(Spotlight4735)Graham Greene 29 August, 2011
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Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Adam Navis.
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And I'm Robin Basselin. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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Literature scholar François Gallix made a discovery in 2009. He found it at the University of Texas in the city of Austin in the United States of America. But what was his discovery? It was an unfinished book, by the famous British writer Graham Greene!
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Today's Spotlight is on the writer Graham Greene. He wrote many stories. These stories explored questions of faith, morality and culture. They showed the conflict that many people experience in their lives. And all of his stories were influenced by his life experiences.
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Graham Greene was born on October 2, 1904. He spent his early life in England with his family. As a young boy, Graham began to show signs of mental illness. A few times he even tried to kill himself. Greene struggled with his mental illness. But he also recognized that this mental illness helped him become a great writer. Later in life he told his wife,
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"Regrettably, the disease is also my material for writing." Voice 2
Graham Greene first began writing while he was at university. In 1925 he published his first work - a book of poems. After finishing university, Graham began writing for newspapers.
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During this time, he wrote about the teachings of the Catholic religion. At this time, Greene was not a Catholic believer. One day, a woman reader named Vivien Dayrell-Browning wrote to correct one of Greene's points. She was a Catholic believer. Their discussion began Greene's lifelong interest in religion. It also began his interest in Vivien.
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After studying the Catholic faith for a few months, Greene expressed his agreement with the faith. And in 1926 Greene became a Catholic. The following year, he married Vivien.
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Greene published his first novel in 1929. Readers responded well to this book. It was called The Man Within. With the success of this book, Greene stopped working for the newspapers. He decided to be a full-time author, writing books for his work.
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Sadly, Greene's next two books were not successful like the first. But his fourth book, Stamboul Train, was very successful. In fact, it was such a success that two years later, it was made into a film. You may recognize the film. It was called Orient Express. Many of Greene's later books were also changed and created into films. Greene even wrote some of the film stories himself.
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Like many writers, Graham Greene's life experiences influenced his writing. People who know about Greene's life often recognize him in the characters he created. The Ways of Escape is a true book Greene wrote about his life. In it he commented,
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"The main characters in a novel must have some similarity to the author. They come out of his body as a child comes from its mother. Then, the connection is cut and they grow into independence. The more the author knows of his own qualities, the more he can distance himself from his invented characters. And then the more room they have to grow in." Voice 2
Religion in particular is one idea that he skilfully included in each of his stories. To Greene, religion was very important. He thought that anything written without considering religion was not great literature.
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Religious ideas are not always clear in Greene's stories. But in many ways the struggles of the human soul were noticeable in his characters and stories. In his stories, Greene accepted the truth of good and evil, and of sin and grace. However, in his stories, Greene's characters often struggled with these ideas - just like he did in his own life.
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These struggles were especially strong for Greene because he did not live a very moral life. He knew the truths of the Bible. But he also knew the sins of his life. He had many relationships with women who were not his wife. In fact, in 1948 he left his wife. They remained married. But for years he travelled and lived with other women. Greene knew he was not a good husband. At one point he wrote about himself to his wife,
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"I have a character greatly opposed to normal home and family life." Voice 1
Part of Greene's behaviour was caused by his battle with mental illness. And part of his behaviour was simply his character. He had a strong desire to travel. He enjoyed exciting new places and people. And his travelling created new material for his writing. It was in travelling that he met people on which to base new characters. It was also in travelling that he experienced new situations and cultures which would give him new ideas for stories.
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During World War Two, Greene worked for the British Secret Service. He was based in Sierra Leone. And he later wrote about his experiences in the war in his book The Heart of the Matter.
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But even after writing that book, Greene was still interested in the country of Sierra Leone. So after the war in 1935 he organized a trip. He travelled about six hundred forty-four [644] kilometres through Sierra Leone and Liberia. He greatly desired to know what life was like for people in those places. He studied parts of their culture. This trip greatly influenced his book Journey Without Maps.
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A few years later Greene travelled to Mexico. At that time, the government of Mexico was encouraging a movement away from the Catholic religion. Greene wanted to see the effects of this movement. His experience here produced two books. The more famous of these books is The Power and the Glory, a story about priests and religion. Some people even claim that this book was his best work.
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Graham Greene continued to write until his death in 1991. More than once, Greene's writing got him in trouble. Two times he had legal trouble because of the thoughts he published about real people. And for a short time the Catholic Church even rejected his book The Power and the Glory.
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Graham Greene was not a perfect man. He was full of conflict. And his writings show this conflict. But this is why his writing is still important today. He causes many people to think about important questions of faith, culture and morality. For Graham Greene, these questions lead to God. But it is a God of grace - a God who works in our lives, even if we are broken, sinful people.
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The writer and producer of this program was Courtney Schutt. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. You can find this program and others on our website http://www.radio.english.net. This program is called Graham Greene.
