Alpha Bulletin 3, Season XIII.
Hi Alphas,
Welcome to Alphaday 3. I’m pleased to announce that we’ve now got the Alpha machinery in full swing and every part of it is running ever so smoothly. This time you’ll be treated to the full Alpha agenda provided by our inspired and efficient editorial team, our columnists and our contributors. In other words (as the more perspicacious amongst you have already sussed out) this includes every one of us. We’re an interactive group and all the writerly goodies are penned by Alphas… which is why they’re so interesting.
Today’s agenda is as follows:
- Alpha Bulletin 3 from me
- The results of the Rain challenge from Olaf
- The collated entries for the Literary challenge from Sue
- The brief for challenge 3 from Morgen
- The Log from Sally
- A Writers’ Reads prompt from Morgen
- Perhaps… a showcasing piece from Suzanne
That should be plenty to stimulate your writerly minds and make you want to share some of your thoughts with the rest of us.
No special Alpha news has come to my ears of late; the Log will bring us up to date. I will mention, however, that Morgen has just moved house. Some of us may consider that one of the most chaotic, unsettling experiences to go through, but Morgen is on the ball with all her Alpha tasks in spite of the house move; and she’s taken quite a lot on this time. Take a round of applause, Morgen!
General news. I don’t enjoy watching football and similar team games; the only sport I watch with enthusiasm is tennis. I think that’s because the player’s personality is so much a part of their game, that the unforced error that should never have happened upsets me. In fact I tend to root for the underdog. I love it when my favourite rising star beats the top player, and I’m full of admiration for the winners. As for my own tennis, well, the less said…
It’s the same with literary prizes. The winner’s personality determines to a large degree whether I cheer for them or not… and I love the underdog factor.
Three major prizes have been dished out recently, and I’ve cheered for them all. Margaret Atwood won the Pen Pinter Prize, Bob Dylan the Nobel Prize, and Paul Beatty the Booker Prize. This, to me, is almost as exciting as Alpha successes!
Now Margaret Atwood and Bob Dylan have been world famous for about half a century each and they’re probably richer than they’d like to boast about in public. But the underdog factor is definitely there. The Pen Pinter Prize was awarded to Margaret Atwood for her “fierce intellectual determination … to define the real truths of our lives and our societies” (Pinter’s words) and she’s received praise for defending causes like feminism, the environment, repression of artists. It’s all there in her literary output, and also in her public appearances as an activist.
The Nobel Prize for Literature is awarded to somebody for their “commitment and vision”. Apparently, giving it to Bob Dylan has “redefined the boundaries of literature”. (A former winner was TS Eliot.) Bob Dylan has published six volumes of his songs plus part one of his memoirs and a book of prose poetry. His career started with a strong commitment to the cause of the underdog and he took part in marches and demonstrations for what he believed in. He also expressed it in his poetry – and whatever genre you care to assign it to takes nothing away from its poignancy and beauty. The delay before he accepted the prize reminded me of an incident I used in last year’s music article challenge. It looks like he hasn’t changed one bit!
Paul Beatty who won the Booker Prize is an African-American whose book The Sellout is a satirical take on racism and discrimination in the US. Apparently it’s hilariously funny. He’s already won a prize for it over there and his other novels (2 more) have had good reviews. He won his first prize as a slam poet. The underdog factor is in his theme: racism. And good luck with that; I’ll cheer him on and I’ve put The Sellout on my must-read list.
Christine