Terry Pratchett on Writing with Alzheimer

Ich höre grade einen von zwei superinteressanten Podcasts mit Terry Pratchett, in denen er über seine Alzheimer-Erkrankung spricht und wie sie seine Arbeit als Schriftsteller beeinflusst:

Terry Pratchett on writing and living with Alzheimer’s disease: „Since being diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease the immensely successful fantasy writer Sir Terry Pratchett has travelled the world talking about the condition. He has found ways to work around it too, like dictating speech to his computer. How does a writer go on, and what are Terry Pratchett’s ideas about what he wants to happen in the end?“ (MP3)

Sir Terry Pratchett: hallucinating gently for a living: „Celebrated fantasy novelist Terry Pratchett has mined the terrain of his imagination more than most. What shaped this passionately adventurous mind, and now, how is it being reshaped by early-onset Alzheimer’s?“ (MP3) (via Swen)

Und wo wir grade beim Großen Alten der Fantasy sind: Der Kurzfilm „Troll Bridge“ sucht grade Finanzierung über Kickstarter:

Troll Bridge is an epic short film based on a fable written by Terry Pratchett. Set in the phenomenally successful Discworld series, Troll Bridge is about the world’s last Barbarian hero (now at the age of 87) embarking on a suicide mission to battle a bridge troll in mortal combat.

Troll Bridge aims to be the largest scale short film in history. Using resources garnered over eight solid years of dedication, love, sweat, and tears – Troll Bridge has already begun exceeding expectations as to what should be anticipated from a short form production. With the scale of Lord of the Rings, the absurdity of Monty Python, and the intimacy of Into The Wild – Troll Bridge relishes the opportunity to present the Disc in all the grandeur and depth of character she deserves.

Außerdem: Was garantiert später im Jahr noch für Diskussionsstoff sorgen wird, ist eine von Pratchett präsentierte Dokumentationsreihe der BBC namens „Inside the Human Body“ und in deren zweiter Folge will man zum ersten mal überhaupt den Tod eines Menschen im Fernsehen zeigen. Der Mann litt an Krebs und starb am 1. Januar 2011, vor den Kameras der BBC in einer Sterbehilfeklinik in der Schweiz, die geplante Ausstrahlung sorgt jetzt schon für Auseinandersetzungen. Vom Telegraph: BBC to show man’s death on television:

Later in the summer BBC Two will air a documentary presented by Sir Terry Pratchett, the author, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2008. In the programme, which will show the last moments of a man with motor neurone disease who has opted to end his life at the Dignitas assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland, Sir Terry says he is “a believer in assisted death”. […]

Gerald, who was suffering from advaced cancer, agreed to being filmed last November, saying he hoped it would help others. He told the film makers: “I don’t want to die, but pretty evidently unless some miracle happens, I ain’t gonna be here very long… I’m not frightened.” He died on January 1 this year, at home and surrounded by family, after vowing to see in 2011.