George Orwell has long been one of my favorite writers, and I think his works stand the test of time in terms of pertinence and relevance more than most other classic writers. Animal Farm, 1984, and Homage to Catalonia are all timeless works that help us better understand not only governments and revolutions of the 1930s and 1940s, but governments today. In an effort to make Orwell more prominent amongst the younger generation, The Orwell Prize is publishing George Orwell’s diary entries in blog form seventy years to the day after he wrote them, beginning with his entries for August, 1938. You can find the blog here: http://orwelldiaries.wordpress.com/.
I heard about this a few weeks ago on NPR and wanted to check it out. The diary entries are categorized as “domestic” or “political.” It looks at the moment as if most of the stuff on the site is on the domestic side, and the entries read a lot like letters from my grandmother: “Many blackberries now ripe, very large & fairly sweet.” There is commentary on the weather and on animals that Orwell comes across. Apparently the “political” side of the diary begins in early September, so bookmark the site and keep your eyes peeled. I await with interest his original diary entries on the Spanish Civil War and World War II (still a year off, in diary time!).
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I’ll definitely check this out! What a cool idea!