In Memoriam: Clive James
You’ve said that at both the University of Sydney and the University of Cambridge, you were “a bad student” who consistently read off-course. To the ears of my contemporaries, reading off-course is the sort of procrastination that qualifies being a good student. Now, with the internet, we have so many distractions that is almost impossible to stay focused on any one thing at a time, and work is scarcely one of them. Do you worry about the future of literature in this virtual environment? Literature will win through the way it always has, by being too valuable to be ignored. All you have to do is write something as good as Pride and Prejudice . A cinch. Finally, do you have any advice for young writers? When the young writers ask me for advice, I give them the same advice as I give my niece: stop right now if you can. The Meaning of Recognition by Clive James Flying Visits Clive James