Bangkok--Mar 25--Francom Asia
Airtimes: Saturday, March 26 at 11:00, 20:30, 24:00
Sunday, March 27 at 22:00 (replay)
Monday, March 28 at 10:30 (replay)
Australian author and activist Thomas Keneally joins CNN’s TALK ASIA this weekend to talk about his 1982 novel Schindler’s Ark, an account of the Holocaust that won him the Man Booker Prize and formed the basis of the hit movie Schindler’s List.
During the half-hour interview with host Lorraine Hahn, Keneally also explains why he chose to write The Tyrant’s Novel in 2003, which touched upon immigration issues and detention centers in Australia. “If I saw detention centers, however kindly they might begin, rising in the suburbs of Australia and in the deserts of Australia, I above all had a duty to talk about them. I hasten to say that these are not death camps, but people suffer greatly in them, particularly psychologically.”
The 70-year-old author also shares with viewers the early beginnings of his life — how he embarked on theological studies for the Catholic priesthood before switching to writing fulltime, and who his biggest influences were, both personally and professionally.
He continues to talk about his upcoming projects saying, “I have just finished a book on Georgian England and Georgian Australia…at the same time, I am writing a novel about a ninety-year-old woman, a veteran of World War II, whose husband was beheaded by the Japanese in 1945.”
One of the founding members of the Australian Republican Movement, Keneally has strong views on politics.
“We got the message in 1942 when Singapore fell that we were not necessarily high on the British hit list of priorities. Now to show that Australia had made us a separate people -- not a better people than anyone else, but our own people, -- we should have a head of state who was an Australian.”
Log onto CNN’s dedicated website for TALK ASIA on www.CNN.com/talkasia to find out more information on upcoming guests.
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