Let's go to something that you have stated in previous interviews: "It's quite obvious that there are certain creative activities which, if undertaken by writers and producers in the interests of this show, are permissible, but which, if undertaken by others, are not".
Probably my favorite American concept (and I realize that this might sound a bit cheesy, but it's true nonetheless) is that of the contemporary short story as serious fiction, as work that deserves to be undertaken by writers and received by readers with as great an intensity as if not with a greater intensity than that which in France is reserved for the novel.
The question must be asked of any writer undertaking this enterprise: Are you trying to horrify your like-minded readers or enlighten them?
The tour is an inspired idea, but, I suggest, surely a daunting undertaking for a writer who is a stone's throw away from turning 70? Atwood appears impervious to the expectations – and gravitational wear and tear – associated with her age.
One of Mr. Ostler's most fascinating chapters deals with the self-conscious program undertaken by Latin writers to replicate the achievements of the Greek philosophers, playwrights and poets, a process that lasted centuries and required trailblazers like Cicero to coin words like "qualitas" (literally "how-ness") to make Latin express abstractions.
The writer currently undertaking this challenge is Kamila Shamsie, author of the novels In the City by the Sea, Kartography (both shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize), Salt and Saffron, Broken Verses and Burnt Shadows which was shortlisted for the Orange Prize.
It was an incredible undertaking, from the amazing writers at Fringe to the animation production that is both steeped in tradition and groundbreaking".
Moreover, can writing still be undertaken - and indeed, writers be formed - within a 'national' culture?
The Observer and the OFNS also periodically commissioned notable writers to "undertake special tours abroad".
The writer undertakes to give the case in its favor.
