The AnswerBank Articles

Holding out for a hero: The Epic of Gilgamesh

from Gilgamesh the Kingby Ludmil ZemanQ. Sounds like some fantasy nonsense A. Considered to be the oldest known example of literature, the so-called Epic of Gilgamesh is more properly a cycle of00:00 Thu 31st Jan 2002

Andy Warhol looks a scream

Q. Huh A. 'Hang him on my wall/Andy Warhol, Silver Screen/Can't tell them apart at all'. So sang David Bowie in perhaps the most famous of the numerous musical homages to the celebrated New00:00 Sun 27th Jan 2002

The man who put the pain in paint: Francis Bacon

Q. So, was the great 20th-century painter related to the 16th-century polymath asked lovelylad A. The Grove Dictionary of Art says that the artist Francis Bacon 'was probably a collateral descendant00:00 Sun 27th Jan 2002

Whitbread 2001: Philip Pullman's surprise coup

Q. What is significant about this year's Whitbread winner A. Each year one of the winners of the five categories of Whitbread awards - children's, first novel, novel, biography and poetry - is00:00 Wed 23rd Jan 2002

Paintings in Hospitals

Q. What is it A. A charity organisation which lends art to NHS hospitals to try to soften the institutional blow of the environment. Q. Do they charge for the service A. Pictures are issued on00:00 Sun 20th Jan 2002

Parky's Best: George and Michael

Q. What was Michael Parkinson's George Best biography called asks Birchy. A. A co-authored number, it was called Best: An Intimate Biography and first published in 1974. It's not currently00:00 Sat 19th Jan 2002

The Queen's Head

'You're no oil painting, Ma'am,' said the Daily Mirror in their critique of Lucian Freud's recent portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. This kind of reaction to the painting - though not usually so witty -00:00 Fri 18th Jan 2002

'Art for all': Gilbert and George

Q. Art for all A. It is Gilbert's and George's stated wish that their art be for everyone. They see their work as an exercise in accessibility, as a reaction against the elitism inherent in much00:00 Sun 13th Jan 2002

Agatha Christie Mallowan: Archaeologist

Q. Surely not the 'Queen of Crime' A. One and the same. Christie's second husband was the celebrated British archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan, and she accompanied him on digs, particularly to Iraq,00:00 Fri 11th Jan 2002

Rabindranath Tagore: Copyright changes put him back in the spotlight

Q. Why is this news A. Because for many years, the Vishva-Bharati University in West Bengal, India, enjoyed sole copyright on all Tagore's huge body of work, including his poetry, novels, short00:00 Fri 11th Jan 2002

Did Homer actually exist

Q. Well, did he A. The historical facts of Homer's life remain unknown and will most likely never be known. Consequently many scholars today doubt the existence of Homer the man. However, this was00:00 Sun 06th Jan 2002

The Gnostic Gospels

Q. What are they A. The so-called Gnostic Gospels are writings from the early Christian era by Christians who also espoused the theological teachings of Gnosticism. Denounced as heretical, they are00:00 Sun 06th Jan 2002

Kingsley vs Martin: The Amises

Q. So, the father A. Born:16 April 1922, London Educated: City of London School and St John's College, Oxford Wartime service: Royal Corps of Signals Jobs: Lecturer in English, University College of00:00 Sat 05th Jan 2002

C.S. Lewis and Narnia

Q. Now that Tolkein's Lord of the Rings has finally been given the big-budget film treatment, isn't it time that C.S. Lewis's Narnia books went the same way A. Technology has finally caught up with00:00 Sat 29th Dec 2001

The different elements which go into making up a book

To the average reader a book is simply sheets of paper glued into a cover. However, each element which goes into making up a book has its own name - and this includes such specifics as the various00:00 Thu 27th Dec 2001

Sir Matthew Smith, CBE (1879-1959)

Q. Who was Matthew Smith A. Matthew Smith was an influential - though today somewhat neglected - British 20th-century painter. Q. What distinguishes his work A. His principal themes and subjects00:00 Wed 26th Dec 2001

Becoming a book editor

Q. 'How do I go about becoming a book editor ' asks dogfrank. A. Publishing has to be one of the most popular professions around, and particularly among that large group of people who wander away00:00 Sun 23rd Dec 2001

The Sails of the South

Q. What are they A. Officially named the Trisail, the Sails of the South - a nick-name which has stuck - are a huge sculpture shaped, as the name might suggest, like three sails. Q. Where are00:00 Sat 22nd Dec 2001

Avida Dollars: Salvador Dali, novelist

Q. Avida Dollars A. This was head honcho Surrealist Andr Breton's anagram of the name of his former friend Salvador Dal , and a less than complimentary swipe at the latter's well-documented love of00:00 Sat 22nd Dec 2001

Turner Prize 2001 update

Artist Jacqueline Crofton threw eggs at Martin Creed's Turner Prize-winning installation, claiming that the judges were only 'interested in is manufacturers of gimmicks like Creed'. She was taken00:00 Fri 14th Dec 2001