As a result of yesterdays chance meeting I receive an email today from AS Byatt’s publisher who herself received an email from AS Byatt and then contacted my agent who had then contacted me. It was a request to attend her book launch.
All this a result of helping someone find direction at Southbank Centre. It’s a beautiful thing. AS Byatt offered an invite to her book launch as a means of thanks I send a mail back to ask if I could take David Akinsanya my friend the documentary film maker. (See Monday’s blog) “AS Byatt would be over the moon if you did” says the publisher.
Myself and David are men who spent all of our childhoods in care. We are invited to the book launch by one of England’s finest writers whom we both met yesterday in different circumstances. AS Byatt’s novel is called The Childrens Book.
As a result of dipping in to your blog I listened to the ipod of Monday's 'start the week'. David Akinsaya is really impressive and it was great to hear him and to gain insight into the world of care and adoption. A.S Byatt was also really interseting to listen to and Hitchens, I love the way these programmes debate issues and you hear the indivdual insights overlap and give rise to new understandings or provoke new questions.
By the way, that issue of sterilization that was raised as a grotesque, hypothetical, extreme 'solution' to a social problem of unwanted, unloved kids, it's actually something that was carried out in the U.S up until the 1970's! It was done to thousands of people considered to be deficient in one way or another. The authorities decided such people shouldn't reproduce and used free health care programmes to carry out steriliztation procedures, under the auspices of treating them for other real or invented conditions.
It doesn't surprise me. Your information regarding steralisation in America. There are other grotesque legal extreme medical practises then and now, including for me the administration of lethal injection as the death penalty.
Good point. Lethal injection is vile cold-bloodied murder by the state.
I must say though I am surprised that more people don't know about what went on in the U.S regarding sterilization, it's like it never happened, how could it have happened at all? And that there isn't more outrage. It's chilling that doctors actually went along with it. You're right of course other horrors are still taking place, but perhaps because they are horrific, we tend to turn away.
Kate