The theme ‘Pathways’ feels rather nebulous this time, but at its most obvious it can refer to travel writers talking about the journeys they made. A quick scan through the Suffolk Book League speakers’ lists reveals comparatively few travel writers appearing; this is probably because by their very nature they are apt to be peripatetic and difficult to pin down. However, in 1993 we managed to secure Anne Mustoe, former headmistress of St. Felix School in Southwold who was given a bicycle as a retirement present and used it to start journeys cycling around the world. She spoke about A Bike Ride, her first book written after 12,000 miles of and fifteen months (1) of travel including Europe, India, the Far East and the United States. I am not even sure if the route she took is now possible; but do recall she said she kept one smart suit in her baggage, made of silk by Liberty, which came out whenever she was invited to a high level function. Apparently it always looked good, presumably due to the colourful printed pattern, and never creased.
Everyone takes a pathway through life; Diana Athill’s career as editor at the publishing house Andre Deutsch meant that she crossed paths with some of the major writers of the twentieth century. In June 2004, she spoke around her memoir Stet, commenting that with her editing she was helping people ‘to say what she knew they could’ (2). She wrote several books herself, including two after she was 80 years old; inspiration for us all.
Another long and perhaps more gentle pathway through life was taken by Ronald Blythe, a fairly regular speaker at Suffolk Book League, from the early eighties until 2005 and deserves a ‘From the archives’ all on his own. In January we welcomed Ian Collins, who has published Blythe Spirit, his affectionate biography of this uniquely Suffolk literary giant, based on letters, notebooks and published works.
Parry, A. Booktalk, 1993, November/December, (66): 1.
McElhinney, K. For those who couldn’t make it….Diana Athill, Booktalk, 2004, June, (115): 5-6.
Janet Bayliss
Comments