The Orwell Diaries

The Orwell Trust and the Orwell Prize have decided to post George Orwell's diaries as a blog. From their introduction of the Orwell Diaries blog:

From 9th August 2008, you will be able to gather your own impression of Orwell's face from reading his most strongly individual piece of writing: his diaries. The Orwell Prize is delighted to announce that, to mark the 70th anniversary of the diaries, each diary entry will be published on this blog exactly seventy years after it was written, allowing you to follow Orwell's recuperation in Morocco, his return to the UK, and his opinions on the descent of Europe into war in real time. The diaries end in 1942, three years into the conflict.

What impression of Orwell will emerge? From his domestic diaries (which start on 9th August), it may be a largely unknown Orwell, whose great curiosity is focused on plants, animals, woodwork, and - above all - how many eggs his chickens have laid. From his political diaries (from 7th September), it may be the Orwell whose political observations and critical thinking have enthralled and inspired generations since his death in 1950. Whether writing about the Spanish Civil War or sloe gin, geraniums or Germany, Orwell's perceptive eye and rebellion against the 'gramophone mind' he so despised are obvious.

So far it seems he was somewhat sporadic in writing in his diary so that it seems we'll have gaps of days even weeks in between new blog posts but it is truly interesting to see what he wrote about and how his life varied from the technology driven information environment we live in these days. His discussion of the newspapers available to him, the delay in their delivery and his evaluation of their individual slants in reporting the news provides such a contrast to the news that's available to any one with a good internet hook-up today. Provides some interesting food for thought.