http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owo9k9yBUa8

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owo9k9yBUa8

Hear Craig Glenday, Editor of the Guinness Book of World Records describe the origins of the world famous book and arbiter of world records–both reasonable and peculiar. It is the biggest selling book of all time with: selling over 132 Million copies since 1955.

It all started when a group of friends on a hunting trip started to debate what was the fastest game bird in Britan–the golden plover or the red grouse. They couldn’t figure out which one was fastest and had trouble finding a reference book that would tell them.

One of the hunters that day was the Chairman of the Guinness Brewing Company in Dublin and he hired two brothers–twins actually–Norris and Ross McWirther to create a book of such interesting facts. The original book was meant to be kept at pubs across the United Kingdom to settle any disputes and keep the Guinness flowing.

The brothers expanded the book for commercial sales the following year, when it became an instant bestseller.  The rest is, well, history..and a world record.

The post How Guinness Book of World Records Came To Be appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7rJk2YHJ5k

The great E.L. Doctorow discusses his writing and the process of discovery.  Getting into the mind and imaginations of his characters and his stories.  In this interview with Charlie Rose, he talks about how some writers rely too much on research.  The writer, he says, has to approach the words from the perspective of both the writer and the reader.  Doctorow died in Manhattan at the age of 84 on July 21, 2015.  He was named after Edgar Allan Poe.

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E.L. Doctorow on his Writing appeared first on Witnify.

“…I must confess that I think her as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print, & how I shall be able to tolerate those who do not like her at least, I do not know.—There are a few Typical errors—& a “said he” or a “said she” would sometimes make the Dialogue more immediately clear—but ‘I do not write for such dull Elves’…”

Jane Austen, from a drawing by sister Cassandra. Source: Creative Commons

Jane Austen is one of the most well-known authors in English literature. She is best known for her works Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park and Emma. The day after Pride and Prejudice was published, Austen wrote a letter to her sister, Cassandra, in which she refers to the book as “my own darling Child from London”

Chawton Friday Jany 29.

I hope you received my little parcel by J. Bond on Wednesday eveng, my dear Cassandra, & that you will be ready to hear from me again on Sunday, for I feel that I must write to you to day. Your parcel is safely arrived & everything shall be delivered as it ought. Thank you for your note. As you had not heard from me at that time it was very good in you to write, but I shall not be so much your debtor soon.—I want to tell you that I have got my own darling Child from London;—on Wednesday I received one Copy, sent down by Falknor, with three lines from Henry to say that he had given another to Charles, & sent a 3d by the Coach to Godmersham; just the two Sets which I was least eager for the disposal of. I wrote to him immediately to beg for my two other Sets, unless he would take the trouble of forwarding them at once to Steventon & Portsmouth—not having an idea of his leaving Town before to day;—by your account however he was gone before my Letter was written. The only evil is the delay, nothing more can be done till his return. Tell James & Mary so, with my Love.—For your sake I am as well pleased that it shd be so, as it might be unpleasant to you to be in the Neighbourhood at the first burst of the business.—The Advertisement is in our paper to day for the first time;—18s—He shall ask £1- 1- for my two next, & £1- 8 for my stupidest of all.—I shall write to Frank, that he may not think himself neglected. Miss Benn dined with us on the very day of the Books coming, & in the eveng we set fairly at it & read half the 1st vol. to her—prefacing that having intelligence from Henry that such a work wd soon appear we had desired him to send it whenever it came out—& I beleive it passed with her unsuspected.—She was amused, poor soul! that she cd not help you know, with two such people to lead the way; but she really does seem to admire Elizabeth. I must confess that I think her as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print, & how I shall be able to tolerate those who do not like her at least, I do not know.—There are a few Typical errors—& a “said he” or a “said she” would sometimes make the Dialogue more immediately clear—but “I do not write for such dull Elves”

Title page from the first edition of the first volume of Pride and Prejudice. Source: Creative Commons

“As have not a great deal of Ingenuity themselves.”—The 2d vol. is shorter than I cd wish—but the difference is not so much in reality as in look, there being a larger proportion of Narrative in that part. I have lopt & cropt so successfully however that I imagine it must be rather shorter than S. & S. altogether.—Now I will try to write of something else;—it shall be a complete change of subject—Ordination. I am glad to find your enquiries have ended so well.—If you cd discover whether Northamptonshire is a Country of Hedgerows, I shd be glad again.—We admire your Charades excessively, but as yet have guessed only the 1st. The others seem very difficult. There is so much beauty in the Versification however, that the finding them out is but a secondary pleasure.—I grant you that this is a cold day, & am sorry to think how cold you will be through the process of your visit at Manydown. I hope you will wear your China Crape. Poor wretch! I can see you shivering away, with your miserable feeling feet.—What a vile Character Mr Digweed turns out, quite beyond anything & everything;—instead of going to Steventon they are to have a Dinnerparty next tuesday!—I am sorry to say that I could not eat a Mincepie at Mr Papillon’s; I was rather head-achey that day, & cd not venture on anything sweet except Jelly; but that was excellent.—There were no stewed pears, but Miss Benn had some almonds & raisins.—By the bye, she desired to be kindly remembered to you when I wrote last, & I forgot it.—Betsy sends her Duty to you & hopes you are well, & her Love to Miss Caroline & hopes she has got rid of her Cough. It was such a pleasure to her to think her Oranges were so well timed, that I dare say she was rather glad to hear of the Cough.

[Second leaf of letter missing; postscript upside down at top of p.1]

Since I wrote this Letter we have been visited by Mrs Digweed, her Sister & Miss Benn. I gave Mrs D. her little parcel, which she opened here & seemed much pleased with—& she desired me to make her best Thanks &c. to Miss Lloyd for it.—Martha may guess how full of wonder & gratitude she was.

[Miss Austen
Steventon]

Source: Letters of Note

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[Text] Jane Austen On The Release Of Pride And Prejudice appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUtCtuZIAcE

In an interview with BBC, J.R.R. Tolkien discusses the complex mythology of his invented world.

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Tolkien Explains the Mythology of Middle Earth appeared first on Witnify.

“To develop an individual style of writing and drawing, always go to yourself for criticsm. If you ask advice from too many other people, then you no longer are yourself…”

American cartoonist Dr. Seuss, born Theodor Geisel, was known for his popular illustrated children’s books like “The Cat in the Hat” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” Despite Seuss’s fame and popularity, he found time to write back to his fans. Seuss wrote a letter full of advice to one fan, Howard Cruse, who wrote again to Seuss two years later and again in 26 years. Each time, Seuss responded–even illustrating his final response:

Dr. Seuss
THE TOWER
La Jolla, California

May 12, 1957

Dear Howard:
I am very sorry to have been so long in answering your very friendly letter of April 13th. But I’ve been East. And the letter’s been waiting me here in the West.

Your theatre productions sound wonderful. And I am very proud that you dedicated it to me.. and performed so many of my stories in it.

….

About giving you advice…pointers on how to properly write and illustrate a picture book…all I can say is this:

This is a field in which no one can give you pointers but yourself.

The big successes in this field all succeeded because they wrote and they wrote and they drew and they drew. They studied what they’d drawn and they studied what they’d written each time asking themselves one question: How can I do it better, next time?

To develop an individual style of writing and drawing, always go to yourself for criticsm. If you ask advice from too many other people, then you no longer are yourself.

The thing to do, and I am sure you will do it, is to keep up your enthusiasm! Every job is a lot of fun, no matter how much work it takes. If you’ll plug away and do exactly what you are doing, making it better and better every month and every year…that you CAN be successful.

The very best of luck to you!

Your friend,
(Signed, ‘Dr. Seuss’)

Second Letter

January 3, 1985

Theodore Geisel/Dr. Seuss
The Tower
La Jolla, CA

Dear Mr. Geisel/Dr. Seuss,

If you peer at the two Xerox copies which are attached to this letter, you’ll recognize them as your gracious responses to a thirteen/fifteen-year-old Alabama boy who wrote to you in 1957 and 1959. I told you about the puppet-show adaptations of Bartholomew and the Oobleck, and McElligot’s Pool which I wrote and performed for neighborhood kids in my basement, and I confided that I hoped to grow up and write and illustrate children’s books myself. As you can see, you gave me a valuable gift: you took me seriously.

It’s been twenty-five years since the second of your two letters to me was written. During that time, I’ve often thought that I should write and thank you for the encouraging words which you offered me. On my fortieth birthday last May, I was given (at my request) The Butter Battle Book. I enjoyed seeing the world through your eyes again as much as I did when I was very young, and I appreciate your willingness to engage a truly serious and important subject within the children’s book format.

I have not illustrated any children’s books yet, but I have grown-up to be a cartoonist and humorous illustrator. My principal interest is in comic strips for adults, and I fill out my extra time doing spot drawings for magazines. My first book–a trade paperback collection of my comic strip Wendel–will be published at the end of 1985.

Although I couldn’t claim to enjoy a hundredth of your own stature as an artist, I occasionally receive letters from youngsters not unlike the letters I wrote to you. And remembering the strength of the childhood dreams which are represented by such letters, I try very hard to do as you did and treat the young artist as a person with dignity. Thanks for showing me, in your work all through the years as well as in the particular letters you wrote to me, both how to be a wonderful artist and how to be a kind and supportive human being.

Yours sincerely,
Howard Cruse

Third Letter

Dear Howard……
It sure made me feel GOOD, reading your letter and seeing what you’ve been accomplishing during the past 25 years! It makes me especially happy to have played a small part in it.

May your first book, WENDEL, sell a billion copies. And may your next 25 years be even better than the 25 you’ve just conquered!

All the best
Dr. Seuss

Source: Letters of Note

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[Text] Dr. Seuss Gives Advice to a Fan appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miHY0ZN91x8

Pulitzer-prize winning historian Stanley Karnow recalls interviewing Ernest Hemingway in Paris in the 1950s for Time magazine. They met in the Ritz bar shortly after Hemingway had won the Nobel Prize. As Hemingway got increasingly sloshed, the interview went downhill. Find out how Hemingway ended their time together that day.

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Historian Stanley Karnow Remembers His Hemingway Encounter appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H87yJpHD6Kc

Priscilla Tolkien, daughter to author of “Lord of the Rings” book series J. R. R. Tolkien interview, discusses her father’s conscientious and exact approach to the details in his books. She recalls how he would fastidiously revise elements in his books until they accurately portrayed the situations he construed for his stories.

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Tolkien’s Daughter on Her Dad’s Meticulous Story-Telling appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIrxKCymXs4

J. R. R. Tolkien’s son, Christopher Tolkien analyzes his father’s work, particularly the metaphoric use of magic in his books: “Magic is very close to the machine. Magic is coercion…” And due to man’s use of machines, or “magic,” in order to attain power, Christopher Tolkien says it was important for his father that the magical ring in his “Lord of the Rings” books to be ultimately destroyed. Christopher reads his father’s letter to him that provides evidence for this analysis where J. R. R. Tolkien explains his critical feelings towards man’s knack for making machines such as the atomic bomb: “Labor-saving machinery only creates endless and worse labor.”

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J. R. R. Tolkien’s Son on His Dad’s Use of Rings As Metaphor appeared first on Witnify.

“Your second idea is quite acceptable to me…”

The following is a letter written by novelist Vladimir Nabokov to film director and producer Alfred Hitchcock in response to his question on writing a screenplay for a film together. In this letter, Nabokov replies to Hitchcock by telling him that his second idea for a screenplay was “very acceptable.” Nabokov goes on to propose two ideas of his own for a possible film and the first idea is about a rising star falling in love with a “budding astronaut.” The second of Nabokov’s ideas corresponds well with Hitchcock’s own idea and is about a defector coming “from behind the Iron Curtain to the United States.” The letter:

Russian novelist and short story writer Vladimir Nabokov. (1969). Source: Horst Tappe, Creative Commons.

November 28, 1964, Montreux

Dear Mr. Hitchcock,

Many thanks for your letter. I find both your ideas very interesting. The first would present many difficulties for me because I do not know enough about American security matters and methods, or how the several intelligence bureaus work, separately and together.

Your second idea is quite acceptable to me. Given a complete freedom (as I assume you intend to give me) I think I could turn it into a screenplay. But there would be the matter of time. What delays did you have in mind? I am at the present very busy winding up several things at once. I could devote some thought to the screenplay this summer but could hardly settle down to work on it yet. Please let me know what are your ideas about this.

In the meantime I, too, would like to give you a short resume of two ideas of my own. You will find them, very baldly jotted down, on the separate sheet attached to this letter. Please let me know what you think of them. If you like them, we might discuss their development.

It was good talking to you on the telephone.

With best wishes,

Sincerely yours,

Vladimir Nabokov

1.

A girl, a rising star of not quite the first magnitude, is courted by a budding astronaut. She is slightly condescending to him; has an affair with him but may have other lovers, or lover, at the same time. One day he is sent on the first expedition to a distant star; goes there and makes a successful return. Their positions have now changed. He is the most famous man in the country while her starrise has come to a stop at a moderate level. She is only too glad to have him now, but soon she realizes that he is not the same as he was before his flight. She cannot make out what the change is. Time goes, and she becomes concerned, then frightened, then panicky. I have more than one interesting denouement for this plot.

2.

While ignorant of the workings of the American intelligence, I have gathered considerable information regarding those of the Soviets.

For some time now I have been thinking of writing the story of a defector from behind the Iron Curtain to the United States. The constant danger he is in, the constant necessity to hide and be on the lookout for agents from his native land bent on kidnapping or killing him.

To read Alfred Hitchcock’s original letter click here.

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[Text] Nabokov’s Response to Hitchcock’s Request for a Film Collaboration appeared first on Witnify.

“Now this next idea I’m not sure will really appeal to you but, on the other hand, it might….”

Film director and producer Alfred Hitchcock writes a letter to novelist Vladimir Nabokov about the possibility of collaborating on a screenplay together. In this letter, Hitchcock proposes two story lines to Nabokov, hoping that he will like at least one of the two. One story is about a women who is romantically involved with a defector and the other story is about a young girl thrown into a family of crooks. He claims that his goal is to bypass the screenplay writers and go directly to Nabokov– “a story-teller”:

Studio publicity photo of Alfred Hitchcock. Source: Creative Commons.

November 19, 1964

Dear Mr. Nabokov:

Further to our conversation on the telephone regarding future projects I have in mind and for which I require stories, I would like to give you a rough outline of two of them with the hope perhaps that one or the other might interest you to develop into a story.

If perhaps you would become interested, I would like to point out that I do not require any rights except motion picture and television. Any literary rights would belong to you.

Now the first idea I have been thinking about for some time is based upon a question that I do not think I have seen dealt with in motion pictures or, as far as I know, in literature. It is the problem of the woman who is associated, either by marriage or engagement, to a defector.

I think in the case of the married woman, there is very little question that she sides with her husband. We have, for example, the case of Burgess MacLean eventually followed her husband behind the Iron Curtain, and obviously Mrs. MacLean had no other loyalties. The question I’m really interested in is what would be the attitude of a young woman, perhaps in love with, or engaged to, a scientist who could be a defector.

To give you a crude example, let’s imagine that Von Braun’s son is as brilliant as his father and has been working on very secret projects. He has become very American and, to all outward appearances, completely removed from any of his father’s background. But suddenly one day, he wants to go on a vacation and visit his father’s relatives—the old folks.

To the security people this excursion could be interpreted in a way that casts doubt upon his true intentions. In other words, they wonder perhaps whether he’s going to defect (naturally there could be other circumstances that would give them this idea).

The young man’s fiancee is the daughter of a senator and she was to accompany him on his excursion. The security people, having their doubts about the young man, endeavor to enlist her help.

The motion picture line for this story would develop into the journey behind the Iron Curtain and expressed in terms of action and movement, but within it all, would be the basic problem faced by the girl. Who knows? Maybe she goes over to the side of her fiance. It would depend upon how her character is drawn. It is also possible if she did this, she might be making a terrible mistake—especially if her fiance, after all, turned out to be a double agent.

The feasibility of a man posing as a defector, but in reality is an agent for the government, could arise entirely out of the close security methods within the government. We have seen examples of how the FBI is ignorant of what the CIA is doing, and sometimes the CIA is not always aware of what some higher-ups are doing in these intelligence jobs.

Anyway, Mr. Nabokov, the type of story I’m looking for is an emotional, psychological one, expressed in terms of action and movement and, naturally, one that would give me the opportunity to indulge in the customary Hitchcock suspense.

Now this next idea I’m not sure will really appeal to you but, on the other hand, it might.

Many years ago I started to work on an idea for the English company to which I was under contract. The idea was never completed because I left to come to America. I wondered what would happen if a young girl, having spent her life in a convent in Switzerland due to the fact that she had no home to go to and only had a widowed father, was suddenly released from college at the end of her term. She would be returned to her father, who would be the general manager of a large international hotel (at the time I imagined it would be the Savoy in London). This general manager, the father of our young heroine, has a brother who is the concierge, another brother who is the cashier, another brother one of the chefs in the kitchen, a sister who is the housekeeper, and a bedridden mother living in a penthouse in the hotel. The mother is about 80 years of age, a matriarch.

The whole of this family are a gang of crooks, using the hotel as a base of operations. Now into this setting comes our young 19-year-old girl. As you will see, the hotel setting—especially the “backstage” part—would be extremely colorful, especially when the bulk of the story would take place, not only backstage, but in the public rooms and even to the night club section. In other words, I was looking for a film that would give us the details of a big hotel and not merely a film played in hotel rooms.

Arnold Bennett, the famous English novelist, had quite a fascination for hotels. He wrote two books, one “Grand Babylon Hotel” and another, “Imperial Palace.” This latter book contained enormous detail about the Savoy Hotel, London, although it was actually a work of fiction.

Well there it is, Mr. Nabokov. I sincerely hope you could be interested in one or the other. Naturally I have just indicated the crudest conception of these ideas. I haven’t bothered to go into such details as characterizations or the psychological aspects of these stories. For example, in the hotel story I have in the original material, the development of the situation whereby the father of the young girl, having achieved the position of general manager, has no more interest in the unlawful pursuits of the rest of his family; and it is the advent of his daughter that makes his problem so much greater. As I indicated to you on the telephone, screenplay writers are not the type of people to take such ideas as these and develop them into responsible story material. They are usually people who adapt other people’s work. That is why I am by-passing them and coming direct to you—a story-teller.

Kindest regards.

Sincerely, Alfred J. Hitchcock

Read Vladimir Nabokov’s response here.

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[Text] Alfred Hitchcock’s Letter to Vladimir Nabokov on a Film Collaboration appeared first on Witnify.