Culture Night (tonight)

[Christine Murray]

What is sub-elroy???
anyway, I awoke feeling awfully grubby, with an aftertaste of stagnation.

I think that many people (especially boys) tend to compartmentalise the Arts/Humanities
into some kind of weird Leisure industry thing, which can hardly compete with totties
on heels plying their balls -now can it?

Anyway, Please explain Elroy (I don't read much in the way of contemporary stuff), it gives
me awful headaches, I have been told to read Julian Barnes and did quite enjoy 'Arthur and George'
but apart from that maybe Margaret Atwood.

Like what would you recommend Mr thinktank - there is so much utter ************************e on the market, it's
bloody unbelievable. I am actually so glad that you can get goodish books online and from
independent publishers cos I am tired of the cluster of dianetics meets business, meets
pseudo-history meets pseudo-philosophy currently available in most bookshops.

...not to mention the stuff in kid's libraries. It's like labelling city in some places with
recommended ages and best-sellers knocking the classics off the shelves. i read everything
I cld get me hands on when a kid.

[popper]

James Ellroy. 'American Tabloid.' etc. Okay for lightish read. Don De Lillo is good, Cormac McCarthy but don't read too much new fiction myself.

Totally agree with you about children's books. One of mine is mad reader (on Little Women of all things at moment aged 10) and the shops only stock bestsellers, Jacqueline Wilson, Harry Potter (can't beleive that woman gave the fkn Labour Party a million quid. what the fk! Are they short or something???) etc.

Having said that, I wouldn't interfere with her reading as I beleive once you get into the habit and are curious you will find the good stuff and in fariness some of the popular kids fiction is good.

Don't accept your seeming distinction between sport and higher culture (if I am reading you right). Two are perfectly compatible. Indeed a lot of good writing is sports based. Ulysees for example accurately reflects Dubs obsession with sport; mentioning horse racing, boxing, hurling etc.

[Christine Murray]

b-u-g-b-e-a-r...

I honestly rather councils and governments funding culture as opposed to other things I don't want to mention.
BUT (and I like sport) , art was always supposed to be about sometimes uncomfortable things. we are not
in the era of pro-government liggers but we do have an establishment (mentioned by Kevin Kiely , poetry
Ireland newsletter)

Media is supposed to be the fourth estate - ours would be incredibly uncritical and not very investigative.
and Art is entirely separate to government (Save in Ireland : The Arts Act 2003 tied Arts Council funding
directly to the Dept of Art/Sport). One of the things I always look at when it comes to Forming a
Government is the naming and distribution of Portfolios ,it signals intention and direction.

I am not opposed to contemporary literature for kids , if they read thats a boon. But they do read
less and less, they use libraries less and less and though one of the emphasis of FF/PD was on
The Knowledge Economy and providing well-trained kids to the workforce fodder of the big
Intel/Microsoft etc outfits.: Skills in research/archive/independent thinking are being lost.

Bertie famously dropped the Heritage Portfolio for 12 months and re-jigged Arts/Sports
Under O Donoghue (initially). Séamus Brennan RIP was the first to discuss opening museums at night;
but at one and the same time there has been a gross underfund in Public service areas
that has effected the OPW and the Museums , which includes the collation of data and digitalising/
storing information, thats a huge problem btw, the privatisation of the archaeological Industry
which forms part of the NDP has taken the responsibility for record out of the hands of a central
statutory agency (Such as Dúchas) and put it into the hands of the NRA. Gross Under-funding
and back-logs mean that projects such as the M3 are not being recorded adequately; but
once it all comes in little colourful pamphlets with pretty pictures it seems to please the
culturally challenged anyhow.

I could go on , but I won't.