The Daily Novel

Did you notice the interview of Robert Persig by Tim Adams in Sunday’s Observer? I think it is the best example since Terry Coleman of the Big Interview article which gives the reader the full context. It reveals the questions that produced the responses by the interviewee. And in a style that is much more readable and revealing than the conventional question and answer format.

Even more interesting The Observer posted the full 9,000 word transcript of interview so that readers can judge for themselves issues like journalistic bias or quotes taken out of context. All journalism students should read it. The linkis are in my previous blog, Egg and the art of motorcycle maintenance.

It raised my curiousity as to what has Coleman has been doing since. According to the link to his agent he has been writing novels and controversial biographies of Nelson and Olivier. Curiosity impelled me further. Two reviews of the Olivier article popped up in Google. Christopher Sylvester in The Sunday Times thought it brilliant with lots of the stuff on his heterosexual love affairs. Anthony Holden rubbished it in The Observer His line was that because the biography was authorised by the family Colemen had censored the evidence of his several gay affairs, which Holden had revealed in his own earlier biography.

The question is did Coleman participate in a cover-up or were Holden’s contacts lying to him or guessing? Did Coleman ever reply?