Helen Dale has a new book coming out soon. I will probably read it because it sounds an interesting read - it's called 'Kingdom of the Wicked', and appears to be a courtroom drama. Some of you might be wondering precisely who is Helen Dale. Some of you will remember her as Helen Darville. You might be wondering exactly who is Helen Darville, and why does that name ring a bell back in the cobwebby recess of your brains. Okay. Time's up. Final clue: Helen Demidenko, author of the Miles Franklin Award winning novel 'The Hand That Signed The Paper', back in the mid-Nineties. The scandal attached to this book, as I recall, was twofold. Firstly the story, which dealt with the holocaust, was told from the point of view of the more villainous characters in history. Secondly, the author bio Helen had presented, ie being of Ukrainian heritage, was as fake as the thatch on Bert Newton's head. I guess it's a bit of an Aussie thing to pay out on what we perceive as bullshit artists. I personally am none too fond of liars myself.
Also, the kapooha over the alleged sympathy toward the 'villains' really did my head in. People, this is a work of art. Art doesn't have to conform to societal norms and values. As a friend of mine said, when we were discussing the scandal over a glass of wine at the salient time, 'Mate, even the Nazis have a point of view.' As a writer, I can vouch it is a very interesting literary exercise to write from the point of view of a less popular (hell, even a downright despicable) character. They, too, have a story. Sometimes when lecturing in creative writing, I set my budding Hemingways an exercise to take a classic well known fairy tale and write from a lesser character's point of view.
I wasn't actually offended she faked her ancestry, but I thought it a bit sad that she found this a necessity. Therefore, I wasn't going to lose my shit and join the torch-and-pitchfork toting tide of outraged people and demand she be hung, drawn and quartered after relinquishing the award. Here's the thing, guys: the award must be for merit. It doesn't matter who the artist is. The art must speak for itself.
Anyway, I was reading about the new book online yesterday, and someone demanded a boycott. I replied a simple: 'why?' I did not give in to my first reaction, which was to type: 'What the fuck for?'. No. I was genteel and polite. I challenged the boycott-caller in a succinct manner. The person replied because Helen is a 'fraud'. By this reasoning, I replied, so would everyone who wrote under a nom de plume be fraudulent in some way.
Check out these names:
1. 'Tin Tin' by Herge.
2. 'Huckleberry Finn' by Mark Twain.
3. 'Alice in Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.
4. 'Animal Farm' by George Orwell.
All classic works. And guess what else? NONE OF THESE TITLES ARE WRITTEN WITH THE AUTHORS' REAL NAMES! Nope, not one of 'em. It doesn't matter.
So, therefore bleating about this woman using a Ukrainian name is a bit stupid, particularly when the award she won - the Miles Franklin - was named in honour of a WOMAN writing under a MAN'S name. Get where I'm going with this?
Lying about the ancestry is a bit fatuous, but Christ on a bike, most of our politicians are lying so much it's a wonder their noses aren't growing like that of Pinocchio, which ironically is also the work of a person who wrote under a nom de plume (Carlo Collodi).
Now to segue to myself - I write under my own name, which is Simone Bailey, and you can find the links to the first chapters my novels in the bio section of this blog. My fourth is due out soon... ish.
Has anyone checked out Trump's nominee for US ambassador to New Zealand? His name's Scott Brown. There has been a hue and cry because in 1982, as a law student, Brown entered and won the Cosmo Magazine Centerfold contest. (Don't worry, I haven't forgotten how to spell 'centrefold'. Being the American edition of Cosmo, I'm being deferential and culturally aware by using US spelling). Seriously, all you people bleating about this, get over it! It was his bloody choice, wasn't it? And, get this, it was back in 1982, when funnily enough that song 'Centerfold' by J Geils Band was out! He is not the first student to have done something 'not quite nice' to help remain solvent whilst studying, and won't be the last. If you are going to twist your pearls because someone made a decision as a consenting adult to be photographed thirty-five years ago, then for God's sake sit down and have a serious re-think. What's got me bothered is the guy is apparently supportive of the use of waterboarding. This is seriously not okay. He is also the subject of sexual harassment allegations, but I'm not commenting one way or the other on those because at this stage, they are just that: allegations. But the waterboarding? Not cool, Brownie. Not cool at all. Get used to being called Brownie, if you take up a posting in New Zealand. We antipodeans on both sides of the Tasman are good at either shortening names, or suffixing with an '-ie'.
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