words' work

Don't know quite why, but I've been inspired to get a couple of long dormant writing projects off the ground this weekend. Suspect it has to do with these two things I've enjoyed in the past couple of weeks. First, my love of all things Stephen Fry has reasserted itself. I follow him on Twitter (and, as with thousands of his other fans, he was kind enough to follow back). And I've just started getting his vodcasts. Whatever the media, I love the fact that you're just as likely to hear his verdict on the G-Phone or some other piece of kit as his love of Oscar Wilde or Anton Chekhov's stories. Or even, if you're up to it, a reflection on structuralist linguistics. What a dude. Then there's this, the first annual 26 speech. I couldn't be there myself, but as you'll see from this vid, it was a corker. Philip Collins, a former speech writer for Tony Blair, took to the lectern for the inaugural speech, about, ironically, how to write a great speech. No, it's bigger than that; what emerges is a meditation on great writing that can be applied to any form. For example: “It’s not the words but the facts that make us shiver. The emotional effect comes from the restraint that allows the subject to be its own witness.”
Annual 26 speech 2008 from Tom Clarkson on Vimeo.