a kerfuffle over Marr's term as a judge not being renewed. Apparently Trust is considering some sort of advisory committee. And reports suggest that shortlisted authors may also get some prizemoney; the sum of $5000 is being bandied about. Given that the name of the winner is no longer revealed before the awards ceremony and four out of five shortlisted authors attended last year unlike in 2009 when not one attended it can't even be described as appearance money.Bereft not short of attentionTHINGS are looking good for Chris Womersley's Bereft. A longlisting for the Miles Franklin, publication in Britain by Quercus, and possibly a film after a deal with Sydney's Emerald Productions. It's early days yet but Womersley, an Age journalist, is impressed. "They have made all the right noises." Bereft is a beautifully written story of a man returning to a NSW town in 1919 after disappearing years earlier when accused of murdering his little sister. Andrew Kotatko, who directed the award-winning short Everything Goes, based on Raymond Carver's story Why Don't You Dance?, is writing the script. How he'll deal with the talking ants is anyone's guess.Hazel Rowley rememberedON WEDNESDAY of last week, friends of Hazel Rowley, the biographer of Christina Stead and others, who died earlier this month, met to celebrate and commemorate her life. It was the day when she was due to be in conversation with novelist Alex Miller at the Wheeler Centre. The Melbourne event followed similar occasions in New York, where Rowley was living at the time of her death, and Paris, where she had studied and lived while she wrote on Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. In Melbourne, friend Rene Tomaszewski remembered the time after the Stead book when Rowley was mulling over what to do next. She wrote to Germaine Greer, thinking she might be a good subject. Back came a "scathing letter" with the word "biographers" juxtaposed with "vultures, scavengers and entrails". Apparently Rowley was so horrified by Greer's response she told Tomaszewski, "That's it, I am only going to write about dead people".In the New York service at The Church of the Transfiguration, Pamela Stanley had this to say about Rowley's great gift for friendship: "Hazel was unusual in having a large number of very close friends. Once she recognised a kindred spirit, Hazel would focus her laser-like attention and begin her blunt questions. She was right out there, always generous in her praise while mildly denigrating herself. She was equally straightforward in her criticisms, and would often say outrageous and provocative things to stimulate a response. This combination of extreme curiosity, delight in meeting new people, enormous enthusiasm for new ideas, coupled with a brilliant wit and great sense of humour, was irresistible. Hazel was so loveable one felt honoured to be the focus of her attention. Unfortunately, Hazel did not fully appreciate this, and was quite hard on herself. I fervently wish that Hazel could have witnessed the enormous outpouring of love and respect for her life and work that we have all experienced." The family is planning to set up a trust for a memorial in the form of an annual lecture or a fund to help biographers. Details are yet to be confirmed.
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