Ramsay Wood

Ramsay Wood is a writer best known for his modernized compilation of the ancient animal fables derived from "The Panchatantra". His "Kalila and Dimna-- Selected Fables of Bidpai" was published by Knopf in 1980 [See page 100, "The Oxford Companion to English Literature", fifth edition, 1985 ISBN 0-19-866130-4] . Wood believes that these fables are the earliest secular example of what Lawrence Lessig calls remix culture.

Fable collections as early examples of remix culture

Wood claims [See page 262 of "Kalila and Dimna, Selected fables of Bidpai", retold by Ramsay Wood, Knopf, New York, 1980] that in hundreds of literary collections, various arrangements of "The Panchatantra" fables are known by separate titles in different languages at different times in different places. Yet each unique cultural remix always links back to an oral, even pre-literate, storytelling society in ancient India. No original text survivies. We can only enjoy and study the many derivative works. Wood’s "Kalila and Dimna" has an Introduction by the novelist and Nobel Laureate Doris Lessing supporting his contention. She cites some literary variants of "The Panchatantra". This Introduction was reprinted in Lessing's 2005 collection of essays, "Time Bites: Views and Reviews" [Publisher's site: http://www.harperperennial.co.uk/books.aspx?id=30228]

English versions

The fables first appeared in English as "The Morall Philosophie of Doni" in 1570 [Full digital text: http://www.archive.org/details/earliestenglishv00doniuoft] , translated from the Italian by Sir Thomas North, who also translated "Plutarch’s Lives" [This is the book by Sir Thomas North that made his more celebrated impact upon English literature: http://www.archive.org/details/shakespearesplut01plutuoft] . Wood’s book is the first modern English, multiple-sourced, remix of these ancient fables since North's 1570 version. Wood’s "Kalila and Dimna" is reconstituted from the North text and also seven other works translated from Sanskrit, Arabic, Syriac and Persian. In the book’s ‘Afterword’ Wood suggests that these distinct literary collections of ancient fables [See page 262 of "Kalila and Dimna, Selected fables of Bidpai", retold by Ramsay Wood, Knopf, New York, 1980] , although highly revered classics in each target language, are among the world’s most durable examples of cross-cultural migration, adaptive morphology and secular survival — as they have been widely and continuously shared and modified for over two thousand years from a legendary, long-lost, original manuscript.

Edinburgh Festival 1984

In 1983, Wood’s book was turned into a play entitled "A Word in the Stargazer’s Eye" by Stuart Cox of Theatr Taliesin Wales. The show premiered at the 1984 Edinburgh Festival, starring the actor Nigel Watson. "The Scotsman" reviewed it thus:

quotation|A stunning performance, bridging the gap of understanding between East and West. We are blessed a while with the wonderment of children as we listen to these eternal tales of the human psyche. A show for every nationality under the sun.

Theatr Taliesin Wales subsequently toured the production in many countries for several years, from Iceland to India.

Wood’s second volume, "Kalila and Dimna – Fables of Conflict and Intrigue", will continue his re-compilation project when it is published by London publisher Saqi Books [Link to Saqi Books website: http://www.saqibooks.com] in 2009. In May 2008 Saqi Books re-issued Wood’s first volume — revised, enlarged and retitled as "Kalila and Dimna – Fables of Friendship and Betrayal".

French edition 2006

In 2006 Éditions Albin Michel published a French translation of his 1980 first volume. A review by Roger-Pol Droit in "Le Monde" on Sept 15th 2006 said:

Crossing linguistic and cultural frontiers, these fables also transcend conventional time-frames. They abound with temporal paradoxes. Ancient letters, locked in a series of smaller and smaller treasure chests by King Houschenk in the past, are addressed to kings of the future. They contain words of advice whose meaning only becomes gradually clear, sometimes after a very big delay.

quotation|"FRENCH TEXT: "Sans frontière linguistique ni culturelle, ces fables ignorent aussi celles du temps. Au sein du recueil, les paradoxes temporels abondent. Des lettres très antiques, enfermées dans une série de coffres par le roi Houschenk autrefois, s'adressent aux souverains de l'avenir. Elles renferment des conseils dont le sens ne s'éclaire qu'à mesure, parfois avec un très grand retard."

Other Activities

Wood was a freelance photographer and journalist who covered feature stories in Europe, Africa and the Far East until 1986. His first major publication, when he was 25, was an interview and photographs with the poet Robert Graves in "LIFE Magazine." ["LIFE Atlantic," March 4th 1968, pages 24 - 27] He was chairman of the original charity called Afghan Relief, from 1992 until its dissolution in 2000. He was a co-founder and acting Secretary of the College of Storytellers from 1980 until 1991. In 2005 he qualified as an assistant literacy teacher and now works part-time in London at Emerson House [ [http://www.emersonhouse.co.uk/ Emerson House ] ] helping dyslexic children learn keyboard skills. He was born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1943. ["25th Anniversary Report, Harvard and Radcliffe Class of 1965," Cambridge, USA 1990, pages 969 - 971]

References

External links

* [http://www.thesusijnagency.com/ Wood's agent is The Susijn Agency]
* [http://ramsaywood.com/read.html Excerpt from Wood's 2008 update of "Kalila and Dimna - Fables of Friendship and Betrayal"]