by Neil Gaiman
By Neil Gaiman and published by Headline
The View from the Cheap Seats
Trigger Warning
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Fragile Things
Anansi Boys
American Gods
Stardust
Smoke and Mirrors
Neverwhere
How the Marquis Got His Coat Back
(a Neverwhere short story)
Illustrated editions and graphic novels
American Gods
Anansi Boys
The Monarch of the Glen
Black Dog
(illustrated by Daniel Egnéus)
Neverwhere
(illustrated by Chris Riddell)
The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains
(illustrated by Eddie Campbell)
How to Talk to Girls at Parties
(adaptation and artwork by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá)
Troll Bridge
(adaptation and artwork by Colleen Doran)
Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House
of the Night of Dread Desire
(adaptation and artwork by Shane Oakley)
American Gods Volume 1: Shadows
(adaptation and artwork by P. Craig Russell and Scott Hampton)
MirrorMask: The Illustrated Film Script
(with Dave McKean)
I LOVE THE WAY WORDS AND
PICTURES WORK TOGETHER ON
A PAGE. I HAVE ALSO NOTICED
HOW WHEN WISE WORDS HAVE
VISUALS ADDED TO THEM, THEY
SEEM TO TRAVEL FURTHER
ONLINE, LIKE PAPER AEROPLANES
CATCHING AN UPDRAUGHT. NEIL’S
WORDS ARE SOME OF THE WISEST
I’VE FOUND, AND THE RESPONSE
WHEN I ILLUSTRATE THEM AND
POST ONLINE HAS BEEN WONDERFUL.
IT IS AN EVEN GREATER PLEASURE
TO SEE THEM COLLECTED IN THE
PAGES OF A SMALL, ELEGANTLY BOUND
BOOK.
CHRIS RIDDELL
CONTENTS
CREDO
1
WHY OUR FUTURE DEPENDS
ON LIBRARIES, READING
AND
DAYDREAMING
13
MAKING A CHAIR
33
MAKE GOOD ART
47
‘THE WORLD ALWAYS SEEMS
BRIGHTER WHEN YOU’VE JUST
MADE SOMETHING THAT
WASN’T THERE BEFORE’
NEIL GAIMAN
CCREDO
1
I BELIEVE THAT IT IS DIFFICULT TO KILL AN
IDEA BECAUSE IDEAS ARE INVISIBLE AND
CONTAGIOUS, AND THEY MOVE FAST.
I BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN SET YOUR OWN IDEAS
AGAINST IDEAS YOU DISLIKE. THAT YOU SHOULD
BE FREE TO ARGUE, EXPLAIN, CLARIFY,
DEBATE, OFFEND, INSULT, RAGE,
MOCK, SING, DRAMATISE
AND
DENY.
I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT BURNING,
MURDERING, EXPLODING PEOPLE,
SMASHING THEIR HEADS WITH ROCKS
(TO LET THE BAD IDEAS OUT),
DROWNING THEM OR EVEN DEFEATING THEM
WILL WORK TO CONTAIN IDEAS YOU
DO NOT LIKE.
IDEAS SPRING UP WHERE YOU DO NOT EXPECT
THEM, LIKE WEEDS, AND ARE AS
DIFFICULT TO CONTROL.
I BELIEVE THAT REPRESSING
IDEAS SPREADS IDEAS.
I BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE AND BOOKS AND NEWSPAPERS
ARE CONTAINERS FOR IDEAS, BUT THAT BURNING
PEOPLE WHO HOLD THE IDEAS WILL BE AS
UNSUCCESSFUL AS FIREBOMBING THE NEWSPAPER
ARCHIVES. IT IS ALREADY TOO LATE.
IT IS ALWAYS TOO LATE.
THE IDEAS ARE ALREADY OUT, HIDING BEHIND
PEOPLE’S EYES, WAITING IN THEIR THOUGHTS.
THEY CAN BE WHISPERED.
THEY CAN BE WRITTEN ON WALLS IN THE
DEAD OF NIGHT.
THEY CAN BE DRAWN.
I BELIEVE THAT IDEAS DO NOT HAVE TO BE
CORRECT TO EXIST.
I BELIEVE YOU HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO BE PERFECTLY
CERTAIN THAT IMAGES OF GOD OR PROPHET
OR HUMAN THAT YOU REVERE ARE SACRED,
AND UNDEFILABLE,
JUST AS I HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE CERTAIN
OF THE SACREDNESS OF SPEECH, AND
OF THE SANCTITY OF THE RIGHT
TO MOCK, COMMENT, TO ARGUE
AND TO UTTER.
I BELIEVE I HAVE THE RIGHT TO THINK
AND SAY THE WRONG THINGS.
I BELIEVE YOUR REMEDY FOR THAT
SHOULD BE TO ARGUE WITH ME OR TO
IGNORE ME.
AND THAT I SHOULD HAVE THE SAME
REMEDY FOR THE WRONG THINGS THAT
I BELIEVE YOU THINK.
I BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE THE ABSOLUTE
RIGHT TO THINK THINGS THAT I FIND
OFFENSIVE, STUPID, PREPOSTEROUS OR DANGEROUS,
AND THAT YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO SPEAK,
WRITE OR DISTRIBUTE THESE THINGS, AND THAT
I DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO
KILL YOU, MAIM YOU, HURT YOU OR
TAKE AWAY YOUR LIBERTY OR PROPERTY BECAUSE
I FIND YOUR IDEAS THREATENING OR
INSULTING OR DOWNRIGHT DISGUSTING.
YOU PROBABLY THINK SOME OF MY IDEAS
ARE PRETTY VILE TOO.
I BELIEVE THAT IN THE BATTLE BETWEEN
GUNS AND IDEAS, IDEAS WILL, EVENTUALLY,
WIN.
BECAUSE THE IDEAS ARE INVISIBLE, AND
THEY LINGER, AND, SOMETIMES,
THEY CAN EVEN BE
TRUE.
EPPUR SI MUOVE:
AND YET IT MOVES.
WHY OUR
FUTURE
DEPENDS ON
LIBRARIES,
READING
AND
DAYDREAMING
13
I SUGGEST THAT
READING FICTION, THAT READING FOR PLEASURE,
IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT
THINGS ONE CAN DO.
I’M MAKING A PLEA FOR PEOPLE TO
UNDERSTAND WHAT LIBRARIES AND LIBRARIANS
ARE, AND TO PRESERVE BOTH OF THESE
THINGS.
IT IS OBVIOUSLY IN MY INTEREST FOR PEOPLE TO
READ, FOR THEM TO READ FICTION, FOR LIBRARIES
AND LIBRARIANS TO EXIST AND HELP FOSTER
A LOVE OF READING AND
PLACES IN WHICH READING CAN OCCUR.
SO I’M BIASED AS A WRITER.
BUT I AM MUCH, MUCH MORE BIASED AS
A READER.
EVERYTHING CHANGES WHEN
WE READ.
PEOPLE WHO CANNOT UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER
CANNOT EXCHANGE IDEAS, CANNOT COMMUNICATE.
THE SIMPLEST WAY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE
RAISE LITERATE CHILDREN IS TO TEACH THEM
TO READ,
AND TO SHOW THEM THAT READING IS A
PLEASURABLE ACTIVITY.
I DON’T THINK THERE IS SUCH A THING AS A
BAD BOOK FOR CHILDREN.
IT’S TOSH. IT’S SNOBBERY AND IT’S FOOLISHNESS.
WE NEED OUR CHILDREN TO GET ONTO THE
READING LADDER: ANYTHING THAT THEY ENJOY
READING WILL MOVE THEM UP, RUNG BY RUNG,
INTO LITERACY.
YOU’RE FINDING OUT SOMETHING AS YOU READ
THAT WILL BE VITALLY IMPORTANT FOR MAKING
YOUR WAY IN THE WORD. AND IT’S THIS:
THE WORLD DOESN’T HAVE
TO BE LIKE THIS.
THINGS CAN BE DIFFERENT.
FICTION BUILDS EMPATHY.
&nb
sp; FICTION IS SOMETHING YOU BUILD UP FROM TWENTY-SIX
LETTERS AND A HANDFUL OF PUNCTUATION MARKS,
AND YOU, AND YOU ALONE,
USING YOUR IMAGINATION, CREATE A WORLD,
AND PEOPLE IT AND LOOK OUT THROUGH OTHER EYES.
YOU’RE BEING SOMEONE ELSE, AND WHEN YOU
RETURN TO YOUR OWN WORLD, YOU’RE GOING
TO BE SLIGHTLY CHANGED.
I WAS LUCKY. I HAD AN EXCELLENT LOCAL
LIBRARY GROWING UP, AND MET THE KIND OF
LIBRARIANS WHO DID NOT MIND A SMALL,
UNACCOMPANIED BOY HEADING BACK INTO THE
CHILDREN’S LIBRARY EVERY MORNING AND
WORKING HIS WAY THROUGH THE CARD CATALOGUE,
LOOKING FOR BOOKS WITH
GHOSTS OR MAGIC OR ROCKETS
IN THEM,
LOOKING FOR VAMPIRES OR DETECTIVES OR
WITCHES OR WONDERS.
THEY WERE GOOD LIBRARIANS. THEY LIKED BOOKS
AND THEY LIKED THE BOOKS BEING READ.
THEY HAD NO SNOBBERY ABOUT ANYTHING I READ.
THEY JUST SEEMED TO LIKE THAT THERE WAS
THIS WIDE-EYED LITTLE BOY WHO LOVED
TO READ, AND THEY WOULD TALK TO ME
ABOUT THE BOOKS I WAS READING.
THEY WOULD FIND ME OTHER BOOKS.
THEY WOULD HELP.
THEY TREATED ME WITH RESPECT. I WAS NOT
USED TO BEING TREATED WITH RESPECT AS AN
EIGHT-YEAR-OLD.
LIBRARIES ARE ABOUT FREEDOM.
FREEDOM TO READ, FREEDOM OF IDEAS,
FREEDOM OF COMMUNICATION.
THEY ARE ABOUT EDUCATION,
ABOUT ENTERTAINMENT, ABOUT
MAKING SAFE SPACES AND
ABOUT ACCESS TO INFORMATION.
I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT ALL BOOKS WILL OR
SHOULD MIGRATE ONTO SCREENS:
AS DOUGLAS ADAMS ONCE POINTED OUT TO ME,
OVER TWENTY YEARS BEFORE DIGITAL BOOKS
SHOWED UP, A PHYSICAL BOOKS IS LIKE
A SHARK.
SHARKS ARE OLD: THERE WERE SHARKS
IN THE OCEAN BEFORE THE DINOSAURS. AND
THE REASON THERE ARE STILL SHARKS AROUND IS
THAT SHARKS ARE BETTER AT BEING SHARKS
THAN ANYTHING ELSE IS.
PHYSICAL BOOKS ARE TOUCH, HARD TO
DESTROY, BATH RESISTANT, SOLAR OPERATED,
FEEL GOOD IN YOUR HAND:
THEY ARE GOOD AT BEING BOOKS, AND
THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A PLACE FOR
THEM.
A LIBRARY IS A PLACE OF SAFETY,
A HAVEN FROM THE WORLD.
IT’S A PLACE WITH LIBRARIANS IN IT.
WE NEED TO TEACH OUR CHILDREN TO READ
AND TO ENJOY READING.
WE NEED LIBRARIES. WE NEED BOOKS.
WE NEED LITERATE CITIZENS.
BOOKS ARE THE WAY THAT THE DEAD
COMMUNICATE WITH US.
THE WAY THAT WE LEARN LESSONS FROM THOSE
WHO ARE NO LONGER WITH US, THE WAY
THAT HUMANITY HAS BUILT ON ITSELF, PROGRESSED,
MADE KNOWLEDGE INCREMENTAL
RATHER THAN SOMETHING THAT HAS TO BE
RELEARNED, OVER AND OVER.
WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO READ
FOR PLEASURE. IF OTHERS SEE US
READING, WE SHOW THAT READING IS
A GOOD THING.
WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO SUPPORT
LIBRARIES,
TO PROTEST THE CLOSURE OF
LIBRARIES.
IF YOU DO NOT VALUE LIBRARIES YOU ARE
SILENCING THE VOICES OF THE PAST AND
YOU ARE DAMAGING THE FUTURE.
FICTION IS THE LIE THAT TELLS
THE TRUTH.
WE ALL HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO DAYDREAM.
WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO
IMAGINE.
IT IS EASY TO PRETEND THAT NOBODY CAN
CHANGE ANYTHING, THAT SOCIETY IS HUGE
AND THE INDIVIDUAL IS LESS THAN NOTHING.
BUT THE TRUTH IS
INDIVIDUALS MAKE THE FUTURE,
AND THEY DO IT BY IMAGINING
THAT
THINGS CAN BE DIFFERENT.
ALBERT EINSTEIN WAS ONCE ASKED HOW
WE COULD MAKE OUR CHILDREN INTELLIGENT.
‘IF YOU WANT YOUR CHILDREN TO BE
INTELLIGENT’, HE SAID, ‘READ THEM
FAIRY TALES. IF YOU WANT THEM TO BE
MORE INTELLIGENT, READ THEM
MORE FAIRY TALES.’
I HOPE WE CAN GIVE OUR CHILDREN A WORLD IN
WHICH THEY WILL READ, AND BE READ TO,
AND IMAGINE,
AND
UNDERSTAND.
NEIL GAIMAN
MAKING
A
CHAIR
33
TODAY I INTENDED TO BEGIN TO WRITE.
STORIES ARE WAITING LIKE DISTANT THUNDERSTORMS
GRUMBLING AND FLICKERING ON THE
GREY HORIZON
AND THERE ARE EMAILS AND INTRODUCTIONS
AND A BOOK, A WHOLE DAMN BOOK
ABOUT A COUNTRY AND A JOURNEY AND
BELIEF
I’M HERE TO WRITE.
I MADE A CHAIR.
I OPENED A CARDBOARD BOX WITH A BLADE
(I ASSEMBLED THE BLADE)
REMOVED THE PARTS, CARRIED THEM, CAREFULLY,
UP THE STAIRS.
‘FUNCTIONAL SEATING FOR TODAY’S WORKPLACE’
I PRESSED FIVE CASTERS INTO THE BASE,
LEARNED THAT THEY PRESS IN WITH A MOST
SATISFYING POP.
ATTACHED THE ARMRESTS WITH THE SCREWS.
PUZZLING OVER THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT OF IT,
THE SCREWS NOT BEING WHAT THEY SHOULD BE
AS DESCRIBED IN THE INSTRUCTIONS. AND THEN THE
BASE BENEATH THE SEAT,
WHICH ATTACHED WITH SIX 40 mm SCREWS
(THAT WERE PUZZLINGLY SIX 45 mm SCREWS).
THEN THE HEADPIECE TO THE CHAIRBACK,
THE CHAIRBACK TO THE SEAT, WHICH IS WHERE
THE PROBLEMS START AS
THE MIDDLE SCREW ON EITHER SIDE DECLINES
TO PENETRATE AND THREAD.
THIS ALL TAKES TIME. ORSON WELLES IS HARRY LIME
ON THE OLD RADIO AS I ASSEMBLE MY CHAIR.
ORSON MEETS A DAME
AND A CROOKED FORTUNE-TELLER, AND A FAT MAN,
AND A NEW YORK GANG BOSS IN EXILE,
AND HAS SLEPT WITH THE DAME, SOLVED THE
MYSTERY,
READ THE SCRIPT
AND POCKETED THE MONEY
BEFORE I HAVE ASSEMBLED MY CHAIR.
MAKING A BOOK IS A LITTLE LIKE MAKING A CHAIR.
PERHAPS IT OUGHT TO COME WITH WARNINGS,
LIKE THE CHAIR INSTRUCTIONS.
A FOLDED PIECE OF PAPER SLIPPED INTO EACH COPY,
WARNING US:
‘ONLY FOR ONE PERSON AT A TIME’
DO NOT USE AS A STOOL OR A
STEPLADDER.’
‘FAILURE TO FOLLOW THESE WARNINGS
CAN RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY.’
ONE DAY I WILL WRITE ANOTHER BOOK, AND
WHEN I’M DONE I WILL CLIMB IT,
LIKE A STOOL OR A STEP LADDER,
OR A HIGH OLD WOODEN LADDER PROPPED
AGAINST THE SIDE OF A PLUM TREE,
IN THE AUTUMN,
AND I WILL BE GONE.
BUT FOR NOW I SHALL FOLLOW THESE WARNINGS,
AND FINISH MAKING THE
CHAIR.
NEIL GAIMAN
MAKE
GOOD
ART
47
I ESCAPED FROM SCHOOL
AS SOON AS I COULD, WHEN
THE PROSPECT OF
FOUR MORE YEARS OF
ENFORCED LEARNING BEFORE
I’D BECOME THE WRITER I WANTED TO BE
WAS STIFLING.
I GOT OUT INTO THE WORLD.
I WROTE, AND I BECAME
A BETTER WRITER THE MORE I WROTE,
AND I WROTE SOME MORE, AND
NOBODY EVER SEEMED TO MIND THAT
I WAS MAKING IT UP AS I WENT ALONG,
THEY JUST READ WHAT I WROTE
AND THEY PAID FOR IT,
OR THEY DIDN’T,
AND OFTEN THEY COMMISSIONED
ME TO WRITE SOMETHING ELSE FOR THEM.
WHICH HAS LEFT ME WITH A HEALTHY RESPECT
AND FONDNESS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
THAT THOSE OF MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY,
WHO ATTENDED UNIVERSITIES,
WERE CURED OF LONG AGO.
LOOKING BACK, I’VE HAD A REMARKABLE RIDE.
I’M NOT SURE I CAN CALL IT A CAREER, BECAUSE
A CAREER IMPLIES THAT I HAD SOME KIND OF
CAREER PLAN, AND I NEVER DID.
THE NEAREST THING I HAD WAS A LIST I MADE
WHEN I WAS 15 OF EVERYTHING I WANTED TO DO:
TO WRITE AN ADULT NOVEL,
A CHILDREN’S BOOK,
A COMIC,
A MOVIE,
RECORD AN AUDIOBOOK,
WRITE AN EPISODE OF
DOCTOR WHO
. . . AND SO ON.
I DIDN’T HAVE A CAREER. I JUST DID THE
NEXT THING ON THE LIST.
SO I THOUGHT I’D TELL YOU EVERYTHING
I WISH I’D KNOWN STARTING OUT,
AND A FEW THINGS THAT, LOOKING BACK ON IT,
I SUPPOSE THAT I DID KNOW.
AND THAT I WOULD ALSO GIVE YOU
THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE I’D EVER GOT,
WHICH I COMPLETELY FAILED TO
FOLLOW.
