Yann Martel in Belfast
Yann Martel said to me earlier tonight that the Canadian Prime Minister has "no imagination". Speaking to me on stage at the opening of the literary weekend he said, that despite sending Stephen Harper a book every fortnight for the past 3 years, the Canadian PM had yet to reply to him. In the meantime Barack Obama had sent a handwritten note to him after reading Ìý"Life of Pi" to his daughter. The first time Mantel reckoned a letter from the President of the United States had been sent to a resident of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.Ìý
But, hold on, isn't a Prime Minister a bit busy to join an unsolicited invite to a book club? Maybe, says Mantel, but politicians should be "dreamers....like philosopher kings...nourished by literature". I wonder if there was a similar book club for our local politicians in Stormont what books should be sent to "nourish" them?Ìý
Mantel says the only book Stephen Harper has ever publicly said he liked had an Irish connection. Joyce? Beckett? Wilde? No, the book in question was the Guinness Book of Records. It got a laugh from the audience.Ìý
To find out more about Mantel's reading list for the Canadian PM check ´Ç³Ü³Ù.Ìý
Comment number 1.
At 7th Jun 2010, Brigid Erin Bates wrote:Love the item, especailly as I missed the Black Box event. (but check out Mantel who has crept in ...)
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Comment number 2.
At 26th Jun 2010, Catherine04 wrote:The previous comment is right - there is obviously a bit of confusion in your article. Yann Martel who you interviewed is entirely different to Hilary Mantel - another prize-winning author. Embarrassing error!
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Comment number 3.
At 27th Jun 2010, Marie-Louise Muir wrote:Thank you both for pointing this out. It was a slip of the keyboard between r and n. It was definitely Yann Martel I sat opposite that night, and not Hilary Mantel. I'm sure I won't be the last to do such a typo mix up. But at least I won't be so quick to type their names without double and triple checking the next time!
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