The AnswerBank Articles

When did dictionaries first appear

A. Word lists date back to at least the first century AD, when a number of lists of Greek words that had gone out of use were produced. By coincidence, at the same time on the other side of the world,00:00 Mon 21st May 2001

Who was Anna Kavan

A. A good question about someone who wrote a novel entitled Who Are You She has been variously described as 'De Quincey's heir' and 'Kafka's sister' and is one of the most bizarre figures in English00:00 Mon 21st May 2001

What is SylvaC

A. SylvaC ware was produced by the firm of Shaw and Copestake at the Sylvan works in Longton, Staffordshire. From its beginnings in 1894 the factory produced highly ornate vases, clock sets, jugs and00:00 Mon 21st May 2001

What's the story on willow pattern plates

Q. What's the story A. Are you sitting comfortably Then I'll begin. Once upon a time, a young Chinese girl was betrothed by her mandarin father to a rich but elderly merchant. But the girl had00:00 Mon 14th May 2001

Science fiction: literature or 'space opera'

Q. What is science fiction A. The dictionary answer is 'fiction dealing principally with the impact of actual or imagined science on society or individuals or having a scientific factor as an00:00 Mon 14th May 2001

How do you set up a book club

Q. What are book clubs and why do they exist A. Also known as reading groups, essentially they are a forum for discussion, an added incentive to meet up with people and a way to introduce each other00:00 Mon 14th May 2001

How do you get your poetry published

Q. How do you get your poetry published A. Given that more books are published in the UK today than ever before – well in excess of 100,000 new books annually – it may come as a surprise to00:00 Mon 07th May 2001

Are there too many literary awards

Q. Are there too many literary awards and are they anything more than backslapping A. It would be cynical to write off awards as mere self-congratulation for the publishing industry, but they do seem00:00 Mon 07th May 2001

What is Brit Art

Q. What is Brit Art A. The 1990s witnessed an unprecedented international interest in contemporary British Art. 'Brit Art' was the broad ranging name given to this exciting and experimental art work.00:00 Mon 07th May 2001

Which type of paint is best for what

A. It really depends what you want to do and how technically proficient you are. Q. What are the main types of paint and what qualities do each possess A. The four main varieties are watercolour,00:00 Mon 30th Apr 2001

Can a book ever successfully be turned into a film

A. It's probably fair to say that more people will see a film adaptation of a book than read the original. This is certainly true of big films taken from literary novels such as The English Patient00:00 Mon 30th Apr 2001

How do you encourage a child's interest in art

A. Making the jump from a child's interest in drawing and painting to developing a real interest in art has not traditionally been the easiest of tasks. The best way to view art is to see the real00:00 Mon 30th Apr 2001

Tremors of a Geisha

It is one of the most popular novels about Japan in recent times - selling millions of copies in 32 languages - so why is the real-life geisha who provided the model for Arthur Golden's best-selling00:00 Wed 25th Apr 2001

Who is R.L. Stine

Q. Who is R.L. Stine A. Many adults will not have heard of him, but American Robert Lawrence Stine is, perhaps with the exception of J.K. Rowling and her Harry Potter books, the best-selling living00:00 Tue 24th Apr 2001

Can the destruction of cultural buildings be called a war crime

asked Janelh, following the recent charges against members of the Yugoslav military for shelling Dubrovnik A. For most of our history the destruction and looting of buildings and cultural and00:00 Tue 24th Apr 2001

Who is Marina Abramovic

A. Marina Abramovic has described herself as 'the grandmother of performance artists'. She was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in 1946, and started performing her pieces in the late 1960s. Her early00:00 Tue 24th Apr 2001

Who was the Super Tramp poet

A. William Henry Davies became known as the Super-Tramp. He's worth knowing a little about, as he had an unusual life for a poet - or an unusual life for a tramp, depending on how you look at it. Born00:00 Mon 16th Apr 2001

Following the furore over photographs in the Saatchi Gallery, should art be subject to censorship

A. Issues of censorship and limitations on individual freedom of expression must rank among the most difficult areas to legislate upon and police in any liberal democracy. The central question is: Who00:00 Mon 16th Apr 2001

Who designed the new mayor's building in London

A. The new building, not yet completed, was designed by Lord Foster, better known as Sir Norman Foster. Q. What's it like A. The building, which will combine the mayor's official residence as well00:00 Mon 16th Apr 2001

What philosophy is there in the book Le Petit Prince

asks Faulmarc A. First published in French in 1943 and translated into English as The Little Prince the same year, Le Petit Prince was an instant success and has remained enduringly popular. Although00:00 Mon 09th Apr 2001