Sunday 11 September 2011

BOTH PERHAPS PRESENT......by Adèle Geras

The Philippa Pearce Memorial Lecture by Philip Pullman. Homerton College, September 8th, 2011.

Last Thursday, some three hundred people packed into a large auditorium at Homerton College, Cambridge, learned something of what it must have been like to have been one of Philip Pullman’s pupils. In a couple of words: a pleasure.

The Philippa Pearce Memorial Lecture is given every year in memory of one of the very best of children’s writers, whose Tom’s Midnight Garden was voted Carnegie of Carnegies and all of whose work shines with humanity, elegance and a deep knowledge of the way stories work a special kind of magic on children. The Steering Committee does a grand job every year finding a speaker to honour Pearce’s memory and this year, not only did they invite a luminary, but also one whose Philip neatly matches her Philippa and whose initials are identical. This harmony was obviously some kind of good omen.

Before the lecture, I went down to the station to meet Laura Cecil, who was Philippa’s agent, and David Wood who wrote the magical stage adaptation of Tom’s Midnight Garden. Then who should turn up but June Crebbins, whom I’ve known for years, and on the same train as Laura was Caroline Royds of Walker Books. We took a nice big taxi to Homerton where the halls were humming with people: Morag Styles , Victor Watson, Gillian McLure and others on the Steering Committee, Julia Eccleshare looking extremely glamorous, Jill Paton- Walsh and John Rowe Townsend and of course Philippa Pearce’s own daughter, Sally Christie, with Ben Norland and their elder son, and Ben’s mother, the wonderful illustrator, Helen Craig, who provided such perfect pictures for Pearce’s lovely last book A Finder’s Magic .

I’m sure the lecture will soon be available for everyone to read, but till that day, I’ll do my best to give an account. The title, taken from Burnt Norton, the first of T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets, was a clue. Philip spoke about TIME. He spoke mainly about Tom’s Midnight Garden. He discussed the different ways of presenting a narrative: the difference between the past and present tense, how you can often use both in a text, first person, where the camera is: all sorts of technical things were described and explained . He also demonstrated how different ways of writing produce different effects on the reader. He talked about the importance of where the camera is when you’re looking at a scene. He spoke of Pearce’s unerring way of knowing when to finish something, when to cut away. He made a couple of good jokes. He spoke at some length about folk tales and their unadorned and hard-hitting language and he drew our attention to the fact that when describing a photograph or painting one never uses the past tense. “She’s standing by the gate” we say, as he pointed up at a lovely photograph of Pearce herself which was set in the middle of the stage. He was clear, concise, and yet detailed throughout and it was wonderful to hear a real lecture about a real book by someone who understands better than most how fiction operates.

After the lecture, we went into the Dining Hall where books by both Philip and Philippa were set out for those who wished to buy them. I ran into Anne Rooney, smiling and happy in a lacy pink top and dark blue floaty skirt and we drank wine and agreed that we were glad to have come to hear this. I met Diana Boston, daughter of Lucy Boston, author of the Green Knowe books. I chatted to Louise Stothard of the Oxford Children’s Book Group of the Federation of Children’s Book Groups. I met Anne Marie Young who used to work at Cambridge University Press and whom I hadn’t seen for years.

And by the time we left Homerton, the clouds (which had been hanging about all day in a rather unconvincing way) had lifted and the sunset was streaming gold and pink on to every window we could see. It was the perfect end to a wonderful afternoon.


PS. I'm posting this photograph of Philip signing books after his lecture, courtesy of the photographer, Jill Paton Walsh and also Nicky Potter. Thanks to both.


“Both perhaps present…”

11 comments:

Jane Housham said...

Thank you for this great account of what sounds like a fantastic event. I wish I had been there.

Lynda Waterhouse said...

Thank you for sharing. Your evocative prose makes me feel like I have attended. I am spending a lot of time at the moment describing art and had never realised the obvious point that I am always using the present tense.

Sally Prue said...

I do hope a text of the lecture becomes available soon, and that I manage to find it. Adele has made it sound absolutely fascinating.

Stroppy Author said...

As Adele mentions, I was at the lecture and it was as fabulous as she says - erudite and entertaining. In the drinks session afterwards Adele told me she was going to blog about it here and suggested I did, too. But if I do now, her post will be pushed down the page. Aaargh. Dilemma! But no worries - she has said it all so well there is nothing I need to add anyway. I'm deleting my draft post and just saying 'Hear, hear!'

The only thing Adele forgot to mention was that the picture author and publisher Gillian McClure acted as Philip's bodyguard in case of an assualt by a rabid Christian fundamentalist group (post-The Good Man Jesus). Luckily, that did not happen - and just as well, as Gillian had left her kevlar vest at home and wore a lovely cardigan instead.

Penny Dolan said...

Thanks for being a camera at this event on everyone's behalf, Adele. Hope Pullman's full text or talk will appear somewhere soon.

Mefinx said...

I'm actually writing from the garden of Homerton, where I've been enjoying the Shakespeare and Adaptation Conference organised by Abigail Rokison. We were offered an opportunity to attend the lecture but due to work commitments I couldn't take it up, so thank youso much for this wonderful summary.

Marina Endicott said...

Lucy Boston's daughter! Philippa Pearce! Philip Pullman! Adele, how I wish I could have gone with you, at least to stand by the gate.

adele said...

Anne, I for one would LOVE to read your account! And that stuff about Gillian is fascinating and I had no idea. Marina, how lovely to read what you say....I wish you HAD been there. It would be so good to meet you. Also, I'm greatly looking forward to your next novel. I'm a big fan!

adele said...

Pippa Gooodhart tried to leave a comment here and has failed, so I'm cutting and pasting her email to me. Hope that's okay with everyone. She says,(and this was MY mistake) "Diana isn't Lucy Boston's daughter, but daughter-in-law. She was married to Lucy's only child, Peter, who was quite a well-known architect and who illustrated Lucy's books with those line drawings we're so familiar with. Diana keeps-up Lucy's magical house in Hemmingford Grey. Possibly the oldest inhabited house in the country, with Norman bits to it, and still the huge wind-up gramophone that WW2 pilots came to listen to between sortis. It truly is the most magical of places, very much Lucy's place still. Her autobiography, 'Peverse And Foolish' is wonderful - she was such a naughty woman! I met her on her hundreth birthday because Heffers gave her a lunch. I didn't get to go to the lunch, being a young and unimportant assistant, but I did meet her, and her big black eyes will stay with me forever!"
THANK YOU, PIPPA! I am determined to get to Hemmingford Grey as soon as I can. And read 'Perverse and Foolish.'...terrific title!

Ben said...

Anyone who didn't get to the lecture but wishes they had been there should visit www.pearcelecture.com in a few weeks time. We ought to have a video version of the lecture available by then.

Katherine Langrish said...

I'll look forward to reading the lecture - it sounds to have been a wonderful day! Adele, you must go and visit Hemmingford Grey - it is the most magical house. Like walking into the books. Diana Boston showed me and my husband round a few years ago, and it was unforgettable. Lucky Pippa to have met Lucy!