GBS

Invitation to Shaw Talk

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This entry was posted on 2/2/2007 11:37 AM and is filed under General.

With the launching of this blog by the International Shaw Society, you are invited to comment on G. B. Shaw's works, ask questions about them, post announcements about play productions, post reviews of play productions, and in general contribute to a discussion of this important Irish playwright and his writings.    If you are sufficiently interested in Shaw, you might further find becoming a member of the ISS worthwhile, for it will connect you with an international web of kindred spirits.   Go to www.shawsociety.org to find a link to a membership application form and a statement of benefits of membership.  

R. F. Dietrich
President, International Shaw Society
 

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    • 3/2/2007 12:30 PM R F Dietrich wrote:
      Subscribing.
      Reply to this
    • 3/2/2007 2:21 PM Michael McAlister wrote:
      Preparing the text for an upcoming exhibit of "Shaviana", the location and dates for which I will publish when finalized, put me in mind of how important Shaw's works remain to this day. I am referring not just to his plays, but also his many speaches, letters, essays and books. I am continually amazed at the works of Shaw's that I'd never known existed, like his essay THE CRIME of IMPRISONMENT.
      At a time when the United States is incarcerating a larger percentage of its own population than ever before, and shows no sign of slowing this practice, Shaw's words ring so true: "Imprisonment as it exists today is a worse crime than any of those committed by its victims; for no single criminal can be as powerful for evil, or as unrestrained in its exercise as an organized nation." (Shaw, Bernard. THE CRIME OF IMPRISONMENT. New York, NY: New York Philosophical Library, 1946.)
      Or consider the more well known work, COMMON SENSE ABOUT THE WAR,(London: Statesman & Co., 1914)
      written in 1914 as an early and emphatic response to WWI, in which Shaw "suggests that the soldiers on both sides shoot their brutal, aggressive, aristocratic officers and go home." (Weintraub, Stanley. JOURNEY TO HEARTBREAK:THE CRUCIBLE YEARS OF BERNARD SHAW, 1914-1918. New York, NY: Weybridge and Talley, 1971.pg.57)
      Makes you wonder what he would have suggested with regards to Mssrs. Bush & Cheney.
      On a humorous note, there are also items like his address to the Academy of Political Science on April 11, 1933 in New York, which was broadcast live on the NBC Radio Network and then reprinted in the next day's New York Times. One of a number of un-authorized editions of the speech exists that was published later that year titled: AMERICAN BOOBS: THE COMPLETE TEXT OF THE GREAT BRITISH SATIRIST'S NEW YORK ADDRESS ON BANKSTERS, 100% AMERICANS, ORATORS, CONSTITUTIONS, PRIVATE CZARS, DICTATORS, HOLLYWOOD, MORMON POLYGAMY, POLITICIANS, NEWSPAPERS, STOCKBROKERS, LUNATICS, WAR DEBTS, RUSSIAN COMMUNISM, RACKETEERING AND MANY OTHER LIVELY TOPICS. (Shaw, Bernard. AMERICAN BOOBS. Hollywood, CA: E.O. Jones, 1933.)
      What are your favorite works by Shaw? Have you come across something that you never knew existed, that you want to suggest to all of us that find both inspiration and solace in his writings?
      Let's spread the word-Shaw wrote on so many subjects, pertaining to all aspects of life-share the wealth and suggest a title.
      And a big thanks to Prof. Dietrich for providing this forum.
      This was my first time ever contributing to a blog.
      Reply to this
    • 3/3/2007 10:16 AM Alex Seabrook wrote:
      Michael, this is a very interesting comment. Shaw knew a lot about quite a few things, and something about very many things. I believe that you would enjoy reading his many volumes of correspondence especially!
      Reply to this
    • 3/3/2007 6:30 PM Tony Courier wrote:
      Dick,
      Thanks for starting this blog. It should be a great way for ISS members and others to share information, ideas and questions about Shaw and everything Shaw related.
      I'm pleased to see that Michael McAlister of ShawChicago was the first to respond. He, along with Artistic Director Bob Scogin and several of their long time actors are so well studied in the words of GBS that they should be able to become regular contributors to this blog.
      Reply to this
    • 3/11/2007 8:34 AM Jean Reynolds wrote:
      I'm going to be in London for a couple of days at the end of May and the beginning of June. Are any Shaw performances planned during that time? (Incidentally, I've been buying books at Amazon to prepare for the trip. Typing in ShawChicago.org first and using the Amazon link generates income for the theater program there.)
      Reply to this
    • 3/22/2007 12:40 AM Paul Linden wrote:
      Hello to everyone on the ISS,

      I am a law student assisting with citation of a law review article. My author quotes GBS as saying "democracy is a device that ensures that the people are governed no better than they deserve."

      However, he is not able to cite to a source for this quote. My initial search discovered that this is not a quote from any of GBS's works, but several (online) sources quote him as saying it.

      I'm hoping that someone will be able to point me to a source verifying this quote. An acceptable source must be in print, i.e. a book of quotes, a book about GBS etc... and will let me know what the exact quote was and when he said it. I cannot cite an internet source.

      Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.

      Please respond to lindenp1@nku.edu
      Reply to this

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