Protest and poetry have occupied the literary pages in recent days. The TS Eliot Prize has been rocked by the withdrawal of two nominees, Alice Oswald and John Kinsella, who objected to the prize’s hedge-fund sponsor. The Books blog will examine this curious issue throughout the week; but, for now, here’s Geoff Dyer and William Skidelsky debating the topic.
Skidelsky: To me, it was striking that neither poet appeared to find anything much out about Aurum. For them, apparently, the dread words “hedge fund” were enough. Do either of them actually know anything about what hedge funds do? Bankers are often accused, rightly, of arrogance, but there’s a kind of snobbishness, too, in the way that some artists wrinkle their noses up at the mucky dealings of business.
Dyer: I agree about a tendency to bash bankers and hedgies.
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