If Nazism again arises...
The Enigma of Isidore Ducasse
A lengthy review, xeroxed more than once and folded in quarters, then discovered and re-photographed thirty-five years later to reveal only the two visible sides.
'“If Nazism again arises, it will surely do so with a hardening of trivial meaning.” -AS writing as ID, Comte de Lautréamont
With apologies to Alan Sondheim, author of this remarkable tract.
Thank you for reproducing that vivid review, and for presenting it as a lucid shard; one that still cuts today. I loved that Alan Sondheim used words like ‘slightness’, ‘grace’ and ‘resistance’ when describing your work, and its’s possible underlying ‘intentions’.
…and to think I got so sick of apologizing for Jesse Helms back then…
Wow. Thanks for this Craig. Takes me back to that earlier chilling time whose venom as you point out is still in the cultural bloodstream.
Reminded also that The Phillips Collection has a stunning exhibit of the life and work of Essex Hemphill, one of the targets of Helms’ ire at the time (although strangely Helms and Co had a strange inability of pronouncing the Tongues Untied film correctly -- kept calling it "Tongues United" into the Congressional Record. The exhibit It is a wondrous thing to behold and unimaginable to conceive at the Phillips. It's there till the end of August I believe if you find yourself in DC.