Pen, Page, and People - The History of the Book: Prof. Adam Smyth (Author of “The Book-Makers”)(Ep. 126)
Prof. Adam Smyth
When we think of the history of books, we often neglect the people who created them. We think of history as a figment of facts, connected together by time and advances in technology. But sometimes we overlook the humanity, the souls, the fingerprints in the ink-stained margins of long-forgotten tomes. In this episode, I sit down with Oxford's Prof. Adam Smyth to discuss his Book-Makers: A History of the Book in Eighteen Lives. How a book was made tells us about the people who created it, as well as what the culture valued about books. The way a book was formed changes how we interact with it as well.
Topic:
Humanizing the history of the book - the forgotten lives of the book-makers
The book - a blend of prose and production
How culture influenced the design of books
How hand-printing influences your view of writing
"Do you think the abstract nature and accessibility of text have changed how we view it?"
"What books have had an impact on you?"
"What advice do you have for teenagers?
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Bio:
Adam Smyth is professor of English literature and the history of the book at Balliol College, University of Oxford. He is a regular contributor to the London Review of Books and the TLS. He also runs the 39 Steps Press, a small printing press, which he keeps in a barn in Oxfordshire, England.