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Monday 31 March 2008

Today Today and the Oxford Literary Festival

I was on the BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning (should you wish, you can "listen again")! I was on at about 8:20 am, talking about blogging...


I had lots to say, of course, but didn't really get the chance to say as much as I would've liked. I wanted to talk a bit about my work at The Book Depository, I wanted to mention BritLitBlogs, I wanted to say how fab This Space is ... but I never really got a chance.


Never mind: I'll be going over the same ground at length again this evening at the Oxford Literary Festival where dovegreyreader and I will be discussing Blogging the Classics with John Mullan and John Carey.


If you get a chance to come along, do come and say hello afterwards!

Posted by Mark Thwaite
Tags: ,

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Reader Comments

Monday 31 March 2008

CMP says...

I've been terrified of all things blog until I heard you on the radio this morning - now I can't wait to give it all a go!

Monday 31 March 2008

Pete says...

Hello, I heard you on the radio this morning and felt moved to post on my own rather shrill blog.

http://fatbuddha.blogspot.com/

Monday 31 March 2008

Leora Skolkin-Smith says...

wish I could be there!

xx

Leora

Monday 31 March 2008

Mary Veitch says...

I heard you on the radio. Very well done and great repetition of the name of this blog site which stayed in my head long enough to write it down.I loved the way you won over the interviewer! Will visit again.PS what does polemic mean?

Monday 31 March 2008

Richard Bagnall says...

http://www.metrica.net/MeasurementMatters/post/2008/03/Who-should-we-trust--The-professional-reviewer-or-the-blogger-And-what-therefore-are-the-implications-for-accurate-PR-Measurement.aspx

Monday 31 March 2008

Lee Kelleher says...

Could that be the longest URL ever? (You just know that Mark is going to ask me to fix the page layout now!) ;-)

http://tinyurl.com/323nq6

Monday 31 March 2008

Richard Bagnall says...

Good point well made Lee! :-) Thanks for placing the Tiny URL link to the post on Measurement Matters, Metrica's PR Measurement blog. It's an interesting topic and we look forward to following it closely. Well done to Mark this morning on the radio - really interesting conversation. Cheers, Richard

Monday 31 March 2008

ed says...

Good job, Mr. Thwaite. I loved how the interviewer was so hung up on credentials and the entitlement to judge, but seemed to miss the point that blogs are also about community.

Monday 31 March 2008

Stephen Mitchelmore says...

When the presenter asked about credentials and the entitlement to judge, I wanted Mark to say that blogs win their own credentials and entitlement, which is what makes it such a dynamic form. Unfortunately he's not a ventriloquist's doll.

Monday 31 March 2008

Louise says...

I also heard you on Radio 4 this morning and was interested enough to check out the page - have never blogged before. I think it was the metaphor about the archipelegos that caught me - certainly won the argument!

Tuesday 01 April 2008

Nigel Beale says...

Well done Mark. I concur with the others about credentials. Fortunately you were able to quickly respond with 'acceptable' qualifications...otherwise I suspect the questioner and other guest's smugness might have been difficult to listen to...this is unfortunate...what entitles one to judge: a big, well read (in primary and secondary sources) brain, and an ability to write and argue well. Passion and enthusiasm don't hurt either. The challenge is to find this judgment...your site is a great help in this regard. Thanks, and hope the evening session goes well.

Tuesday 01 April 2008

Jackie Bradley says...

Thoroughly enjoyed your contribution last night in Oxford. Will now be a regular reader of your various sites.

Tuesday 01 April 2008

Dave Gater says...

Mark, really enjoyed your contribuition to the today programe, but the real bonus is (for me) the discovery of this fantastic web site.
Hope they ask you back soon.

Tuesday 01 April 2008

amcorrea says...

Well done! You did an excellent job of pointing out the necessity of discernment in evaluating the blogosphere, the fallacy of making generalizations about litblogs, and the need for more and diverse voices in discussions about books. I look forward to hearing how last night went!

Tuesday 01 April 2008

The Poet Laura-eate says...

Great stuff on R4 yesterday. We bloggers need all the respectability we can get!

http://thepoetlaura-eate.blogspot.com

Tuesday 01 April 2008

Ian Lumsden says...

I also listened to Radio 4 yesterday morning and pricked up my ears as I listened to competing credentials for writing literary criticism. I write on animation for my own blog though my qualifications and professional career more properly are related to books. I'm also not strident in my writing, not polarised; I write because I enjoy writing, pure and simple. Also I get to hear from interesting folk about interesting things. Should you choose to sit back and have a break from reading pop along to my non-competitive, non-strident, hopefully informative Animation Blog. (http://www.animationblog.org/) I've clicked your site as a "favourite" by the way.

Monday 07 April 2008

Andrew says...

I'm afraid I didn't hear the progrgamme, but it might have been amusing to have drawn attention to a certain book called The Intellectuals & the Masses, and accusations of elitism therein, and the irony of such an author's presumed position regarding having to prove one's credentials within the hierarchies of a system so as to have an opinion of validity. It's essentially the master-slave dynamic, where the slaves are told to know their status.
Though naturally there is no irony as Carey's intent with I & the M was utterly transparent in the first place. Treat people as slaves & pretend this is showing them respect. Dostoevsky's Legend of the Grand Inquisitor dynamic.

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