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Spotlight: Thomas Keneally (1997)
by
Harry S. Pariser

"I made the film for this and future generations so they would know and never forget that six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, that history could not be denied. I could not be honest to that history, or to the memories of its victims, without depictions of violence and suffering."
So declares Schindler's List director Stephen Spielberg in the to-be-televised introduction to his film Schindler's List which will have its NBC World Premiere on Sunday, Feb. 23 (7:30-11 p.m. EST). Winner of seven British Academy Awards as well as a number of other awards, Schindler's List relates the saga of Oskar Schindler--the Nazi party member who saved the lives of more than 1,100 Jews during the Holocaust. Although sponsored by a major automaker, the 185-minute production will be presented without commercial introduction.

Even though you may be familiar with the film, you may not know anything about the author of the novel on whom the film Schindler's List was based. Suprisingly, writer Thomas Keneally is an Australian, a former Catholic priesthood candidate, and a multi-prizewinning novelist. If you've read Schindler's List (or any other of his books) or even if you haven't, you are welcome to join in According to Chat Producer Alison Gelb, Keneally will talk about the "impact of Shindler's List and its reception worldwide and how he first found out about the story." (See box).
Born in 1935 in Kempsey, New South Wales, Thomas Keneally intended in his youth to become a priest of the Roman Catholic church and studied for seven years to that end. However, he did an about face and became a school teacher instead. During the early 1960s he began to write as well as to study law part-time. His first novel, published in 1964, was The Place at Whitton which was followed by a string of others, all of which met with critical acclaim and prizes. Frequently on the shortlist for the prestigious Booker Prize, he was finally awarded it for Schindler's Ark (later renamed and filmed as Schindler's List) in 1982. The novel was also awarded the Los Angeles Times Fiction Prize in 1983, and in that year Keneally also received the Order of Australia in recognition of his literary contributions.

Schindler's Ark. generated a small storm of controversy at the time of its award because many considered it to be more of a work of journalism than one of fiction, thus rendering it ineligible. In any event, by the time Stephen Spielberg filmed his version of the book under the title Schindler's List in 1993, the controversy had been forgotten. There has been some criticism of the book by Holocast survivors who accuse Keneally of "revisionism."

You might be interested to know that Keneally is a leader of the Australian Republican Movement which advocates complete constitutional separation of the nation from the British Commonwealth and the Monarchy. Presently residing in Sydney, New South Wales, along with wife Margaret and two teenage daughters, Keneally will be joining the chat from Colorado where he is vacationing.
Before the chat, you might want to pick up a copy of Thomas Keneally's Schindler's List (Simon and Schuster, $12.00,
ISBN 0-671-88031-4).

The Story of the Novel's Genesis
In October 1980 Keneally brought his briefcase
into a Beverly Hills luggage shop for repair. The shop was owned by one Leopold "Paul" Page, formerly known as Poldek Pfefferberg and one of the workers on Schindler's list. During the 20-minute wait necessitated for phone confirmation of Keneally's Australian credit card , Page told the author his experiences. Although he had recited the story to numerous other writers and producers through the years, Keneally was the first to see its potential and follow through. As Page tells the story in his own words: Everything in our lives is sometimes a coincidence or an accident. I tried to tell the story about Oscar Schindler as soon as we arrived in New York in 1947 but nobody wanted to listen. There was a chance for a book to be written or a movie to be made by MGM studios in 1963, but they didn't see the dollar sign in it. In 1980, on a very hot Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles -- over 105 degrees -- somebody opened the door to my luggage store and it was Thomas Keneally, the author. I didn't know who he was. He had a strange cover on his head, looked like a rabbi and had a strange English accent. I remarked on his English accent and he said that he was not English but Australian. He said he was a writer. I asked him how good of a writer he was and he said he
was very good because they paid him for writing books. I asked him if he had any books and he opened up his briefcase and there was one of his books. So we started talking and I told him that I have a story for him. And he said to me, everybody has a story for me when they find out that I am a writer. I said to him that I have an unusual story and I told him the story about Schindler. We were waiting for a phone approval for his credit card and since the wait was about 45 minutes, I told him the story. He fell in love with the idea and decided to write a book.

Thomas Keneally Bibliography
Fiction
The Place at Whitton 1964
The Fear 1965
Bring Larks and Heroes 1967
Three Cheers for the Paraclete 1968
The Survivor 1969
A Dutiful Daughter 1971
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith 1972
Blood Red, Sister Rose 1974
Gossip from the Forest 1975 - also reviewed by Danny Yee
Season in Purgatory 1976
Confederates 1979
Passenger 1979
The Cut-Rate Kingdom 1980
Schindler's Ark 1982 (later published as Schindler's List)
A Family Madness 1985
The Playmaker 1987
Victim of the Aurora 1988
By the Line 1989
Towards Asmara 1989
Flying Hero Class 1991
Woman of the Inner Sea 1993
Jacko 1993
A River Town 1995
Under the pseudonym of "William Coyle":
Act of Grace 1988
Chief of Staff 1991
Drama
Halloran's Little Boat 1968
Childermas 1968
An Awful Rose 1972
Bullie's House 1981Children's
Ned Kelly and the City of Bees 1978
Non-Fiction
Moses the Lawgiver 1975
Outback 1983
Australia: Beyond the Dreamtime 1987
The Place Where Souls Are Born: A Journey to the Southwest 1992
Now and In Time To Be: Ireland and the Irish 1992
The Eureka Stockade 1993
Memoirs from a Young Republic 1993
The Utility Player: the Des Hasler Story 1993
Our Republic 1995
Homebush Boy - A Memoir 1995 (autobiography)
Documentary
God or Politics: Tom Keneally in Eritrea 1990
Film Adaptions
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith 1978 - directed by Fred Schepisi, from a
screenplay by Thomas Keneally and Fred Schepisi, based on the novel of the
same name.
Schindler's List 1993 - directed by Stephen Spielberg, from a screenplay by
Steven Zaillian, based on Schindler's Ark.
Screenplays
Silver City 1984 - directed by Sophia Turkiewicz.

There is an Android version and an iTunes version.

St. John Visitors:

Please check out Explore St. John, our new travel app to St. John, which supplies comprehensive information (useful for residents and visitors alike) along with pictures, maps and links to hundreds of videos and relevant websites.

iPhone/iPad/iPodTouch version

Android version

	Web www.savethemanatee.com