CONRAD IN CAMBODIA: Margaret Bywater, Library Information Resources Advisor at the Asia Foundation in Phnom Penh, Cambodia reports that English literature is not much studied in that country. There is, however, a bar called Heart of Darkness in the capital city and she is investigating the genesis of the name and hopes to provide a photograph of the establishment.
FOUR FOR CONRAD: The Polish American Journal of Buffalo, NY reported on the front page of its September, 1999 issue that
four Joseph Conrad novels--Secret Agent, Nostromo, Heart
of Darkness, and Lord Jim--ranked 46th, 47th, 67th and 85th,
respectively, on a list of the Top English Novels of the Century.
The list, drawn up by the editorial board of Modern Library,
ranked James Joyce's Ulysses as number one. Conrad, born
Jozef Korzeniowski in 1857, is unsurpassed as a novelist of the
sea. Conrad's four books on the list is the most of any author.
PUBLIC DOMAIN: On 23 Oct 97 Gene M. Moore wrote that it was his understanding that materials published by Conrad during his lifetime entered the public domain by a 50 year rule in 1974, but that does not include unpublished letters, notes, mss, etc. The Library of Congress follows a 75 year rule for films, which means that the 1919 "Victory" is the only film to be free and clear with the 1925 "Lord Jim" to become available in 2000. Moore gathered that the Library of Congress would make copies of its holdings for about $500.00 each. Moore did not know of any Russian filmings of Conrad but thought that there would probably be some Conrad influence in at least some of the thousands of Indian, Japanese and Malay films. Any updates on the subject would be welcome.
LONG TERM INVESTMENT: Hunt Hawkins, editor of Joseph Conrad Today (JCT) tells us via ModBrits on the net that lifetime membership in the Joseph Conrad Society of the United States (JCS-US), which includes a subscription to JCT, costs $150.00. The annual membership costs $12.00. The lifetime membership saves money, time and trouble for people with long term Conrad interests.
