Philip Pullman visited the Union Square Barnes & Noble in New York City this past Thursday (1st November) to speak to his fans and sign some books. Mockingbird was in attendance and has shared with us her impressions: ” As soon as I saw him, I felt strangely immediately comfortable–he simply has a genial, jovial presence, like an academic with a sense of humor, which is what he is. His speech was nothing we haven’t heard before, but I had never heard it in person–and that is an engaging experience.”
Barnes & Noble has posted its webcast of the event online, in which Pullman shares a bit more of what he means by the “democracy of reading”. Watch it here. Click below for Mockingbird’s fan report.

“Philip Pullman started promptly at 7 PM, his scheduled time, which, let me tell you, is not common among the bigwig writers who come to speak at the Union Square Barnes & Noble, and it is deeply appreciated. As soon as I saw him, I felt strangely immediately comfortable–he simply has a genial, jovial presence, like an academic with a sense of humor, which is what he is. His speech was nothing we haven’t heard before, but I had never heard it in person–and that is an engaging experience. He really is a born showman, his speaking style is very reflective of his writing. He made some interesting comments on the movie, on writing, and on the “democracy of reading.”

“Pullman said that the seed of The Golden Compass/Northern Lights was the idea of “someone who overheard something he or she shouldn’t have.” He had 14-15 different versions of the first chapter and couldn’t get it right–but he had to keep working because his publisher had already paid him for the book and he had already spent the money. 😛

“When he finally fleshed out the idea of daemons, he knew he was “writing something that had to be called a fantasy.” At first, all the daemons changed all the time, and then he noticed that only children’s daemons changed and the story became about the difference between children and adults–and it is the best idea he has ever had.

“He spoke about how Lyra is not a special child, in any way, that there are “thousand of Lyras in New York City today…Last march, another little girl of Lyra’s age stood in line because she had seen a casting ad”–and of course he meant Dakota, who had never had any acting experience and was a regular school girl, who is like Lyra, “an ordinary child in an extraordinary situation.” (And he revealed that Dakota is actually her real name, I remember some people questioned that in the past. Her mother was at school in America and just liked the name. “An American name but an English girl,” as he says.) He said that two girls in particular stood out: “One was perfect–and the other was Dakota.” He explained that what Dakota had that other girl didn’t was a “wildness, a feral quality–I haven’t told her mother that.” 😛

“He spoke about being on set for filming–some of which was done in the Arctic–and he again reiterated his approval of the film. In person, it is really hard to doubt his sincerity, which is something I have done in the past, but I no longer do. He said that the movie was “wonderfully evocative, performances just superb.” He made some interesting remarks on the difference between set design and writing and how perhaps “the art of telling a story is picking the right details.” He spoke about the particular challenges of the National Theatre play and said that they did a very good job but I suspect he’s more taken with the movie, he said that the “daemons are just as I imagined them because the magic of CGI can do anything.”

“He spoke of the common questions he gets, one of which is “Where do your ideas come from?” to which he said “I don’t know where they come from, I know where they come to end, which is on my desk, and if I’m not there, they go away again.” Another question he gets is “Who is bad and who is good?” and to that he replies “You decide. I’m not going to decide for you–this what I mean by the great democracy of reading–I won’t tell you how to understand my books.” I thought that was interesting considering all the debates we have all over srafdom about whether the books are anti-religious or not, or if it’s a story more about Lyra or about oppression…I imagine that Pullman’s belief in this “democracy of reading”, which really means the democracy of interpretation, is the reason he is so placid about this recent adaptation. I expect that is a good way to be.

“He also told an amusing story about a letter he received when people were waiting for the release of The Amber Spyglass. It read (paraphrased):

“”Mr Pullman, I enclose a picture of a cute little squirrel. Please admire it. And when you admire it, I want you to think of your book, for which the world has waited so long. Put those together and if you don’t finish your book, the squirrel will die. P.S. We are watching you.” Razz He eventually met the squirrel-killer and received from her, a stuffed squirrel with a knife through it, which sits in his shed.

“He then read the passage where Lyra meets Tony in the fish house, a passage he has never read before (His Iorek voice is like a Russian hit-man, very funny, but I have a new appreciation for Ian McKellan’s voice work now. 😉 ). He then took some questions from the audience, and I resisted the urge to ask him how daemons were born. 😛 In response to a question, he said that he didn’t know how the trilogy was going to end but he always knew the mood it was going to end in. He said that The Book of Dust is not a sequel, and through it, he was discovering things about daemons he never knew. He spoke briefly about Once Upon a time in the North (Lee Scoresby got applause when Pullman mentioned his name) and how Iorek and Lee are two of his favorite characters and “Sam Elliot is just a perfect piece of casting.” As for how he feels about fan fiction, he said “I can’t stop it–but I don’t have to read it,” which is exactly how I feel.

“Then there was a very long line for the book signing, for which he used the pen he uses to write his stories squee. He seemed tired, but was very polite, said everyone’s names (said mine perfectly) and smiled at me. I wanted to say something profound when it was my turn but couldn’t manage more than a smile and a “Good job” and I don’t know if I meant the books or pronouncing my name. I didn’t mean to write something this long but I suspect no one will get to the end of it anyway, so that’s alright. Conclusion: Lovely event, lovely man.”