Welcome to Swans Commentary http://www.swans.com/ July 12, 2010
*** Many thanks to Charles Pearson for his generous financial
contribution. ***
Note from the Editors: Forgive our editorial brevity (or welcome it,
if you will) -- but Swans headquarters, along with most of the world,
was engrossed in the World Cup final, which irrespective of our
deadline went into extra time. Viva España! It's been a wonderful four
weeks of the true sport of football, and one of its most impassioned
fans, Gilles d'Aymery, commentates on the sport in general and the
South African tournament in particular. While this was a highly
successful first for an African nation to host the World Cup, it is
hard to identify much else in the way of progress on the continent.
Femi Akomolafe considers the decades- old problems that continue to
confront its citizens, turning to the second-place football team's
country, the Netherlands, as an example of how things can work if the
political will exists. Unfortunately, all too often, and it's nothing
new, political will is manipulated by philanthropy and cultural
imperialism -- consider the two 1986 book reviews by Joan Roelofs on
the matter that we republish here, and the continuing research by
Michael Barker, who conducted a series of interviews with authors and
scholars on philanthropy including Robert Arnove, Dennis Buss, Peter
Seybold, Mary Anna Colwell, and Edward Berman. In this context, it is
refreshing to remember a genuine man with a political will that was true
to the class struggle: Peter Camejo. Louis Proyect recounts his
introduction to Camejo, one of the major influences on his political
evolution over the past 30 years.
In cultural matters, Michael Doliner posits that mathematics is
sometimes applicable, sometimes not, and we have to know where to use
it. Peter Byrne shares a travelogue that takes him to Kumdanbaron,
India, where he finds the opportunity to observe small-town life
unclouded by self-consciousness. Charles Marowitz considers actor Frank
Langella and the gravitas of his dedication to acting, beyond almost
everything else in his life, that enables him to create versions of
himself which are often wonders to behold. Fabio De Propris and Peter
Byrne collaborate to create Italian and English versions of a poem on
the Trojan War, and Byrne provides a Demotic translation. Guido Monte
and Francesca Saieva talk about existential reflections of confusion
and deterioration of our world, and we close with your letters and one
final thought.
Just as we got down to work on finishing this edition, smoke began
filling the sky from our neighbor's property up the hill, and just as
quickly controlled mayhem ensued with firefighters rushing in, spotter
planes circling, a fire-retardant- dropping plane doing its work,
followed by a helicopter with a water bucket making good use of all the
vineyard ponds that suck the life out of the local rivers. We are
grateful that Wallen and Elisabeth Summers and their home are fine, and
we send kudos to the Anderson Valley volunteer firefighters and the
California Department of Forestry personnel who work relentlessly to
keep us safe in the hot and dry season.
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Cordially,
Gilles d'Aymery -- Swans
"Hungry man, reach for the book: It is a weapon." B. Brecht
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