Coda

[coalescent]

I was going to let it lie, but this (courtesy of a far too early-morning text message from Naomi) is too good to ignore. You want 8:48am:

Presenter: [Margaret Atwood] describes her new book Oryx And Crake as 'speculative fiction' because she says it could happen. Well, is she right? Bryan Appleyard, the author and Sunday Times journalist is writing a book about aliens; we're also joined by D J Taylor, the author and Orwell biographer. Good morning to you both.

Both: Good morning.

Presenter: Bryan Appleyard, do you think it's a fair distinction - this 'speculative fiction'/'science fiction'?

Bryan Appleyard: No, I think it's petty literary snobbery. [...] The whole reason it's called science fiction is because it's credible, it's possible, and Margaret Atwood seems to me to be evidently writing science fiction. And no reason why not - there's some very great science fiction writers.

Hurrah for Bryan Appleyard! And boo to DJ Taylor (sample quote: "JG Ballard is not a writer of science fiction; he's someone who merely projects certain elements of his moral and political universe in futurist terms...")

Comments

tee-hee...

[scribeoflight.livejournal.com]

The DJ Taylor quote is quite simply ludicrous. And hurrah indeed for Mr. Appleyard; Atwood is playing word games, and the rules of her game don't actually stand up that well to close scrutiny...

[tinyjo.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I heard that. Taylor was basically claiming that if it was bad, it was SF and if it was good it was something else. He was so blatant that even the interviewer tried to call him on it.