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A Question of AttitudeWhat's That Thing?A Sorry StatePrivate Views Private Views: Voices from the Front Line of British Culture is available to order from the Social Affairs Unit and Amazon. Arts Council: Managed to Death
NCF TVDirector Peter Whittle hosted over forty editions of Culture Clash, a half hour cultural discussion programme, which ran for a year on the UK's first internet TV site, 18 Doughty Street.  There was a huge diversity of subject matter, and you can view any one of the programmes by clicking here, where you'll find a brief description of each one. My Cultural LifeMy Cultural Life explores the cultural hinterland of figures in our creative, political and social landscape in ten quick fire questions. Society & PoliticsCulture |
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Future EventsRuth Mackenzie
Further details of the event, which will be held at the NCF offices at 55 Tufton Street, London SW1, will be posted shortly. Posted in Future Events login to post comments Submitted by peterwhittle on Wed, 2010-05-05 14:41.NCF EventYou are invited to hear Pascal Bruckner
author of The Tyranny of Guilt - An Essay in Western Masochism on Monday 19th April at 6.30pm at 55 Tufton Street, Westminster, London SW1P 3QL 'With eloquence, relish, and confidence, Pascal Bruckner confronts those whose morbid addiction to self-blame has begun to flirt with the suicidal.' Christopher Hitchens RSVP to prwhittle@btinternet.com 'The West has no shortage of reasons for guilt. And, indeed, since the Holocaust and the end of World War II, Europeans in particular have been consumed by remorse. But Pascal Bruckner argues that guilt has now gone too far. It has become a pathology, and even an obstacle to fighting today's atrocities. Bruckner, one of France's leading writers and public intellectuals, argues that obsessive guilt has obscured important realities. The West has no monopoly on evil, and has destroyed monsters as well as created them--leading in the abolition of slavery, renouncing colonialism, building peaceful and prosperous communities, and establishing rules and institutions that are models for the world. The West should be proud--and ready to defend itself and its values.' Pascal Bruckner is the award-winning author of eighteen books of fiction and nonfiction, including the novel Bitter Moon, which was made into a film by Roman Polanski. His other books include The Temptation of Innocence and The Tears of the White Man (Free Press) and the novels The Divine Child (Little, Brown) and Evil Angels (Grove). "In telling the West not to die of guilt, Pascal Bruckner has laid himself open to attack from all those who think it should. But this essential book, subtly argued and scholarly though it is, has a simple formulation at its heart that would be enough by itself to convey the power of his case: the West didn't invent slavery, the West invented its abolition. His ability to focus light on propositions like that makes him one of the indispensable philosophers of our time."--Clive James Posted in Future Events login to post comments Submitted by peterwhittle on Fri, 2010-04-02 08:37.NCF EventYou are invited to hear Martin Amis
in conversation with NCF director Peter Whittle on Wednesday April 7th at 7pm at the Royal Society of Arts, 8 John Adam Street London WC2N 6EZ Martin Amis, the UK's premier novelist, will be discussing feminism and the sexual revolution, the themes raised in his latest, critically praised book, The Pregnant Widow. The year is 1970, and the youth of Europe are in the chaotic, ecstatic throes of the sexual revolution. Though blindly dedicated to the cause, its nubile foot soldiers have yet to realize this disturbing truth: that between the death of one social order and the birth of another, there exists a state of terrifying purgatory—or, as Alexander Herzen put it, a pregnant widow. The talk will be followed by an audience Q and A. Copies of The Pregnant Widow will be on sale. RSVP to prwhittle@btinternet.com or 0208 854 4514 (nearest tube stations for the RSA are Charing X and Embankment) Posted in Future Events login to post comments Submitted by peterwhittle on Wed, 2010-03-17 10:06.Save the Date: Pascal Bruckner
Further details of the event will be posted soon. "With controlled anger, Pascal Bruckner scrutinizes European civilization and unsparingly tells the truth, no matter how congenial: Europe is worth admiring and emulating. Its spirit of critical inquiry has produced a culture of tolerance, liberalism, and learning. Its historical sins of omission and commission are legion, yet its values have allowed us to supersede them. In attacking a republican heresy of guilt without accountability, Bruckner chooses the right target and to great effect. This is a bracing call for the universality of republican ideals."--Oliver Kamm, columnist and editorial writer for The Times. "In telling the West not to die of guilt, Pascal Bruckner has laid himself open to attack from all those who think it should. But this essential book, subtly argued and scholarly though it is, has a simple formulation at its heart that would be enough by itself to convey the power of his case: the West didn't invent slavery, the West invented its abolition. His ability to focus light on propositions like that makes him one of the indispensable philosophers of our time." - Clive James "Bruckner's writing combines wit, learning, and savage indignation. The result is a brilliant defense of liberalism and a deservedly contemptuous assault on all those intellectuals who have betrayed its best values."--Nick Cohen, author of What's Left?: How the Left Lost Its Way Posted in Future Events login to post comments Submitted by peterwhittle on Tue, 2010-02-16 09:46.
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Ruth Mackenzie, who was appointed director of the 
Another date for your diary: on Monday April 19th, the French writer Pascal Bruckner will be talking to the NCF about the themes of his latest book