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| Sunday, 15 May 2005 |
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Features |  |
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When Jules Verne meets Arthur C. Clarke...
Sir Arthur C. Clarke will be the chief guest at the opening ceremony of the Jules Verne poster exhibition, to be held at 7 p.m. on May 19 at the Feinome(g)nal Gallery, Galle Face Court 1-35 Galle Road, Colombo 3. Jules Verne, the highly acclaimed French author of the 19th century is considered to be the father of modern day hard science, science fiction. His tales of adventure featured incredible machines which probed the depths of the oceans and the heights of the moon. He was one of the most popular writers of the 19th century and his works endure today. The reason he continues to be popular is that many of his predictions of the future came true - such as submarines, aircraft, atomic bombs, space ships and so forth. Jules Gabriel Verne was born on February 8, 1828, in Nantes, France. His parents were of a seafaring tradition, a factor which influenced his writings. As a boy, Jules Verne ran off to be a cabin boy on a merchant ship, but he was caught and returned to his parents. In 1847 Jules was sent to study law in Paris. While there, however, his passion for the theatre grew. Later in 1850, Jules Verne's first play was published. His father was outraged when he heard that Jules was not going to continue law, so he discontinued the money he was giving him to pay for his expenses in Paris. This forced Verne to make money by selling his stories. His most popular work is 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Captain Nemo is one of fiction's most memorable characters, the book raises one of Verne's main themes - the end of war through technology. In this book, Verne correctly predicted the military use of submarines in warfare. Following closely in continued popularity is A Journey to the Centre of the Earth, an epic adventure in the bowels of the earth. Verne's most humorous work is Around the World in 80 Days, which created another memorable character of Phineas J. Fogg, a satire of a proper English gentleman concerned with making his travel connections and winning his bet. All three made memorable, Academy Award winning movies. If Jules Verne is the father of hard science and science fiction, Sir Arthur C. Clarke is his adopted son. Clarke brought solid scientific principles to the genre, sticking hard to the rules of physics. His stories are less science fiction than they are science fact. He is the inspiration for dozens of scientists writing science fiction today. His work, which led to the global satellite systems in use today, brought him numerous honours including the 1982 Marconi International Fellowship, a gold medal of the Franklin Institute, the Vikram Sarabhai Professorship of the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, the Lindbergh Award and a Fellowship of King's College, London. Today, the geostationary orbit at 36,000 kilometres above the equator is named 'The Clarke Orbit' by the International Astronomical Union. He has been the author of many books, articles and papers. The first story he sold professionally was Rescue Party, written in March 1945 and appearing in Astounding Science in May 1946. He went on to become a prolific writer of science fiction, renowned worldwide and with more than 70 titles to his name. Among his many non-fiction works, Profiles of the Future(1962) looked at the probable shape of tomorrow's world and stated his Three Laws. Clarke first visited Colombo, Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon) in December 1954 and has lived here since 1956 pursuing an enthusiasm for underwater exploration along that coast and on the Great Barrier Reef. Invitations will be available on a first come first served basis at the reception of the Alliance Francaise. |
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