Face to Face: George Steiner talks to Jeremy Isaacs

Face to Face: George Steiner talks to Jeremy Isaacs about his book Real Presences. BBC, first broadcast 31 05 1989

[@joelbowman23]

19:34 - "My home is a typewriter." Marvelous.

[@shellyshelly9218]

Superb interview, reminding us of what television used to be.

[@rotagorretni]

Came after hearing David Bowie mentioning Steiner in an interview, answering a question about what he (Bowie) and his fellow musicians were trying to musically achieve in the early 70s. Seemed to be referring to what Steiner is here saying about the value of making even a small impression on history by pursuing even the slimmest chance of success. Himself exemplifying Steiner's "ironic modesty" in the process

[@arthurfrancisd.murphy1643]

Wonderful interview

[@shaunlanighan813]

That single great tragedy of saying goodbye forever happened to me on 21st of April when I left my darling Abigail in hospital thinking I would see her again ...I did, but she was dead

[@juanadrianarquinegogomez3610]

hope you are doing fine, friend.

[@arthurfrancisd.murphy1643]

A truly wonderful man

[@pierrerienier3214]

I was going to write (almost) exactly that

[@ianmartinezcassmeyer]

2:35 Also, it's criminal this interview is only half an hour.

[@miguelclarkeottovonbismarck]

Danke!

[@lessismore4470]

Great interview.

[@grenvillephillips6998]

I've always found Steiner inspiring!

[@freeri87]

What did George Steiner and Harold Bloom think of each other?

[@sibengerard1856]

A question I have always asked-my self.

[@TerryStewart32]

You could also add Roger Kimball, Allan Bloom and Mortimer J Adler to the list of those like Harold Bloom who were defiant in their defence of the classical and defining books of western civilization

[@oliverhanks4900]

Roger Scruton, Kenneth Clark, Anthony Esolen, Jeffrey Hart, John Ellis

[@andrewhopkins3358]

I believe Bloom has quoted Steiner. It's an occasional quote, like how he quotes Kermode. They would not have agreed on certain things. Bloom is a romantic and Steiner is a classicist, roughly speaking Of course they both though the civilization was falling to shreds and believed in the authority of the writer and the obligation of the critic to think for themselves

[@sibengerard1856]

Thanks for this.

[@stephensharp3033]

Did George always wear the same shirt when on TV?

[@DucadiBorgogna_]

Who is the Sculptor he is talking about? By the way he is a genius

[@DucadiBorgogna_]

Around the 20th minute

[@freeri87]

Can someone inform me: what was George Steiner's favorite books?

[@greatbooks8904]

Homer

[@mollycellanjones813]

What is the name of the book he is talking about?

[@user-xo3bt9sh3r]

Wonderful. But I don't really get the last part about resisting the temptations of the USA to keep alive the culture from the Renaissance onwards that he belongs to. Yet he spent most of his time in England, with short forays to the USA and a period in Geneva. Yet his jewish culture was that of the Danube, the jews of the east of Europe. The western jews (Geneva) were different and of course the British jews were the only big European community of jews who survived the war complete. So despite his decades in England there was no need to put a stake in the ground, by his presence, to reassert the jewish contribution for all the jews in Britain, bar a few service men, ended the war alive and intact. If he really wanted to contribute to keeping that flame of his cultural inheritance alive then surely he should have moved to Vienna? I can only think otherwise that maybe his point was to indicate to younger European jews that they ought to kindle Judaism on the continent as much as they can, for the reason he gave about a continuation of a great contribution to European intellectualism.