Do you have books in your home or workplace? And, perhaps more importantly, do you read any of them? Our guest today, Rainer Jozeps, says the presence of books is a symbol of your curiosity and your interest in engaging with the world (my words). However, that utterance was a small park of a bigger issue he drew attention to in In Review, namely, our state government’s dropping of the ball (so to speak), when it comes to arts funding vs sports funding.
And in the Musical Pilgrimage, thoughtful singer/songwriter, Lucas Day.
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Running Sheet: Rainer Jozeps In The House With No Books
00:00:00 Intro
Introduction
00:00:00 SA Drink Of The Week
No SA Drink Of The Week this episode.
00:02:32 Rainer Jozeps
Books on bookshelves, news avoidance, ignorance, cocooning, and art making. These five topics were woven into an intriguing piece in InReview by Rainer Jozeps, entitled, South Australia Has Become Like A House With No Books. Rainer has been involved in Australia’s arts industry for more 30 years, holding senior executive roles with the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust, Adelaide Festival Centre, West Australian Ballet, Australian Dance Theatre and Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.
Rainer, I’d like to use your article to give structure to this conversation, even though I’m anticipating that we will do an awful lot of colouring outside the lines.
Your article begins by recounting your many visits to display homes to sate your curiosity about what was being offered by builders, noting that you’d leave with an empty feeling in the pit of your stomach because the homes had no provision for books. You then quote Greek philosopher, Cicero, who said “a house with no books is like a body with no soul”. I’d like to explore this a little because my initial reaction was to cheer your claim that “books inspire creativity, excite the imagination and stimulate the intellect”, but then I realised that I have a wall or two of books at home and many have not been touched for years. Do you think there’s intrinsic value in “the having of books” or are you assuming that those with books actually read them?
- Does the presence of books create a more thoughtful headspace?
- David Olney noted that seeing books can spark conversation. Our books are on our phones – perhaps our screens could run slideshows?
- Russ Roberts from the Econtalk Podcast says if we read a book a week, we’ll probably read about 2,500 books in our lifetime. That’s not many. Are there any you believe are a must – either by title or genre?
The next theme in your article is ignorance, defined as the lack of knowledge. You argue ignorance can be a chosen state (you realise other people know things you don’t know), or it can simply be that you are unaware of there being things you don’t know. You note that ethicists call the former “recognised ignorance” and the latter “primary ignorance”. This drew recollections of the Johari Window but also the toxic saturation of conspiracy theories that thrive in this Donal Trump-led era of Fake News. Setting aside mainstream news consumption for the moment, are you hopeful or pessimistic about our society’s cha
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