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Mortification: Writers' Stories of Their Public Shame (2003)

by Robin Robertson (Editor)

Other authors: Simon Armitage (Contributor), Margaret Atwood (Contributor), Paul Bailey (Contributor), John Banville (Contributor), Nicola Barker (Contributor)66 more, Julian Barnes (Contributor), William Boyd (Contributor), Michael Bracewell (Contributor), André Brink (Contributor), John Burnside (Contributor), Ciaran Carson (Contributor), Jonathan Coe (Contributor), Billy Collins (Contributor), Louis de Bernières (Contributor), Michael Donaghy (Contributor), Mark Doty (Contributor), Roddy Doyle (Contributor), Margaret Drabble (Contributor), Geoff Dyer (Contributor), Anne Enright (Contributor), Paul Farley (Contributor), Vicki Feaver (Contributor), Janice Galloway (Contributor), Carlo Gébler (Contributor), Niall Griffiths (Contributor), Thom Gunn (Contributor), Hugo Hamilton (Contributor), David Harsent (Contributor), Carl Hiaasen (Contributor), Michael Holroyd (Contributor), A. L. Kennedy (Contributor), John Lanchester (Contributor), James Lasdun (Contributor), Jonathan Lethem (Contributor), Michael Longley (Contributor), Thomas Lynch (Contributor), Bernard MacLaverty (Contributor), Glyn Maxwell (Contributor), Patrick McCabe (Contributor), Elizabeth McCracken (Contributor), Elizabeth McCracken (Contributor), Val McDermid (Contributor), Duncan McLean (Contributor), Claire Messud (Contributor), Karl Miller (Contributor), Deborah Moggach (Contributor), Rick Moody (Contributor), Andrew Motion (Contributor), Paul Muldoon (Contributor), Julie Myerson (Contributor), Edna O'Brien (Contributor), Maggie O'Farrell (Contributor), Andrew O'Hagan (Contributor), Sean O'Reilly (Contributor), Michael Ondaatje (Contributor), Chuck Palahniuk (Contributor), Don Paterson (Contributor), D.B.C. Pierre (Contributor), Darryl Pinckney (Contributor), Charles Simic (Contributor), Matthew Sweeney (Contributor), Rupert Thomson (Contributor), Adam Thorpe (Contributor), Colm Tóibín (Contributor), William Trevor (Contributor), Alan Warner (Contributor), Irvine Welsh (Contributor), Louise Welsh (Contributor), Hugo Williams (Contributor), John Hartley Williams (Contributor), James Wood (Contributor)

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
280493,545 (3.45)8
Humiliation is not, of course, unique to writers. However, the world of letters does seem to offer a near-perfect micro-climate for embarrassment and shame. There is something about the conjunction of high-mindedness and low income that is inherently comic; something about the very idea of deeply private thoughts - carefully worked and honed into art over the years - being presented to a public audience of dubious strangers, that strays perilously close to tragedy. fellow readers, the organiser, the venue, the hospitality, or the often-interminable journey there and back. Then there are the experiences of teaching and being taught, reviewing and being reviewed, of festivals and writers' retreats, symposia, signing sessions, literary parties and prizes, the trips abroad, with all the attendant joys of translation and, finally, the bright worlds of television and radio that can bring so many more people to share in your shame. reader, apart from the sheer schadenfreude of it all, there is admiration too: for that acknowledgement of human frailty, of punctured pride, and also of the seeming absurdity of trying to bring private art into public space. There are contributions from, amongst others, Margaret Atwood, Julian Barnes, Louis de Bernieres, Rick Moody, Irvine Welsh, Margaret Drabble and Norman Mailer.… (more)
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» See also 8 mentions

Showing 4 of 4
A little to UK-centric, and a few too many poets, but overall this was a funny book filled with cringe-worthy moments that were very entertaining. ( )
  kjhill45 | Sep 12, 2009 |
This is an extremely humerous look at how authors feel about their book signing events. It's fascinating to hear their side of things and to see things from their point of view. There are some very funny accounts of places that they have to stay in overnight, and amusing anecdotes of remarks made by the general public. I particularly loved the tale of Glyn Maxwell,a poet, who had to do a reading for some school children - on being asked what his poem was about he went on to explain in some detail what he had tried to get across in his poem, when he'd finished explaining the child that had asked merely looked at him and said 'why didn't you just say that in the first place then?' Terrific stuff, a must read for any wannabe authors. ( )
4 vote kehs | Mar 23, 2008 |
My boss gave me this book just before I left on my first book tour. It's great comfort to any author, for sure (I take it with me whenever I travel to remind me that no matter how poorly a signing goes, it could have been worse), but also valuable to anyone who likes to see the inner lives (and rabid insecurities) of authors. -John Green ( )
7 vote sparksflyup | Feb 26, 2007 |
Showing 4 of 4
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» Add other authors (1 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Robertson, RobinEditorprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Armitage, SimonContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Atwood, MargaretContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Bailey, PaulContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Banville, JohnContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Barker, NicolaContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Barnes, JulianContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Boyd, WilliamContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Bracewell, MichaelContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Brink, AndréContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Burnside, JohnContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Carson, CiaranContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Coe, JonathanContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Collins, BillyContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
de Bernières, LouisContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Donaghy, MichaelContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Doty, MarkContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Doyle, RoddyContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Drabble, MargaretContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Dyer, GeoffContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Enright, AnneContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Farley, PaulContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Feaver, VickiContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Galloway, JaniceContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Gébler, CarloContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Griffiths, NiallContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Gunn, ThomContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Hamilton, HugoContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Harsent, DavidContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Hiaasen, CarlContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Holroyd, MichaelContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Kennedy, A. L.Contributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Lanchester, JohnContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Lasdun, JamesContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Lethem, JonathanContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Longley, MichaelContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Lynch, ThomasContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
MacLaverty, BernardContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Maxwell, GlynContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
McCabe, PatrickContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
McCracken, ElizabethContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
McCracken, ElizabethContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
McDermid, ValContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
McLean, DuncanContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Messud, ClaireContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Miller, KarlContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Moggach, DeborahContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Moody, RickContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Motion, AndrewContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Muldoon, PaulContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Myerson, JulieContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
O'Brien, EdnaContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
O'Farrell, MaggieContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
O'Hagan, AndrewContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
O'Reilly, SeanContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Ondaatje, MichaelContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Palahniuk, ChuckContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Paterson, DonContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Pierre, D.B.C.Contributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Pinckney, DarrylContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Simic, CharlesContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Sweeney, MatthewContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Thomson, RupertContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Thorpe, AdamContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Tóibín, ColmContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Trevor, WilliamContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Warner, AlanContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Welsh, IrvineContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Welsh, LouiseContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Williams, HugoContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Williams, John HartleyContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Wood, JamesContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Kampmann, EvaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
Dedication
To Ramona
First words
I can date, with some precision, the genesis of this project.
Quotations
The first prerogative of an artist in any medium is to make a fool of himself. (Pauline Kael)
We are all strong enough to bear the misfortunes of others. (François de La Rochefoucauld)
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Wikipedia in English (1)

Humiliation is not, of course, unique to writers. However, the world of letters does seem to offer a near-perfect micro-climate for embarrassment and shame. There is something about the conjunction of high-mindedness and low income that is inherently comic; something about the very idea of deeply private thoughts - carefully worked and honed into art over the years - being presented to a public audience of dubious strangers, that strays perilously close to tragedy. fellow readers, the organiser, the venue, the hospitality, or the often-interminable journey there and back. Then there are the experiences of teaching and being taught, reviewing and being reviewed, of festivals and writers' retreats, symposia, signing sessions, literary parties and prizes, the trips abroad, with all the attendant joys of translation and, finally, the bright worlds of television and radio that can bring so many more people to share in your shame. reader, apart from the sheer schadenfreude of it all, there is admiration too: for that acknowledgement of human frailty, of punctured pride, and also of the seeming absurdity of trying to bring private art into public space. There are contributions from, amongst others, Margaret Atwood, Julian Barnes, Louis de Bernieres, Rick Moody, Irvine Welsh, Margaret Drabble and Norman Mailer.

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