The New Yorker has a lengthy piece on Philip Pullman this month. It covers a large swathe of ground from Pullman's early years (featuring quotes from his step-brother and favourite school teacher), through his time at Oxford, to his recent criticisms of C.S. Lewis. There's several interesting new pieces on information on Pullman in there and it's well worth taking the time to read through. See it here.
New Yorker Pullman Article
December 19, 2005
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Wow…wow…wow…can I be Philip Pullman?
\"Science, literature, and human nature\", I think those words just about sum up the essence of the matter. Pullman binds them together with a healthy dose of morals – to our benefit – through imaginativeness and hard work; justly reaping the rewards in the process. It\'s only fitting.
Great article. 🙂 Quite a few things I didn\'t know there. Pullman ain\'t afraid to be outspoken, is he – not that many people would criticise LoTR and the Narnia books so eagerly!
I love this quote: “We can learn what’s good and what’s bad, what’s generous and unselfish, what’s cruel and mean, from fiction.\" Books teach us so much! I\'m planning on becoming a foster parent next year and, instead of buying toys or kid\'s movies, I find myself buying more & more books, particularly ones that I loved as a kid. I think reading to a child (and providing them with plenty to read as they grow older) is the most important thing you can do.
I might be one of Pullman's only Dutch fans, but I can't keep from not only actively promoting (all) his books, but also defending his political views. I actually drag his essays and works to all my (high school, now university) teachers to convince them. He might be idolized too much, but he certainly has some great points regarding education and religion.
So unfair! I was going to scratch 'For Will & Lyra' into the park bench at the Botanic Gardens! Anyway, I too find myself constantly defending Pullman's views, though it is hard for people to take a 13-year-old seriously!
I'm just so infatuated with Philip, he's a fantastic person!
^^Agreed.
Wow, this was really fantastic.
I want to yell out a big \"Here-Here!\" to Angelina\'s comment. Angelina: what you said could not be truer. I remember being sat in my mother\'s lap as a child and being read stories as far ranging as the Wizard of Oz, Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island, and Kidnapped, to the Book of Virtues, the Dr. Suisse stories, and the Mother Goose (as well as other) fairy tales. I could not stress upon or support you\'re decision to read books to your children more.
To Rik: as Muslim soon-to-be-in-College, I understand what you mean, although I cannot say that I would agree with all of Pullman\'s views on religion. Although I\'ve never said this in any other comments, the first time I read the HDM trilogy (especially the Amber Spyglass – of which I have a signed hardcover copy) I said: \"What?!? Blasphemy!\" However, five years later, after a break from two months in a job doing construction, I reread the trilogy, and I recognized the books for what they were. The inspired works of a truly intellectual and thinking human being, unafraid to speak out for what he believes in, doing his best to influence and guide others to the conclusions he came to. That is what I find most inspiring about Pullman. However, though you (Rik) may be in an intellectually – willing – atmosphere, you would be surprised how many people ignore such topics as politics and religion, as well as human nature and morality. That is the second reason I admire Pullman: for the means which he so skillfully employs to attract people’s attention, thus becoming a true role-model and icon (though I personally would happily contend some of his points). In a (sort of) conclusion, I would like to bind the two parts of my… spiel with one word: “Read!†– Which just so happens to be the first word/command given in the Qur’an. I think Pullman himself would not argue with that, though he may go on at length about what it is you should read. 😉
Final note: my two comments above are now part of an essay I had to split and shorten (none too gracefully) because I kept getting a \"your comment is too long\" message. Sigh. Oh well, I can\'t go complaining, though I may ahve to find a better outlet for my enthusiasm. :laughing:
Wow…that's all i can say…Wow. Dude, PP's Funny! He didn't write many of his books funny. And to think that he was so happy just because someone called him "The Story-Teller". It tells you a lot about him.
That ought to teach me not to read the site news, I found the article in the issue of the New Yorker that arrived at my house a few days ago and was all excited that I'd get to tell someone about it so they could post it on the news…
oh well. Great article indeed. Love the ending (:
Hey Anoria, same thing happened to me!!! Except that I actually posted…and then felt really stupid! I loved the bit at the beginning which said that if atheists prayed to someone, they'd pray to PP!!! But I disagree that LotR is a juvenile, sugary, insignificant book…But I loved what PP said about people needing stories, and that they will go to inferior books to find them if they can't find them in good ones. I looked on the bestsellers lists and saw that they were all fantasy, sci-fi, crime and historical fiction. Not one 'literary fiction' book among them. I think that says something.