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 JGB NEWS Number 18. August 1992 HELLO, AGAIN Long-standing readers of J. G. Ballard will be surprised to receive this newsletter. It comes from David Pringle, 217 Preston Drove, Brighton UK (note new address -- we moved from Osborne Road in 1991), and is being circulated to a small group of "known" Ballard enthusiasts plus a few strangers who have enquired about my long-defunct newsletter in recent months.) I began JGB News in November 1981 -- initially under the title of News from the Sun (For J. G. Ballard's Readers). That first issue was effectively just a two-page letter to a few friends. Fourteen more issues followed at reasonably regular intervals up until December 1984, by which time the title had been changed to JGB News, the newsletter was up to eight pages in extent (sometimes longer) and the circulation had risen to well over 50 people. At that point I stopped, due to pressure of work on my book Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels (Xanadu, 1985) among other things. Over a year later, in January 1986, I produced a "final" issue (number 16) which was distributed to just a handful of people -- if you are a longtime reader, and didn't get one, please let me know: I can reprint further copies for those particularly interested. Then I let the newsletter lapse, busy as I was with the magazine Interzone and another book, Imaginary People: A Who's Who of Modern Fictional Characters (Grafton, 1987). But people kept writing to me, the Ballard news continued to accumulate, and almost two years later, around Christmas-time of 1987 (when the Spielberg film of Empire of the Sun had just been premiered in America) I suddenly decided to revive the newsletter. I compiled issue 17, all eleven pages of it -- but then was overcome with doubts, didn't print it out, and failed to distribute a single copy to anybody. Quite why, I don't know... I recently rediscovered the text of that issue, transferred it to my new computer, and have now run off a few copies which I'm sending out to the people who receive this new issue. WHY THIS NEWSLETTER IS BACK So why a new issue of JGB News, after a further four-and-a-half years have gone by? The reasons are three-fold: (a) J. G. Ballard continues to write strongly, his literary standing remains very high, and the secondary literature surrounding his work grows ever larger. Someone, somewhere, should be keeping tabs on all this important material. (b) Mainly because of the mention in the Re/Search: J. G. Ballard book (1984), I have never ceased to receive queries about my newsletter from people who are interested in subscribing and/or buying back issues. These arrive, on average, every couple of months, and in the past five or six years I have received many dozens of them. (c) I have, at long last, reverted rights from G. K. Hall & Co. (now a part of Macmillan USA) to my book J. G. Ballard: A Primary and Secondary Bibliography (1984). Yes, it's now out of print! And another publisher has expressed interest in publishing a new, updated and vastly improved edition. In order to compile the necessary information, I need to renew my contacts with dedicated Ballard enthusiasts and collectors around the world. BALLARD'S RECENT WRITINGS The following is a list of all JGB's published writings (which I'm aware of) since JGB News 17 appeared at the end of 1987. Fiction: 1) Running Wild. London: Century Hutchinson, October 1988, 72p., cloth.Illustrated by Janet Woolley. Novella. 2) "The Secret History of World War 3" in Ambit 114 (Autumn 1988): 2-9. Short story. Since reprinted in War Fever, 1990. 3) Memories of the Space Age. Sauk City: Arkham House, 30th December1988, 216p., cloth. Illustrated by Jeffrey K. Potter. Collection; contents: "The Cage of Sand" (1962); "A Question of Re-entry" (1963);"The Dead Astronaut" (1968); "My Dream of Flying to Wake Island"(1974); "News from the Sun" (1981); "Memories of the Space Age"(1982); "Myths of the Near Future" (1982); "The Man Who Walked on the Moon" (1985). 4) "Love in a Colder Climate" in Interview (January 1989). Short story. Since reprinted in The Observer and War Fever, 1990. 5) "The Enormous Space" in Interzone no. 30 (July-August 1989): 12-17. Short story. Since reprinted in Interzone: The 4th Anthology, 1989, and in War Fever, 1990. 6) "The Largest Theme Park in the World" in The Guardian (July 7, 1989):29. Short story. Since reprinted in War Fever, 1990. 7) "War Fever" in Fantasy and Science Fiction (October 1989): 92-111. Short story. Since reprinted in War Fever, 1990. 8) "Jane Fonda's Augmentation Mammoplasty" in Semiotext(e) SF, edited by Rudy Rucker, Peter Lamborn Wilson and Robert Anton Wilson. New York: Semiotext(e), 1989 [i.e. March 1990], p. 133-134. Vignette: an"imaginary operation" piece. 9) "Dream Cargoes" in Shincho, a Japanese-language magazine (September 1990). Short story. Since reprinted in War Fever, 1990, and in Omni magazine (1991). 10) War Fever. London: Collins, 5th November 1990, 176p., cloth. Collection; contents: "War Fever" (1989); "The Secret History of World War 3" (1988); "Dream Cargoes" (1990); "The Object of the Attack" (1984); "Love in a Colder Climate" (1989); "The Largest Theme Park in the World" (1989); "Answers to a Questionnaire" (1985); "The Air Disaster" (1975); "Report on an Unidentified Space Station" (1975); "The Man Who Walked on the Moon" (1985); "The Enormous Space" (1989); "Memories of the Space Age" (1982); "Notes Towards a Mental Breakdown"(1976); "The Index" (1977). 11) "Neil Armstrong Remembers His Journey to the Moon" in Interzone no. 53 (November 1991): 33. Vignette. 12) The Kindness of Women. London: HarperCollins, 26th September 1991, 286p., cloth. Novel. 13) "A Guide to Virtual Death" in Interzone no. 56 (February 1992): 29. Vignette. 14) "The Message from Mars" in Interzone no. 58 (April 1992): 6-10. Short story. 15) "Report from an Obscure Planet" in Leonardo (April? 1992): 96-97. Short story. Non-Fiction: 1) "Scheming with a Smile" in The Guardian (April 22, 1988): 25. Review of Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut. 2) "Escape into the Seraglio" in The Guardian (October 28, 1988): 31. Review of Hockney on Photography: Conversations by Paul Joyce. 3) "My 'Ten Best' SF Movies" in Interzone no. 27 (January- February 1989): 25-27. Reprint under a new title, and very slightly revised, of the 1987 item from American Film (see JGB News no. 17). 4) "The Last of the Great Royals" in The Observer (April 30, 1989): 46. Review of Hirohito: Behind the Myth by Edward Behr. 5) "Walt Disney on Dope" in The Guardian (June 23, 1989): 27. Review of The Andy Warhol Diaries edited by Pat Hackett. 6) "In the Voyeur's Gaze" in The Guardian (August 25, 1989): 23. An article on the work of the artist Edward Hopper. A particularly fine piece, one of Ballard's best-ever essays. 7) "Green Lights" in The Guardian (October 6, 1989): 25. Brief contribution to a symposium in which "Environment Guardian invites prominent figures to say what they have been doing for the environment of late." 8) "Smashing Days on the Road" in The Independent (May 19, 1990): 31. Short piece on the writing of Crash, in a series of essays by various hands entitled "Second Thoughts." 9) "Annotations" in The Atrocity Exhibition, "revised, expanded, annotated, illustrated edition," by J. G. Ballard. San Francisco: Re/Search, August 1990, 140p., paper (followed by limited edition of 400 signed, cloth-bound copies three months later). Copious new notes for this handsome edition: among the most important pieces of non-fiction Ballard has ever written. Highly recommended. 10) "The Sweet Smell of Excess on Sunset Boulevard" in The Independent on Sunday (Sunday Review) (October 10, 1990): 16. Review of Writers in Hollywood, 1915-1951 by Ian Hamilton. 11) "James the Great" in The Guardian (October 11, 1990): 25. Short piece on James Joyce's Ulysses, in a series of brief essays by various hands entitled "First Impressions." 12) "Burlesque Out of Barbed Wire" in The Guardian (November 1, 1990): 23. Review of Ronald Searle by Russell Davies. 13) "Urchin in Pursuit of the Parade" in The Guardian (January 17, 1991): 23. Review of Stanley Spencer: A Biography by Kenneth Pople. 14) "After Magritte, Tilly and the Tissue Paper" in The Guardian (February 14, 1991): 25. Review of Edward James: A Surrealist Life by John Lowe and Poted: The Final Quest of Edward James by Philip Purser. 15) "Days Strung on a Syringe with a Thread of Blood" in The Independenton Sunday (Sunday Review) (February 24, 1991): 23. Review of Literary Outlaw: The Life and Times of William S. Burroughs by Ted Morgan. 16) "Old Bloodshed, as If in a Dream" in The Guardian (February 28, 1991): 25. Review of Images of War: The Artist's Vision of World War II edited by Ken McCormick and Hamilton Darby Perry. 17) "Erotica's First and Finest Working-Class Hero" in The Independent on Sunday (Sunday Review) (March 10, 1991): 24. Review of Henry Miller by Robert Ferguson. 18) "Push-button Death in the Ultimate Autogeddon" in The Guardian (March 14, 1991): 25. Review of From Hanoi to Hollywood: The Vietnam War in American Film edited by Linda Dittmar and Gene Michaud. 19) "How to Tear a Strip off a Culture" in The Guardian (March 21, 1991): 28. Review of The Encyclopedia of American Comics: From 1897 to the Present edited by Ron Goulart and The International Book of Comics edited by Denis Gifford. 20) "Chainsaw Biomassacre in Glorious Horoscope" in The Guardian (April 25,1991): 26. Review of Nancy Reagan: The Unauthorised Biography by Kitty Kelley. 21) "Still Life on a Virgin Canvas" in The Guardian (May 23, 1991): 25. Review of Learning to Look: An Autobiography by John Pope-Hennessy. 22) "Sex Without the Hollywood Rule Book" in The Guardian (May 30, 1991): 23. Review of Brando: A Life in Our Times by Richard Schickel and Mae West: Empress of Sex by Maurice Leonard. 23) "Journey Through the Touchstone City" in The Guardian (June 13, 1991): 25. Review of Paris and the Surrealists by George Melly. 24) "Lautrec with Strychnine" in The Guardian (June 27, 1991): 25. Review of The Letters of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec edited by Herbert D. Schimmel. 25) "The Maverick Who Found Inspiration in Defeat" in The Guardian (August 1, 1991): 24. Review of The Warrior's Camera: The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa by Stephen Prince. 26) "Unlocking the Past" in The Daily Telegraph Weekend (September 21, 1991): 1. A fascinating article about Ballard's experience of revisiting Shanghai for the making of the BBC Television "Bookmark" programme. 27) "The Lure of the Madding Crowd" in The Independent on Sunday (Sunday Review) (September 22, 1991): 28. Review of The Faber Book of Madness edited by Roy Porter. 28) "Small Man as Victim of Mob Psychology" in The Guardian (October 10, 1991): 27. Review of Little Man: Meyer Lansky and the Gangster Life by Robert Lacey. 29) "A Response to the Invitation to Respond" in Science-Fiction Studies no. 55 (November 1991): 329. Half-page response to Jean Baudrillard's essay on Crash and the writings of other critics. Taken from a letter to the editor. 30) "Sermons from the Mount" in The Sunday Times ["Books" section] (November 10, 1991): 5. Review of Fates Worse Than Death by Kurt Vonnegut. 31) "Books of the Year" in Weekend Telegraph (November 23, 1991): XXV. Very brief contribution to this round-robin item, in which Ballard commends In Search of Conrad by Gavin Young. 32) "Second Growth Coca-Cola: J. G. Ballard Upholds the Art of Winemanship from Cask to Glass to Palate -- to After-Effect" in Weekend Telegraph (November 23, 1991): XXXII. Review of New Classic Wines by Oz Clarke, Wine Atlas of Australia and New Zealand by James Halliday, Superplonk by Malcolm Gluck, The Sunday Telegraph Good Wine Guide by Robert Joseph, Lateral Wine Tasting by Rosemary George, The Good Hotel Guide: Britain and Western Europe -- Also Morocco and Turkey by Hilary Rubinstein, and The Faber Book of Drink, Drinkers and Drinking edited by Simon Rae. 33) "Minstrels and the Tommy-Gun" in Weekend Telegraph (January 25, 1992): XXX. Review of 'Bonjour Blanc': A Journey Through Haiti by Ian Thomson. 34) "J. G. Ballard" in The Pleasure of Reading edited by Antonia Fraser. London: Bloomsbury, February 1992, paper, p. 90-95. Article in which Ballard commends the following ten works: The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West, Collected Short Stories by Ernest Hemingway, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by S. T. Coleridge, The Annotated Alice edited by Martin Gardner, The World Through Blunted Sight by Patrick Trevor-Roper, The Naked Lunch by William Burroughs, The Black Box edited by Malcolm MacPherson, the Los Angeles Yellow Pages, America by Jean Baudrillard, and The Secret Life of Salvador Dali. [Note: this book was presented free to all employees of W. H. Smith in February 1992, to commemorate that company's 200th anniversary; due to go on general sale about August or September 1992?] 35) "Survival Instincts" in The Sunday Times ["Books" section] (March 1, 1992): 9. Review of Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang. 36) "The Avian Equivalent of the Gold Rolex" in Weekend Telegraph (March 7, 1992): XXVI. Review of The Ant and the Peacock: Altruism and Sexual Selection from Darwin to Today by Helena Cronin. 37) "On the Shabby Carousel of the Sixties" in Weekend Telegraph (May 9, 1992): XXVII. Review of 1963: Five Hundred Days --History as Melodrama by John Lawton. 38) "Opinions: Should the 'Friendly Fire' Pilots be Blamed?" in Independent on Sunday (May 24, 1992): 22. Brief contribution to this round-robin. 39) "Sinister Spider?" in Weekend Telegraph (June 27, 1992): XIX. Review of Dragon Lady: The Life and Legend of the Last Empress of China by Sterling Seagrave. 40) "Rituals of a Skinny-Dipper" in Weekend Telegraph (July 4, 1992): XIX. Review of Haunts of the Black Masseur: The Swimmer as Hero by Charles Strawson. The above list contains all the non-fiction I know about, but there may be one or two items missing. I showed an earlier version to J. G. Ballard, and in a letter to me dated 13/8/92 he says: "The only missing book reviews are a few I've done for the Daily Telegraph this year [since added by me -- DP] and one last year in the New York Times [I don't have this: can anyone help trace it? -- DP]. Incidentally, none of the titles in the Guardian, Independent, Daily Telegraph, etc., were mine -- all were the editors'. Years ago, when I was reviewing for the Guardian, New Statesman, etc., I thought up almost all the titles ("The Elephant and the Quasar" etc.), but for some reason I stopped doing this a few years ago -- mental laziness, probably." Obviously, I'd be grateful if readers could bring any missing items to my attention: cuttings or photocopies appreciated. MORE INTERVIEW FRAGMENTS My fifth and most recent interview with JGB was conducted at his home in Shepperton, Middlesex, on 14th November 1988 -- the day before his 58th birthday. As with the previous interview, done about 15 months earlier (see the last JGB News), I have a few "offcuts" to bring you. A version of this 1988 interview was published in two parts in the late unlamented Fear magazine in 1990, and the following are some passages they dropped: DP: Do you know that Stephen King in his non-fiction book Danse Macabre included your Concrete Island in a list of his favourite horror novels? JGB: No, I didn't know that. I'm glad he enjoyed the book. I hardly know modern horror fiction, so I probably have an inaccurate impression of what it is. I've seen adaptations of horror novels on the TV screen; whether they're faithful I've no idea. DP: You've been criss-crossing the Atlantic recently, haven't you? JGB: I went to Canada in October 1987 for the launch of The Day of Creation (the American edition wasn't published until May of the following year). I spent about twelve days in Toronto and Vancouver. I came back, and then went to the States for the Spielberg movie premiere in December, then back again in May 1988 for the US Day of Creation launch -- a five-city tour. I'd been to Canada and the States in the 1950s, but never to New York or Los Angeles, mostly to Detroit, Buffalo, Niagara Falls. I knew Toronto well, but I did not recognize a single thing except the old 1920s Royal York Hotel, which was then the biggest building in town and is now totally dwarfed by vast skyscrapers. It was an exhilarating trip -- although the American trip was fascinating too: I thoroughly enjoyed that. Miami was wonderful, Chicago very interesting, San Francisco was a mini-tour of its own because I spent three or four days there and went across the Bay to Berkeley and then down to Palo Alto and San Jose. I was doing short readings, followed by one-hour question-and-answer sessions in the bookshops, and then a signing. I didn't expect very large attendances. It was amazing, the huge crowds that turned up -- there must have been 150-200 people. In Berkeley I think they had 400 people in two large rooms, people packed in every corner. And it was a very knowledgable crowd -- they weren't just asking me about Spielberg. They were familiar with my stuff, which did surprise me. But in every other respect, [America] was exactly what I expected. I don't think I was quite prepared for the stunning beauty of a city like Miami -- that is a beautiful city, and the areas around Miami, particularly to the south. There were banyan trees as wide as this house, growing at hundred-yard intervals along the roads. And the lushness of the tropical landscape -- but I've written about the excitements of satellite dishes among palm trees on sand bars, and all that sort of thing. I came back from the States after the Spielberg premiere in December, and I'd already arranged a lot of interviews for Warners over here -- they were gearing up to do the movie's European launch publicity. I wrote Running Wild very quickly. It took me about six weeks, and I only just got it done in time because most of January and all through February I was doing interviews -- they were coming almost every day, from British and European papers and magazines. So I scarcely had time to think. It wasn't until I went off on holiday in June that I was able to start thinking about what I would do next. I knocked off two little stories, and I'm thinking over a new novel now. It's nice to get back to being a writer again. The novel which Ballard was "thinking over" in November 1988 was of course The Kindness of Women (1991), and his recent trips to America form the basis of some of the events in its last chapter. JGB'S MEDIA COVERAGE I intend to continue the chronological listing of interviews, TV and radio appearances, reviews, critical articles and other interesting secondary material which I began in JGB News issues 14, 15 and 17 ("reprint" copies of which may still be obtained from me at £1 [$2] each). But there's a vast amount of stuff to cover, and there isn't space to do more than make a small beginning in this issue. So here are details of some recently published interviews and profiles only (TV and radio to follow next issue): 1) "Ballard" by John Wilde, in Blitz no. 58 (October 1987): 83-86.Profile/interview. 2) "J. G. Ballard: Traveller in Hyper-Reality" by Jim McClellan and Steve Beard, in i-D Magazine no. 53 (November 1987): 68-71. Profile/interview. 3) "The Strange Visions of J. G. Ballard" by Jonathan Cott, in Rolling Stone (November 19, 1987): 77-78, 80, 127. Profile/interview. 4) "J. G. Ballard: Abandoned Worlds, Fantasy Landscapes" by Adam Pirani, in Starlog, no. 126 (January 1988): 28-31, 58. Profile/interview. 5) "Ballard Finds No Flaws in Film Made from his Novel" by Ted Mahar, in Sunday Oregonian (January 10, 1988): E4. Brief interview about the movie. 6) "J. G. Ballard" by Michele Field, in Publishers Weekly (March 11, 1988): 82-84. Profile/interview. 7) "Spielberg Backs into the Future" by Lindsay Mackie, in The Scotsman (March 14, 1988): 11. Profile/interview about the movie. 8) "The Sun Landing" by Julian Petley, in The Guardian (March 17, 1988): 33. Profile/interview. 9) "Free Association" by Anthony Denselow, in The Sunday Times Magazine (March 20, 1988): 11-13. Interview with JGB and his daughter Fay. Fascinating material. 10) "Visions of Dystopia" by Paul Rambali, in The Face no. 96 (April 1988): 50-53. Profile/interview. 11) "A Tale of Time and the River" by Paul Gray, in Time (April 25, 1988): 50-51. Profile/interview, incorporating a review of The Day of Creation. 12) "Film Man in Secret Torment" in Sunday Sport (May 1, 1988): ?. A hilarious little tabloid item which is worth quoting here in full: "The man behind box office smash Empire of the Sun is living a secret hell. While the Spielberg movie epic is raking in the millions, sad author Jim Ballard: * lives alone in a small semi-detached house in Shepperton; * suffers from exhaustion; * spends lonely evenings drinking scotch. 'When you live alone, however many close friends or love affairsone has, you still feel a sense of emptiness,' confessed the forlorn 58-year-old. 'A lot of people, myself included, when their children grow up, feel a huge vacuum.' Lonely Jim -- who penned the novel on which the hit movie is based -- lost his wife in 1964. The writer genius has two daughters." 13) "A Conversation with J. G. Ballard" by James Verniere, in Twilight Zone vol. 8, no. 2 (June 1988): 46-50, 89. 14) "J. G. Ballard: Interview with a Visionary" by Paul S. Brownfield, in North Beach NOW (Summer 1988): 11. 15) "J. G. Ballard: Literary Terrorist" in Locus no. 332 (September 1988):7, 78. Brief interview presumably conducted by Charles N. Brown, the magazine's editor. 16) "Weird Science" by Julian Dibbell, in Spin (January 1989): 51, 53, 75. Profile/interview. 17) "The Expert's Expert: Science Fiction Writers" by Maxim Jakubowski, in The Observer Magazine (April 16, 1989): 12-13. Piece consisting of brief interviews with various sf writers, asking who is their favourite fellow sf writer. Ballard commends Ray Bradbury, Michael Moorcock, William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. Other interviewees here include Brian Aldiss, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Bob Shaw and Ian Watson. Aldiss emerges as the "winner," the sf writer's sf writer. 18) "Goodbye, Dali" by Richard Kadrey, in Science Fiction Eye no. 5 (July 1989): 58-60. Brief interview about Salvador Dali. 19) "Memoirs for a Space Age" Parts 1 & 2, by David Pringle, in Fear no.14 (February 1990), pp. 26-27; and no. 15 (March 1990): 26-27. Interview which was chopped in half by the magazine's editor and run in two parts. 20) "More Stories About Buildings and Mood" by Richard Kadrey, in Science Fiction Eye no. 6 (February 1990): 54-55. Brief interview about architecture. 21) "Tales from the Dark Side" by Luc Sante, in The New York Times Magazine (September 9, 1990): 58, 94-96. Profile/ interview. 22) "Pictures from an Atrocity Exhibition" by John Clute, in The Sunday Times ["Books" section] (November 11, 1990): 14. Interview to mark JGB's 60th birthday and the publication of War Fever. 23) "Ballard's Anatomy" by Paul Di Filippo, in Science Fiction Eye no. 8 (Winter 1991): 66-75. Very amusing interview conducted by mail. 24) "My Choice: The Novelist J. G. Ballard" by James Delingpole, in Weekend Telegraph (July 13, 1991): XIX. Brief interview in which Ballard talks about likes and dislikes; among other things, he commends Stephen Frears' film The Grifters. 25) "Ballard and the Women" in The Bookseller (August 16, 1991): 405-406. Short anonymous interview about The Kindness of Women. 26) "Into the Mainstream?" by Richard Kadrey and David Pringle, in Interzone no. 51/MILLION no. 5 [i.e. combined issue of two magazines] (September 1991): 14-20. Interview conducted in two sessions in the USA and the UK in 1988; it was originally intended for publication in Omni, but never appeared there. 27) "Bloody Saturday and After" by David Blow, in Waterstone's New Books Winter 1991 (n.d.: autumn 1991?): 36-37. Short interview about The Kindness of Women. 28) "Provocative Pen" by Clare Boylan, in The Guardian (September 5, 1991): 28. Short interview in a series entitled "Writers at Work." 29) "Alien at Home" by Lynn Barber, in Independent on Sunday (Sunday Review) (September 15, 1991): 2-4. Interview about The Kindness of Women, and another fine piece by the woman who lately has become Britain's star interviewer of celebrities (it's her fourth interview with JGB). 30) "Riverside Demons" by Andrew Billen, in The Observer (September 15, 1991): 62. Interview about The Kindness of Women. 31) "A Futurist with an Urge to Exorcise" by Ian Thomson, in The Independent (September 21, 1991): 28. Interview about The Kindness of Women. 32) "Out of the Shelter" by Paul Pickering, in The Sunday Times ["Books" section] (September 22, 1991): 6-7. Interview about The Kindness of Women. 33) "Fictional Identity: J. G. Ballard Considered as a Condensed Novel" by Steve Beard, in i-D Magazine no. 97 (October 1991): 74-75. Interview cast in the form of a mock-Ballardian story. 34) "Maximum Exposure" by Stuart Bathgate, in Scotland on Sunday (October 6, 1991): 36. Short interview about The Kindness of Women. 35) "Walking on the Thames" by Stan Nicholls, in Blast! (November? 1991): 28-29. Short interview about The Kindness of Women. 36) "The House Where I Grew Up" by Elizabeth Dunn, in Telegraph Magazine (November 9, 1991): 90. Short interview in which Ballard reminisces about his childhood in Shanghai. 37) "J. G. Ballard, at Home With His Furies" by David Streitfeld, in International Herald Tribune (January 9, 1992): ?. Short interview about The Kindness of Women. 38) "The Warrior on Film" by Matthew Leonard, in ABC Radio 24 Hours (January 1992): 46-48, 53. Interview with JGB on the subject of Akira Kurosawa's films. 39) "Psych-Fi: J. G. Ballard's Startling Visions of the Future" by Rick Slaughter, in 21.C Magazine no. 5 (Autumn [i.e. Spring] 1992): 78-81, 94-96. Interview concerned with the study of the future. 21.C, subtitled "Previews of a Changing World," is "the magazine of the Australian Commission for the Future." 40) "Favourite Things: From Shanghai to Shepperton" by Lindsay Fulcher, in The Lady (May 26-June 1, 1992): 74. Short interview in which Ballard commends Moby Dick as his favourite novel, Graham Greene as his favourite novelist, Los Angeles as his favourite city, Sunset Boulevard as his favourite movie, etc. Enough. Many thanks to people who have sent me cuttings and photocopies in the past few years (especially Jonathan Benison and Mark Jones). Again, the above list is probably incomplete, especially as regards material published overseas. I'd be grateful for photocopies of anything I've missed, including foreign-language interviews. NEW BOOK ON BALLARD As I say, there's no space to cover recent reviews of JGB, critical articles about his work, and other secondary material in this issue -- next time, I hope. However, there is one book-length item which I have yet to see but must mention here: Out of the Night and Into the Dream: A Thematic Study of the Fiction of J. G. Ballard by Gregory Stephenson. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, late 1991, cloth, 200p. "Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction and Fantasy #47." A substantial study of Ballard's work up to and including Running Wild (1988). FUTURE ISSUES I hope to produce JGB News three or four times a year from now on: the next issue will certainly be out before Christmas 1992 but I shan't be more specific than that. Possibly it will include a hitherto-unpublished article by JGB which dates from the 1960s -- a "find" which Mike Ashley sent me. I hope it will also contain letters of comment from readers, as well as more detailed bibliography and news. (If you're writing to me, please note that I'll consider letters to be quotable unless you state otherwise; I shall exercise discretion in any case, but you should put "Do Not Quote" against any paragraph which you definitely don't want me to use.) I am deliberately keeping the circulation of this newsletter very limited. If you wish to receive the next issue, please: Either: send me relevant cuttings, photocopies or a "useable" letter of comment... If in doubt as to whether or not I may want a particular item, please feel free to phone me on 0273-504710. Or: send me payment of £2 (inland); £3 (overseas; $5 USA). Thanks in advance, and best wishes for now! David Pringle, 217 Preston Drove, Brighton BN1 6FL, UK
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