Tag: Victor Gollancz

1,352 words

The following is being published in commemoration of George Orwell’s 121st birthday today.

I’ve been trying to figure out how George Orwell fits into that 1950s literary phenomenon, or cult, called the Angry Young Men. The Angries, as a movement, were partly an invention of the British popular press of 1956-58. Some writers who are included among them, notably Kingsley Amis, rejected the label and got counted in only because they were new young writers with an irksome attitude. Others, such as Colin Wilson, treated the whole concept whimsically or dismissively but used it as a publicity tool. (more…)

2,062 words

I made a resolution several months ago that I would, to the best of my abilities, write mostly about positive, constructive things. “Mostly,” because there will always be not-so-positive things worth writing about. But I would like my main focus to be on uplifting topics and ideas, not on those that drag us down. There’s plenty of that going around.

I believe in the power of thought, whether you understand it in a self-help sort of way (“manifest your intentions”), or, like me, in a spiritual sense. If you only ever define yourself by what you are against, not what you are for, you will never be able to create. (more…)

2,200 words

The following is being published in commemoration of George Orwell’s 120th birthday on June 25.

George Orwell is one of those authors well worth stealing, as Orwell famously wrote of Charles Dickens. I am not the first person to start an essay like this. While rummaging through my memory files I recalled a cover piece in the January 1983 Harper’s, and 40 years later I am astounded to discover it begins almost exactly the same way. (more…)