Tom speaks out at NPR
April 7th, 2010
Tom’s radio commentary on the Thomas Jefferson/Texas Textbook controversy runs multiple times today (April 7) on NPR Morning Edition, about 500,000 listeners according to the rating services. Although this story stems from the Texas school curriculum, it has run on all the national media and cable news shows since the whole textbook industry follows Texas guidelines.
Tom says: It’s been awhile since I’ve done one of these: with all the fiction writing I promised myself I would not do another one unless something really enraged me, and here it is. To read and/or listen (audio will be posted only after the news show is over today at 9am Central time):
Click here for the text.
There is an SF component to this 3:30 spoken-word piece: I open with a quote from Orwell’s 1984 and tried to emulate his radical voice.
Thanks to everyone at NTSFW workshop who helped me on the edits in less than 24 hours. This form of only 500 words or less is VERY difficult, almost like a poem where you have to account for every syllable. It takes over ten minutes per word to do it justice.
I’m amazed they let me get away with the last line (you’ll have to listen to it): most people who the critiqued original draft liked the idea, but many thought it was over the top and would be cut by the News Director. If you read Chuck Palnhiuk’s PYGMY, he also uses this quote in the front piece and at the end, and it did inspire me. As Marshall McLuhan said, “Art is whatever you can get away with,” and I feel lucky to have slipped this one in.
Enjoy!
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