My Science School

Pratchett was born in April 28, 1948 in Beaconsfield, the U.K. He had numerous speech impediments, which distorted his voice and made him the target of bullies at school. His condition made it difficult for him to read or write properly. In 2007, aged 59, Pratchett announced that he had a rare form of early onset Alzheimer’s called posterior cortical atrophy. In his later years, Pratchett wrote by dictating to his assistant, Rob Wilkins, or by using speech recognition software. He wrote seven novels through the haze of Alzheimer’s. “Snuff’ is the third novel Pratchett wrote using voice-recognition technology rather than a keyboard; he was unable to touch type, although he could prod words out letter by letter.

He always made time for his readers, taking his guidance from his own childhood fan letter to JRR Tolkein. He attended fan events and stirred things up on the newly-forming internet, taking on marathon book signings all over the world. These events sometimes ran to more than six hours and stores would often have to send out for frozen peas to soothe his signing wrist.

He was appointed OBE in 1998 and was knighted for services to literature in 2009. He won many awards for his novels but perhaps his most prized was the Carnegie Medal, won in 2001 for The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents. He also received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2010.

 

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R.K. Narayan, the man who brought this fantasy world to life, who inspired many endless quests to track down the town and its inhabitants, failed his English exam. He loathed physics and chemistry. Surprisingly, he cleared those two subjects, but failed in English, his favourite. Even then, he did not give up! Assuring his father that he would attempt the exam again, he spent the next year at home, reading and writing in earnest. Subsequently, he passed the exam in 1926. Few years later, unable to find a publisher for his first novel “Swami and Friends”, Narayan told his friend to throw the manuscript into the Thames river. Instead, the friend took it to Graham Greece, English novelist, who was so impressed that he recommended it to his publisher.

He has published numerous novels, five collections of short stories - A Horse and Two Goats, An Astrologer's Day, Lawley Road, Malgudi Days, and The Grandmother's Tale, four collections of essays - Next Sunday, Reluctant Guru, A Writer's Nightmare, and A Story-Teller's World, a memoir - My Days, collection of legends drawn from the Mahabharata and the Puranas titled Gods, Demons and Others, two travel books - My Dateless Diary and The Emerald Route (about Mysore state which had sketches by his younger brother, R K Laxman, the famous cartoonist). 

Swami and Friends and Malgudi Days were made into a highly successful television series in the eighties by the late Kannada film-maker Shankar Nag. Another of Narayan's popular novel, The Guide, was made into a successful Hindi film by Dev Anand's Navketan Films in 1962. 

 

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Anne Frank spent over two years hiding in a secret annexe during the World War II. The 13-year-old poured her thoughts into her diary, which has become a symbol of hope and resilience. Despite fearing persecution by the Nazis, she wrote about forgiveness. “It’s difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by a grim reality. It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals, they seem to absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart,” reads her diary. The last entry is dated August 1, 1944. All the family members were arrested and sent to concentration camps. A few months

later, Anne and her sister, Margot died of exhaustion while on their way to a camp in Auschwitz. Anne’s father Otto was the only survivor, who published her diaries.

The Franks enjoyed the freedom and acceptance they found in Amsterdam. Anne attended Amsterdam's Sixth Montessori School, where she was a bright and inquisitive student with many friends of various backgrounds and faiths, according to "Anne Frank: The Biography" by Melissa Muller (Picador, 2014). Otto Frank founded a food ingredient wholesale company in Amsterdam.

 

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Kirby’s origin story

From Captain America and The Hulk to The X-Men and the adorable Groot, comic look artist Jack Kirby breathed life into some of Marvel's biggest and most popular superheroes. Sadly, he never got due recognition in his lifetime.

Written in the form of a graphic novel, “The Epic Life of the King of Comics” by Tom Scioli tells the improbable tale of how a young kid raised in the streets of New York became the most important figure in the evolution of comics.

Rough-and-tumble life

Born as Jacob Kurtzberg on August 28, 1917, Kirby lived in the Lower East Side of Manhattam – a neighbourhood infamous for its violent street gangs, Kirby too joined one of the gangs and led a rough life – partly due to poor financial conditions at home. Years later, these experiences helped him come up with dynamic fight and action sequences in his comics.

Drawing from scrap

The timeless characters that Kirby created are testament to his talent. But id you know how Kirby learnt to draw? No, he could not afford to study at any fancy art school. Instead, he practised his art skills using newspapers stolen from his neighbour’s trash can.

At the age of 11, he started drawing cartoons for the local newspaper. A few years later, he was hired to illustrate columns such as “Your Health Comes First” and “Facts You Never Knew” by another newspaper. From there he moved on to Max Fleischer’s animation studio where he worked for a while creating backgrounds for “Popeye” cartoons.

A timely choice

Working with Timely Comics (which eventually became Marvel), Kirby partnered with writer Joe Simon to come up with the shield-bearing Captain America.

While he was busy illustrating the eye-popping fight scenes of the Cap on paper, he soon experienced them in real life. In 1943, he got drafted into the Army to fight in WWII. On learning of Kirby’s background in the comics industry, his lieutenant made him a scout who would advance into towns and draw reconnaissance maps and pictures, an extremely dangerous duty. During one such mission in Normandy, he nearly lost his leg to frost-bite.

Working with Stan Lee

Kirby worked on several projects with Marvel comics figurehead Stan Lee, and Steve Ditko. They came up with legendary characters such as Fantastic Four, Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Anti-Man, the collective Avengers, Silver Surfer and the X-Men. But while Lee come into the limelight, Kirby and Ditko remained in the shadows.

At Marvel, Kirby struggled for better pay, royalties, and the return of original artwork.

Later, he worked for other publications including DC Comics, created the Fourth World saga, which includes New Gods, an integral part of the DC universe. He also worked with Neil Gaiman to revive the “Sandman” series.

Work ethic

Kirby was known for his strict work ethic. In his prime, Kirby would draw three or four pages a day, resulting in thousands of pages over the course of his career.

Legacy

Kirby died in 1994, but his name remains etched in stone in the comic world.

Did you know?

• In 2017, Kirby was posthumously named a Disney Legend with Lee for their co-creations, which formed the heart of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.


• The Jack Kirby Award was presented in his honour from 985-1987 for achievement in comic books.


• Kirby produced over 25,000 pages during his lifetime as well as hundreds of comic strips and sketches.

 

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