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| Friday, 21 November 2003 |
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The lighter side of literary figures Who's Who in Literature Reviewed by W.T.A. Leslie Fernando
The biographies in this book range from those of Alghieri Dante and Geoffrey Chauser in the 13th and 14th centuries to Ernest Hemingway, Arthur Miller and Harold Robins of our times. R.S. Karunaratne presents their full life from birth to death, their ups and downs, their talents, weaknesses and peculiarities and above all their literary achievements. The readers in English in our country who have admired the novels, short-stories and poetry of these literati would like to know all about their lives. Others who have a faint acquaintance or just have heard of them would welcome this book to get an idea about them and their works. This book provides a wealth of information for them. Greatness You find that most of the writers presented in this book have achieved greatness in literature with severe hardship. Dante was a wanderer with no fixed abode and when he became famous people wondered whether a pauper could write such beautiful poetry. John Milton was totally blind when he wrote his masterpiece "Paradise Lost". Samuel Johnson had a weak eye sight and he suffered from tuberculosis. Samuel Taylor Colerdige was addicted to opium. Paul Verlain was a man without a living and a man covered in disgrace. There are a few authors who have achieved greatness in their short span of life. George Gordon Byron known as "Lord Byron" and P.B. Shelly fall into this category. Hans Anderson too became a legend in his own life-time. When Robert Burns wrote his first volume of "Poems chiefly in the Scottish Dialect" the book became an instant success and critics and readers began to respect him as a great poet. On the other hand Gerald Manley Hopkins was hardly known as a poet throughout his life. The American author Gertrude Stein has written about 600 books but most of them were not published before her death. Andrew Marvell's poems were not printed during his life-time and neither were they in circulation in the form of manuscripts. Most of the writers have made their mark by sheer perseverance. The early works of Thomas Hardy were not well received by the readers. He became popular only after publishing the book "Far from the Madding Crowd." Hans Christian Anderson had no proper schooling and he started life as a shoemaker before he became one of the celebrated writers. Robert Burns became familiar with literature through self-study. Ernest Hemingway, a master stylist and one of the best novelists confessed that he learned the art of fiction through the hard way. Experience Many of the writers have made use of personal experience for their creative work. The experience of Charles Dickens as a worker in a squalid factory had a great impact on his writings. His work "David Copperfield" was a semi-autobiographical novel. Those who have studied the biography of Fydore Dostoyevsky say that his novels are nothing but personal confessions. The experience of Joseph Conrad gained when he sailed in the British and French navies has provided raw material for his fictions. Other writers like Dante, John Milton. Lewis Carrol and Jonathan Swift based their works on imagination and fantasy. Some leading writers like Walter Scott and Lord Byron were rather dismissive of the commercial aspect of writing. But Charles Dickens responded to his readers and passed directly into the popular culture in Britain and other countries. Nevertheless Charles Dickens not only wanted to entertain readers but also was determined to educate them. But in the writings of Robert Louis Stevenson you do not find any moral but only entertainment. There are some writers who had strange ways of writing. Rudyard Kipling wrote from morning nine to one. During this time Mrs. Kipling never allowed any visitors to see him. Thus quite undisturbed he turned out his marvellous works. John Updike had a self-imposed schedule of writing in that he wrote only three pages a day. However, he has not suffered from any writer's block in his career. P.B. Shelly wrote his poetry in his room clutterd with books, papers and buttons all over the place. Some of the writers were influenced by their counter-parts. Henry James began his literary career by imitating Nathaniel Hawthrone. Philosopher However, he ended up as one of the most brilliant creative writers. Ivan Turgenev, Leo Tolstoy and Fydore Dostoevsky are reported to have said "We all came out from Gogol's "Overcoat". Nikolai Gogol is considered the father of Russian realism. Gertrude Stein who was a major figure in the modernising movement in the 20th century had a great influence on writers like Sherwood Anderson, Ernest Hemingway and Richard Wright. Some may know that William Shakespeare married a woman eight years his senior. Harldly anybody knows that Samuel Johnson's wife was 20 years older than he. Very few knew that Aldous Huxley was a close friend of the great Indian philosopher J. Krishnamurthi. It was Huxley who urged Krishanmurthi to write "Commentaries on Living". Many who have heard of Lewis Carrol of "Alice in Wonderland" fame do not know that Lewis Carrol was a pseudonym of Rev. Charles Ludwidge Dodgson who was an English cleric and mathematician. Although Mark Twain is world famous that was only the pen-name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Sir Walter Scott printed 'Waverly" without his name and he remained anonymous even after the novel became a tremendous success. Some of the famous sayings of great writers like "East is East and West is West, the Twain shall never meet "of Rudyard Kipling, "One of the deep secrets in life.... is that is really worth the doing is what we do for others" by Lewis Carrol, and "A poor but honest independent person towers above the Prince and the Duke" by Robert Burns are also highlighted in this book. Each writer in this book is introduced with a well-deserved phrase which is a dominant trait in him. "Thus William Shakespeare is described as "The greatest Dramatist of all times", Henrick Ibsen as "Giant of European Literature", Gustave Flaubert as "The celebrated French Novelist" and so on. These appropriate terms help the readers to appreciate them better. There are also life-like sketches of every writer so as to give some idea of their appearance. Impressive This book presents all those aspects of the writers found in it. It is so impressive, informative, instructive and analytical it is a treat to the readers. The author has spent more than three decades reading novels, short-stories, poetry collections and biographical sketches to gather material for this work. R.S. Karunaratne has succeeded in including everything about a writer in three of four pages all the matters that could be gathered only by reading volumes on him. This is a remarkable achievement indeed. At a time like today when there is a decline in interest for literature this book would kindle some enthusiasm in readers. This book should be read by all students of literature and should adorn all the public and private libraries. This book is written in simple language and style and it provides fascinating reading. One could enjoy this as reading some scintillating short-stories. It is printed in glossy paper with a beautiful cover. The book is modestly priced at Rs. 250 but it is priceless to the lovers of literature. The writer is a former High Court Judge. |
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Produced by Lake House |
The Scottish writer Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) asserts that biography
is the most universally pleasant and profitable of all reading. The latest
work of the well-known writer, literary critic, author and journalist R.S.
Karunaratne is "Who's Who in Literature". It contains
biographical sketches of some 50 world famous literati who have become
immortal because of their literary works.
