What has happened over the last 130 years in respect of the interview ?
Over the last 130 years, the interview has become a commonplace of journalism. Almost everybody will have read an interview at some point in their lives. Several thousand celebrities have been interviewed over the years.
What are some of the positive views on interviews ?
Interviews are said to be the highest source of truth. They are called a form of art. They are a supremely useful medium of communication. They leave in our mind the most vivid impressions of our contemporaries.
Why do most celebrity writers despise being interviewed ?
Most celebrities despise the interview as an unwelcome intrusion into their lives. Some even feel wounded by them. They have a horror of the interviewer. Kipling regarded interviewing as immoral. He called it a crime which merits punishment.
Despite its drawbacks, what place does the interview have in journalism ?
Despite its drawbacks, the interview has become a supremely serviceable medium of communication. It leaves on our minds most vivid impressions of our contemporaries. Almost everything of moment reaches us through one man asking questions of another.
Who was Umberto Eco ? What does he say about his novel writing ?
Umberto Eco was a university professor. He says that he took to writing novels just by accident. He was then about fifty years old. He says he wrote novels only in his empty spaces. He wrote them on Sundays.
How does Umberto Eco compare himself as an academic and as a novelist ?
Umberto says that he was first an academic. He was a university professor who wrote novels on Sundays. He identified himself with the academic community and not with the novelist community.
Do you think Umberto Eco likes being interviewed ? Give reasons for your opinion.
I think Umberto very much likes being interviewed. He answers each of Mukund’s questions very patiently. He seems to be enjoying the interview all the time. He doesn’t show a trace of impatience or irritation.
How does Eco find the time to write so much ?
Eco says that each man has lots of vacant spaces in his life. Eco made use of these vacant spaces for his writing. About his novel writing, he says, ‘‘I am a university professor who writes novels on Sundays.’’
What was unique and distinctive about Eco’s academic writing style ?
Academic writings are usually impersonal, dull and boring. But Eco’s academic writing style was playful. It had a personal quality about it. Even his essays had a narrative aspect. Thus they made an interesting reading.
Did Umberto Eco consider himself a novelist first or an academic scholar ?
Eco considered himself first an academic scholar. He participated in academic conferences. He identified himself with the academic community. He says that he became a novelist by accident. He wrote novels only in his empty spaces.
What is the reason for the huge success of the novel, The Name of the Rose ?
The writer calls the huge success of the novel a mystery. However, the novel became popular because it gave the reader a deep and interesting reading. It was a detective story interwoven with metaphysics, ethics and medieval history. Its selling about 10-15 million copies was not just an accident.
‘The Name of the Rose’ deals with medieval history. Was this fact responsible for the novel’s success ?
We can’t say that dealing with medieval history was responsible for the novel’s success. Many books had already been written about medieval times. I think the novel became popular because of the deep, varied and thought-provoking material.
What did the publisher think of ‘The Name of the Rose’ ?
The publisher was an American lady. She said that she loved Eco’s novel. But she did not expect it to sell more than 3,000 copies. However, in the end, two or three million copies were sold in the U.S. alone.
What drawbacks of interview have been pointed out by Lewis Carrol ?
Lewis Carrol had a horror of the interviewer. He said that interviews lionized a person. They inflated a person’s ego. They made a person feel very proud and self-important.
What does Umberto Eco mean by the concept of ‘Interstices’ in our lives ?
‘Interstices’ means vacant spaces or cracks in something. Eco says that each man has vacant spaces (i.e. free time when one has nothing to do) in his life. One can make use of such interstices for thinking about some creative ideas.
Why did Rudyard Kipling dislike being interviewed ? Give two reasons.
Rudyard Kipling disliked being interviewed because he regarded interviewing as immoral. He called it a crime which merits punishment. He called it outwardly and vile. “No respectable man would ask it, much less give it,” he said.
Write in brief the various views expressed by celebrities about the importance of interview in journalism.
Opinions related to interview vary considerably. Some call it a source of truth and a form of an art. Others despise it as an unwelcome intrusion into their lives. Lewis Carroll, the creator of Alice in Wonderland, had a horror of the interviewer. He never consented to be interviewed. Rudyard Kipling had even greater dislike of the interviewer. He regarded interviewing as immoral. He called it a crime which merits punishment. He called it cowardly and vile. H.G. Wells once referred to interview as an ‘ordeal’. But forty years later, he himself interviewed Joseph Stalin. Saul Bellow called interviews thumbprints on his windpipe. In spite of all such views, the interview has become a supremely useful medium of communication. It brings us the most vivid impressions of our contemporaries. Almost everything of importance reaches us, through one man asking questions of another.
How could Eco find time to write so much in his life ?
The English novelist David Lodge once remarked that he couldn’t understand how one man could do all the things Eco could do. But in his interview with Mukund, Eco says that he always did the same thing. He had some philosophical interests. He pursued them through his academic work and his novels. Even his books for children are about non-violence and peace — which are a part of his philosophy. Eco explains how he found time for his writings. He says that we have a lot of empty spaces in our lives, and he worked in those empty spaces. While explaining his point to Mukund, he says, ‘‘Say you are coming over to my place. You are in an elevator and I am waiting for you. This is an empty space. I work in empty spaces. While waiting for your elevator to come up, I have already written an article !’’
Explain what Eco says about his activity of novel writing.
(Or)
What was distinctive about Eco’s academic writing style ?
Eco says that at the age of 22, he had felt that even scholarly books should be written by telling the story of one’s research. That was why his essays always had a narrative aspect. It was because of this tendency that he started writing novels, though it was too late, at about the age of 50. He adds that he started writing by accident. He had nothing to do one day and so he started trying his hand on it. Novels probably satisfied his taste for narration. Mukund pointed out to Eco that though he was an academic, most people knew him as a novelist. To this, Eco says that he considers himself a university professor who writes novels on Sundays. He says it was not a joke. He participated in academic conferences and identified himself with the academic community. But he was conscious of the fact that by writing novels, he had reached a larger audience.
Why did Umberto Eco start writing novels and when ? What does Eco say about the huge success of his novel, ‘The Name of the Rose’ in spite of its being a difficult and very serious novel ?
(Or)
What made the American publisher think that the novel, ‘The Name of the Rose’ won’t sell in America ? What actually happened ? What was the secret of its success ?
Umberto Eco says that he started writing novels just by accident. He was then about fifty years old. In fact, from the very beginning, he had felt that even scholarly books should be written in the way of a novel — i.e. by telling the story of one’s research. That was why even his essays always had a narrative aspect. It was because of this tendency that he started writing novels, though it was too late, at about the age of fifty. Talking about his first novel, ‘The Name of the Rose’, Umberto says that it is a detective novel, but it also deals with metaphysics, theology and medieval history. Thus it is a deep and difficult novel. Eco says that most journalists and publishers believe that people like trash and don’t like difficult reading. But the sale of this book proved that it was not true. Between 10 to 15 million copies of this book were sold. The novel deals with a period of medieval history. Could that be the reason of its popularity ? But a lot of books had been written about the medieval past before Eco’s novel. In conclusion, Eco says that the success of the book was a mystery for him.
What light does Eco throw on his famous novel, The Name of the Rose ?
The Name of the Rose is a very famous but serious novel by Eco. It is a detective novel but it also deals with metaphysics, theology, and medieval history. Thus it is a deep and difficult novel. Eco says that most journalists and publishers believe that people like trash and don’t like difficult reading experiences. But the sale of this book proved that it was not true. Between 10 to 15 million copies of this book were sold. It shows that such readers at least don’t want easy experiences. The novel deals with a period of medieval history. Could that be the reason of its popularity ? But a lot of books had been written about the medieval past before Eco’s novel. In conclusion, Eco says that the success of the book was a mystery for him.
What impression do you form about Umberto Eco as a scholar and writer on the basis of ‘The Interview’ ?
Umberto Eco was a many-sided personality. He was a philosopher, an academic and a novelist. He was a devotee of non-violence and peace. He was a university professor who wrote novels on Sundays. He explains how he found time to plan his novels. He says that we have a lot of empty spaces in our lives, and he worked in those empty spaces. He explains his point by giving an example : ‘‘Say you are coming over to my place. You are in an elevator and I am waiting for you. This is an empty space. I work in empty spaces. While waiting for your elevator to come up, I have already written an article !’’ Eco has a playful and personal quality in his writings. That was why even his essays had a narrative aspect. It was because of this tendency that he started writing novels, though it was too late, at about the age of fifty. The most successful of his novels was ‘The Name of the Rose’.
