tony and i went to the man booker international panel this evening to hear the panelists talk about their decision-making process, and answer questions from the audience. i've always been curious as to how these panels work; it turns out they're all different. the man booker international process sounds very organic. the panelists read, and read, and read, and talk, and talk, and talk, and then read some more, all the while whittling down their lists of authors within the guidelines of the prize. i must say that it was fascinating to hear people speak about the process; nadine gordimer said two things that my mind trapped and held - one was a quote from goethe, and the other was in answer to "how on earth do you choose that final winner?" gordimer said that in the end, what they are looking for, is illumination - a broadening, a widening, of understanding, achieved through the written word. the quote from goethe was something along the lines of this: that a writer reaches down, into the depths of society, and what he pulls up he holds in his hand, and writes about that - and it's the technique, the perspective, the positioning that illuminates the handful.

colm toibin said something interesting too, that for me highlighted the electricity of books (or their energy): he said that books are very unstable, because when they are written they mean something in the context of that time, and then as time goes on and we change, the book, the cover, the print, the pages don't change, but they interact with society and the current context of time in a different way, so they illuminate different things. it reminded me of how elastic writing is. and of course, through being human, how the writing of homer and socrates still resonates today, within an extremely different context of time.

here's the current shortlist for the man booker international. WHERE IS DAVID MITCHELL?

when david mitchell is finally recognized for being one of the most innovative, creative, and shattering new writers of our century, i will finally be satisfied. the only thing is: he'd better be recognized while he's alive. and i'd like to be alive too. at some point, i am going to get so fed up with stupid panelists that i will do what it takes to get on that panel and fight tooth and nail to give him the recognition he deserves.

dammit.

(they probably won't let me on the panel because they'll sense my secret agenda beforehand. that won't stop me from trying, though).

Labels: booker, books, david mitchell