The Asian club: The writer and his times: Agnus Wilson
An extract from The Asian Club program features Angus Wilson discussing the serious message in his writings. He emphasizes the value of each human being and his interest in portraying the social dynamics of England.
Transcript
S1: You did mention that any writer who has a serious message must sweeten his pill. What is the serious message that you have? S2: Mr Wilson? 0:10 S3: That is a very very difficult question. The serious message that I have, I hope, is that .. aah. human being must be considered as absolute values each one in himself. That nobody, uh, tht no personal vice or personal defect can make anybody other than absolutely valuable. And it’s often said to me that my characters are very unpleasant, it is my view that my characters are painted as real human beings, and that what is the trouble is that most people are taught only to like people when they have successfully sentimentalised them . My message is to try say that true liberalism consists in accepting all human beings as having equal rights to absolute good treatment. S2: Mrs Loban, I believe Mr Wilson has never given us this true message before, so we are quite lucky to have it . ( laughter) Shall we have the next question please? S4: I’m Amin from Pakistan. Do you agree Mr Speaker with your critics that you are too hard on contemporary Britons. What can be your object in exposing the people in preference to appreciating their weaknesses, and how far you have achieved that. 1:34 S2: Mr Wilson, here is Mr Amin from Pakistan who says do you agree with your critics that you are too hard on contemporary Britons? What is your object in exposing the people in preference to appreciating their weakness and how far do you succeed? S3: Ah, I take that in two parts if I may. I should say that I hope I am preeminently successful in appreciating the weaknesses to people, and I think I'm very sympathetic towards human weakness. I hope so. That I approach it ironically doesn’t mean that I don’t sympathise with it. Apart from that, I would say that I am interested in the social set-up of England today - the strains and stresses imposed upon the individual by the shifting social classes, ahh. the shifting social classes, the way in which the people are having to adapt themselves to a new social order, and of course to adapt themselves to a new national prestige. 2:43 Now, if you mean that nobody in England should be told that they are having to adapt themselves to a new social order, and to a new national prestige, then in telling them that, I am being very hard on them. But if you think as I do, then I can only hope to make any satisfactory and useful community in this country, when we accept this new developments, then it seems to me, that I am being both sympathetic and understanding in viewing people, as they really are, rather than as they would like to be thought. 3:28 But let me be a little honest, I do think that now and again, I have not , or shall we say, throughout my work, I have not perhaps, not given any very sympathetic character for this reason. That all my characters are treated from the outside. Most fiction, for a very long time, at any rate, since Henry James, has written from the inside. And this does mean that when you get in a book, the development of one or two individuals, and the neglect of most of the rest. I have tried to view everything from what I believe is called god’s eye view --of looking at all people from outside, and it does result in what I think is fairly good, fair share for all, but perhaps no very preferential treatment for anybody. 4:18 But I have become dissatisfied with this recently, and I am in my new novel, trying now, with great difficulty, to write from inside - actually a female character, and to give the maximum of sympathy to this woman, and maybe the other characters won’t come quite so well as they have in my other book. View more +View less -- Edited Title
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The Asian club: The writer and his times: Agnus Wilson
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The Asian club: The writer and his times: Agnus Wilson
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An extract from The Asian Club program features Angus Wilson discussing the serious message in his writings. He emphasizes the value of each human being and his interest in portraying the social dynamics of England.
-
S1: You did mention that any writer who has a serious message must sweeten his pill. What is the serious message that you have? S2: Mr Wilson? 0:10 S3: That is a very very difficult question. The serious message that I have, I hope, is that .. aah. human being must be considered as absolute values each one in himself. That nobody, uh, tht no personal vice or personal defect can make anybody other than absolutely valuable. And it’s often said to me that my characters are very unpleasant, it is my view that my characters are painted as real human beings, and that what is the trouble is that most people are taught only to like people when they have successfully sentimentalised them . My message is to try say that true liberalism consists in accepting all human beings as having equal rights to absolute good treatment. S2: Mrs Loban, I believe Mr Wilson has never given us this true message before, so we are quite lucky to have it . ( laughter) Shall we have the next question please? S4: I’m Amin from Pakistan. Do you agree Mr Speaker with your critics that you are too hard on contemporary Britons. What can be your object in exposing the people in preference to appreciating their weaknesses, and how far you have achieved that. 1:34 S2: Mr Wilson, here is Mr Amin from Pakistan who says do you agree with your critics that you are too hard on contemporary Britons? What is your object in exposing the people in preference to appreciating their weakness and how far do you succeed? S3: Ah, I take that in two parts if I may. I should say that I hope I am preeminently successful in appreciating the weaknesses to people, and I think I'm very sympathetic towards human weakness. I hope so. That I approach it ironically doesn’t mean that I don’t sympathise with it. Apart from that, I would say that I am interested in the social set-up of England today - the strains and stresses imposed upon the individual by the shifting social classes, ahh. the shifting social classes, the way in which the people are having to adapt themselves to a new social order, and of course to adapt themselves to a new national prestige. 2:43 Now, if you mean that nobody in England should be told that they are having to adapt themselves to a new social order, and to a new national prestige, then in telling them that, I am being very hard on them. But if you think as I do, then I can only hope to make any satisfactory and useful community in this country, when we accept this new developments, then it seems to me, that I am being both sympathetic and understanding in viewing people, as they really are, rather than as they would like to be thought. 3:28 But let me be a little honest, I do think that now and again, I have not , or shall we say, throughout my work, I have not perhaps, not given any very sympathetic character for this reason. That all my characters are treated from the outside. Most fiction, for a very long time, at any rate, since Henry James, has written from the inside. And this does mean that when you get in a book, the development of one or two individuals, and the neglect of most of the rest. I have tried to view everything from what I believe is called god’s eye view --of looking at all people from outside, and it does result in what I think is fairly good, fair share for all, but perhaps no very preferential treatment for anybody. 4:18 But I have become dissatisfied with this recently, and I am in my new novel, trying now, with great difficulty, to write from inside - actually a female character, and to give the maximum of sympathy to this woman, and maybe the other characters won’t come quite so well as they have in my other book.
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0:04:40
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1957-12-22
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1957-12-22
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English
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Writer
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Novelist
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Interview
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Spoken voice
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Radio Programme
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1CD0288868 D3 BD4
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BBC00004
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Culture
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Extract from the Broadcast entitled The Asian club: The writer and his times The interview questioned Mr Wilson on his books in an extract from the programme Asian Club from London Calling Asia. Questioned on his view of people as they really are rather than as they would like to be thought. Copy of BBC Sound Archives LP 23914 Angus Wilson talks to Roma Laban from 'London Calling Asia'.
