\u201cAll books are communal acts, even in their own writing\u201d<\/p>\n
The utterly wonderful Ali Smith appears at the Edinburgh International Book-festival, the book-festival she herself refers to as the \u201cbest in the world\u201d.<\/p>\n
Smith is an accessible genius, a democratic literary legend. Chair of the session, writer and critic Stuart Kelly, comments on how dazzling and mercurial her mind is. She responds to this, and the spontaneous round of applause, by modestly pulling a face. Her mastery of language is belied by her playfulness, her lack of pretention genuine.<\/p>\n
Today she discusses \u2018How to be both\u2019. This novel is produced in a refreshingly innovative format, with the book of two halves being printed in two versions. The stories are exactly the same in both versions, just in a different order. The book has two distinct voices, set in two distinct periods of history. The reader is not faced with a choice; instead he or she picks the book from the bookseller\u2019s shelf, not knowing in advance which incarnation they have in their hands. This means that each reader, with each reading, has a unique experience. There is some discussion around the impact this has and a straw poll is taken of the audience, as to who had read George\u2019s story before Francescho\u2019s story. \u201cYou sweethearts\u201d she says as it transpires that some readers read both versions.<\/p>\n
Smith reads a piece from each half of the book, her animated voice allowing the words and ideas to tumble out and flow at an exhilarating pace.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have a unique use of the colon\u201d, observes session Chair Stuart Kelly. \u201cIt both breaks down the sentence and extends it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI stole it from Del Cossa himself\u201d Smith reveals. A letter was discovered that revealed the existence of a forgotten artist, Francesco Del Cossa. In this letter Del Cossa asks the Duke who commissioned the fresco for more money, because, as e l Cossa modestly puts it, he is better than everybody else working on the fresco. Smith explains \u201cIt\u2019s an Olive Twist story, \u2018please can I have some more\u2019. It\u2019s a very idiosyncratic letter, he splits sentences with a colon. It\u2019s the gift of voice. The Del Cossa voice just hit me in the chest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich voice came first?\u201d asks Kelly \u201cThey both came\u201d replies Smith, quick as a flash.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t have finality without lasting, you can\u2019t have something last without finality. Art is wonderful, it\u2019s about time and not time; things that last and things that don\u2019t last. Things that survive even when they\u2019re gone. You see the renaissance shift form. Our notions of beauty have changed over the centuries.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Kelly leads the discussion about the voices, the structure and the themes of the novel. Smith replies in her quicksilver way, with passion and wit. \u201cI\u2019m a shy person; I find it hard to articulate\u201d she admits. The audience scoffs at this this, prompting Smith to smile and say \u201cYou\u2019re so nice\u201d. The democratic nature of reading is explored. \u201cEach reader is allowed their own interpretation\u201d says Kelly and Smith agrees. \u201cThe book has to be seaworthy; the author sends it out into the world, and then it\u2019s no longer anything to do with us. The reader\u2019s involvement in a book is so important; the radical democracy of a book. All books are communal acts, even in their own writing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The discussion moves to future work, including a planned collection called \u2018Public Libraries and other stories\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201dThese are short stories I\u2019ve written over several years, brought together and given a spine. I asked everyone I knew about the influence libraries have had on them. In the space of asking, twenty eight libraries closed. In the seven years of writing these short stories over one thousand libraries have closed. Libraries embody the democracy of reading; the democracy of space, the democracy of the library card in your pocket.<\/p>\n
We know that books make us and give us life, understanding and knowledge. Why wouldn\u2019t you tell at a culture that takes that away from us?\u201d<\/p>\n
Wise words indeed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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