‘Reading classics helps to improve global views’

Henry Eliot, author and Creative Editor of Penguin Classics, was recently in Kolkata for Penguin Random House India ‘The Great Classics Festival’ organised in association with Starmark. In conversation with IBNS correspondent Meghna Dunbar, Henry shared his views on various issues ranging from survival of ‘classics’ to the divide between printed books and e-books.

It is the first time a month-long ‘The Great Classics Festival’ is being held in India. Does this festival aim to invoke an interest of ‘classics’ among young readers?

The primary reason of introducing this festival here is to show people the huge world of ‘classics’ that’s out there. The second reason is that the bookshops get an opportunity to stock the huge list of ‘classics’ giving people access to all of it.

‘Classics’ have been there since ages. What do you think has made them survive till today?

A ‘Classic’ is like a time capsule which makes people view the world from the author’s perspective. They have survived till now because they have a spark inside them and they instantly connect with the readers. Our experience of the world becomes better after reading ‘classics’.

The ‘classics’ which were written aeons ago are recognised as timeless classics now. So, which of the books written today are likely to become ‘classics’ in the future, according to you?

We have a Modern Classics list at Penguin which contains our best batch of books that we think will become ‘classics’. However, only time will tell whether or not those books stand the test of time.

With the advent of e-books and e-readers such as Kindle, do you think the print publishing business is facing any challenges?

After the introduction of e-books, publishers were worried that no one would be interested in purchasing printed books. But luckily there has been a steady growth in the sale of printed books. This is because publishers had to increase the quality of the print books to stay in competition with e-books. I am not against e-books since it seems convenient to have a lot of books in a slim device but nothing can compare to the physical element of touching and smelling a new book, which I enjoy.

Is this your first visit to India? How do you find our country?

I have been in India before and I absolutely love this country. I love the food and I’m quite impressed by the warmth of the people here. Everyone here is so welcoming in contrast to London where people seem to be very systematic at all times.