SIR.—It is probably fruitless io•try to 'answer' Star- buck's mean
little piece about 'Richard Hoggart's talk to adult education tutors in a recent 'Spectator's Notebook.' Still, as a member of the conference and chairman of Mr. Hoggart's session, 1 would like to point out that of the first three fragments that the writer chose to wrench from over two hours of talking and answering questions, two were mis- quoted and one maliciously misinterpreted.
I have checked my own impressions with Mr. Hoggart, and could give you the real versions of these passages, but what is the use? If a journalist wants to play that sort of game he-will go on doing so whatever anyone says. Almost anyone can be made to look a fool or a villain or anything else his 'reporter' likes, if fragments of sentences spoken by him are wrenched out of context and bordered with interpretative comment. This could happen even if the reports are accurate; in this case they are not.
ROY SHAW
Warden Leeds University Centre, Bradford
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