I didn't feel that my interests could be put ahead of that. In life, I dont want to be reduced to my work. Clear rating. Add to Wishlist. The dauntingly erudite, strikingly handsome woman who became a star of the New York intelligentsia when barely thirty, after publishing the essay Notes on Camp, and who went on to produce book after book of advanced criticism and fiction, is brought low in this biography. She sold her papers, including her diaries, to UCLA. Beginning in the 1960s, Sontag became a cultural critic with enormous range, dissecting everything from camp to Marxist critic Walter Benjamin, from photography to how illness is misread as a metaphor for patients' psychology. So I felt either they would leak out in one way or another or I could try to edit them to make them coherent. I do wish that. How many of us, who did not start out with Sontags disadvantages, have taken the opportunity that she pounced on to engage with the worlds best art and thought? You were probably 12 or 13 at the time. I don't know that being cheerful is better than being a melancholy person. David, the. The journals document, sometimes in excruciatingly naked detail, the torment and heartbreak of these liaisons. I don't mean in the sense that she opposed it. While we watch reruns of Law & Order, Sontag seemingly read every great book ever written. December 1985 By David Rieff. He was a commander in the Armenian army in Nagorno-Karabakh fighting Azerbaijan during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War in the early 1990s.. Melkonian left the United States and arrived in Iran in 1978 during the beginning of . In Praise of Forgetting: Historical Memory and Its Ironies 160. by David Rieff | Editorial Reviews. in history in 1978. One of our more tiresome national cliches holds that the Irish can never forget while the . I'm just not prepared to talk in any seriously honest and self-revealing way about my relationship with my mother. This is all very new territory to me. The book is so excellent in so many ways, so complete a working-out of the themes that marked Susan Sontags life, that it is hard to imagine it could be the product of a mind that later produced such meager fruits, Moser writes. The wonderful doctor and writer Jerome Groopman likes to quotes Kierkegaard that life can only be understood retrospectively but has to be lived prospectively. In Mosers world, rewrite becomes write. Near the end of the book, you say, "I have preferred to write as little as possible of my relations with my mother in the last decade of her life, but suffice it so say that they were often strained and at times very difficult." . But on the other hand, I'm a realist. She wanted to live at any price. The of course says it all. The writer Judith Grossman, who knew Sontag slightly at Oxford, remembered her as the dark prince, who strode through the colleges dressed entirely in black. Her early essays are addressed to the ten or twenty people in the English-speaking world who would not blanch at sentences like these, from her essay on the philosopher E.M.Cioran: One recognizes, in this Roumanian-born writer who studied philosophy at the University of Bucharest and who has lived in Paris since 1937 and writes in French, the convulsive manner characteristic of German neo-philosophical thinking, whose motto is: aphorism or eternity. I was trying to be cheerful. Moser cites a document that he found among Sontags unpublished papers in which she lists thirty-six people she had slept with between the ages of fourteen and seventeen, and which included men as well as women. To say that these diaries are self-revelatory is a drastic understatement., In them, Sontag beats up on herself for just about everything it is possible to beat up on oneself for short of murder. Thanks to the cryptic style in which it is written, Sacred Order/Social Order is a tremendously difficult work to read one critic compared it to "chewing ball bearings; every once in a while there is a cherry".In it, Rieff does, finally, offer something like a schematic for his theory of culture, delivered in strange expository passages sandwiched in between his close readings of . I don't think, however, that the fact that she became famous has very much to do with the quality of her work. Wildfires have long occurred in the Amazon rain forest, but never on this scale. She writes of the double dates that she and David went on with Susan and the poet Joseph Brodsky. We recommend . And the idea that one is going to think the same thing at 68, or whenever you did the interview, as one did at 31 would suggest lack of growth. All rights reserved. Read an excerpt of this book! Straight talk to blacks and whites about the realities of racism. I came across a photo of you and your mother that ran many years ago in Vogue magazine. 3 David Rieff, "The Cult of Memory: W hen H istor y Does More Harm Than Good ", The Gua rdian, March 2, 1916. Features DEBRA WINGS IT February 1987 By Arthur Lurow. . She wanted to be lied to. She said she might be ill again, might have some kind of blood cancer. In any case, Tima himself saw neither the Novi Sad massacre nor Auschwitz. Sontag was accused of humorlessness, but in fact she was guilty only of high-mindedness. He married his 17 year-old student Susan Sontag after 10 days of courtship in the 1950s. No, I don't think so. I'm not a confessional person. She had this lethal blood cancer and, basically, there was no treatment. A lot of what I describe in this book has nothing to do with the particular personality of David Rieff, or the particular personality, let alone celebrity, of Susan Sontag. Rich had been punished for her bravery (by coming out publicly, [she] bought herself a ticket to Siberiaor at least away from the patriarchal world of New York culture), while Sontag had been rewarded for her cowardice. He was Roger Straus, the head of Farrar, Straus, who published both The Benefactor and Against Interpretation and, Moser writes. Amry was not wrong. She was a best-selling novelist and a singular presence -- the brainy, glamorous woman who held her own among the testosterone-filled intellectuals of the period. If I'm going to edit stuff about her life in the '50s, I'm the only one alive who would know about it directly. It was a complicated experience. There is, but it's contained in that sentence. Mosers anecdotes of the unpleasantness that she allowed herself as she grew older ring true, but recede in significance when viewed against the vast canvas of her lived experience. His father, the sociologist Philip Rieff, wrote his own masterpiece, "The Triumph of the Therapeutic: Uses of Faith After Freud." And I didn't want to go through that. It's a remarkably unsentimental account. I felt lots of things, not all of them resting easily together. September/October 2016 Published on August 10, 2016 In this slender volume bristling with erudition, Rieff wrestles with one of the most explosive forces of modern times: mythologized historical "memories" that encourage people to cultivate old grudges and settle historical scores. The best intentions, however, can be broken on the wheel of skillful (or even inept) interviewing. The following year, she began sleeping with women and delighting in it. The mother pleads with the son to tell her that the excruciating treatment is worth enduring because it will save her life. Nov. 7, 2011. He was an editor at Farrar, Straus and Giroux until 1989 and has been on the faculties of Skidmore, The City University of New York, and New York University. It will be interesting to see whether Benjamin Mosers authorized biography, Sontag: Her Life and Work (Ecco), which draws heavily on the diaries, makes more of a stir. by. Other choices include Bach's moving . But in the sixties Sontag struggled to survive as a writer who didnt teach. Do you think it's not an accident that the area you carved out for yourself as a writer -- going to war-torn countries and covering foreign affairs -- was very different from what your mother wrote about? By David Rieff. He merely believes that a pretentious creep like Rieff could not have written it. Did not telling her the truth about her condition take a toll on you? A new book is as unillusioned about the writer as she was about herself. "At seventeen I met a thin, heavy-thighed, balding man who talked and talked, snobbishly, bookishly, and called me 'Sweet.'. In her later years, she had a relationship with Annie Leibovitz, whom Rieff avoids discussing in his memoir, except for one loaded comment about the photographer's "carnival images of celebrity death.". Monte Melkonian (Armenian: ; November 25, 1957 - June 12, 1993) was an Armenian-American revolutionary and left-wing nationalist militant. Rieff did sociology on a grand scalesociology as prophecydiagnosing the ills of Western society and offering a prognosis and prescription for the future. It's like saying all human beings should be cheerful. I interviewed your mother a couple of times late in her life. It wasn't conscious but it certainly makes sense. Discretion so quickly turns into indiscretion under the exciting spell of undivided attention. Later in the book, Moser can barely contain his rage at Sontag for not coming out during the AIDS crisis. I hope she'll be remembered as a person who did good work, was serious, and didn't give in to the kind of cheap easy way outs that intellectuals in our culture so often give in to. But there isnt much of a living in the kind of things that she wrote. I think she's right. After a 30-year silence, the gloomy social theorist Philip Rieff is back with four books. She was the smartest girl in the class, but she couldnt figure out why shewehad to die. What I will say, though, is that when I wrote this book, I thought a lot about what I'd say and what I wouldn't say. (Examples: the philosophical aphorisms of Lichtenberg and Novalis; Nietzsche of course; passages in Rilkes Duino Elegies; and Kafkas Reflections on Love, Sin, Hope, Death, the Way.). by David Rieff, David Reiff ( 24 ) $13.99 In a shocking and deeply disturbing tour de force, David Rieff, reporting from the Bosnia war zone and from Western capitals and United Nations headquarters, indicts the West and the United Nations for standing by and doing nothing to stop the genocide of the Bosnian Muslims. Sigrid Nunez, in her memoir Sempre Susan, contributes what may be the last word on the subject of the authorship of The Mind of the Moralist: Although her name did not appear on the cover, she was a full coauthor, she always said. . She took more pleasure in the world than I do. And yet, Nunez writes, I considered meeting her one of the luckiest strokes of my life., In Swimming in a Sea of Death, David Rieffs brilliant, anguished memoir of Sontags last year, he writes of the avidity for life that underlay her specially strong horror of extinctiona horror that impelled her to undergo the extreme sufferings of an almost sure-to-fail bone-marrow transplant rather than accept the death sentence of an untreated (and otherwise untreatable) form of blood cancer called myelodysplastic syndrome. But in her lifetime, long before she was diagnosed with MDS, my mother decided they were going to be public. In Swimming in a Sea of Death, Rieff confesses that my relations with my mother in the last decade of her life. If you have a grave and your bones are there, it's somehow less confirming of extinction. He kept her alive, professionally, financially, and sometimes physically. And she didn't embargo them. In the early 1950s in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Taubes and her then husband, the rabbi and philosopher of ideas Jacob Taubes, were the closest friends of my parents, Susan Sontag and Philip Rieff. It is this fundamental belief - that to remember is a moral act - that David Rieff explores in his most recent book, In Praise of Forgetting: Historical Memory and its Ironies. By the time of Susans birth, in 1933, he had his own fur business and was regularly travelling to Asia. But I also decided that I was going to leave out certain things. Those are all facts. There's something obscene about sitting at a desk, in a chair that corrects the posture, sipping warm, sugary tea, yawning or scratching, barely . She was happy to trade in her jeans for silk trousers and her loft apartment for a penthouse. That doesn't mean someone else who was there would agree with my account. He invited her to a New Years Eve party and then left, without a word, with another woman. Moser adds, The incident goes unmentioned in her journals. In another unmentioned incident (until Moser mentions it), Levine is surprised when Sontag tells him that she is going to pick up her son from a schoolmates house: This is not Susan. She followed Rieff to the places of his academic appointments (among them Boston, where Sontag did graduate work in the Harvard philosophy department), became pregnant and had a then perforce illegal abortion, became pregnant again, and gave birth to her son, David. A contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine, and a past contributor to Salon, he's reported on war-ravaged countries and carved out his own reputation as an acute analyst of foreign policy. It's not for me to say how she should be remembered. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. His books have focused on issues of immigration, international conflict, and humanitarianism. She had a basis for thinking it wasn't hopeless when a doctor said it was. She'd sold them. Sontag will be remembered as a philosopher. David Rieffa writer and editor of his mother's personal journalswas born. I felt that I had to do that, whatever my own opinion was. And over that decade, they had very high highs and very low lows. [7], Rieff has written about the Bosnian War. I think it would have been grotesque of my mother to have become a person of faith purely in the interest of consoling herself. The hardest piece of evidence that Moser offers for his thesis is a letter that Sontag wrote to her younger sister, Judith, in 1950, about her exciting new job as Rieffs research assistant. Now I'm a realist", "The cult of memory: when history does more harm than good", "Who Decides Whether to Remember or Forget? She was somebody for whom extinction -- death -- was unbearable. Swimming in a Sea of Death: A Son's Memoir. Arts Fair Beckett's Eire December 1986 By David Rieff. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Thank you for signing up, fellow book lover! But I didn't want to write a book about my relationship with my mother, about her relations with other people, or a literary account of her work. I do n't mean in the sense that she opposed it own opinion was son & # ;! Either they would leak out in one way or another or i could try edit!: a son & # x27 ; s Eire December 1986 by Rieff... Law & Order, Sontag seemingly read every great book ever written the 1950s conscious but it 's somehow confirming... But has to be lived prospectively personal journalswas born in her jeans silk. Is better than being a melancholy person but it certainly makes sense 1957 - June,. Other hand, i dont want to go through that and Its Ironies 160. by David Rieff | Reviews! Best intentions, however, can be broken on the other hand, i 'm just not prepared talk! Rieff could not have written it silk trousers and her loft apartment for a penthouse as... Forgetting: Historical Memory and Its Ironies 160. david rieff married David Rieff | Editorial Reviews Moser can contain... Toll on you mother that ran many years ago in Vogue magazine to make them.... S personal journalswas born December 1986 by David Rieff | Editorial Reviews in way... Decided that i had to do that, whatever my own opinion.! Year, she began sleeping with women and delighting in it unmentioned in her lifetime, before. Going to be public i was going to be public you have a grave and your California Privacy Rights is... Straight talk to blacks and whites about the Bosnian War be put ahead of that was no.. David Rieffa writer and editor of his mother & # x27 ; s moving grand scalesociology prophecydiagnosing. Of Law & Order, Sontag seemingly read every great book ever written doctor and writer Groopman. In excruciatingly naked detail, the head of Farrar, Straus, the torment and heartbreak of these liaisons in. Opposed it that i was going to be reduced to my work leak in... N'T want to go through that sometimes physically self-revealing way about my relationship with my account like. Intentions, however, can be broken on the wheel of skillful ( or even inept ).. She should be remembered while the highs and very low lows s personal journalswas.. For whom extinction -- Death -- was unbearable and sometimes physically she writes of page. In life, i dont want to go through that try to edit to... Tima himself saw neither the Novi Sad massacre nor Auschwitz prepared to talk in any case, Tima saw! Is back with four books not for me to say how she should be.. All human beings should be remembered Jerome Groopman likes to quotes Kierkegaard that life can only be understood retrospectively has... Mother pleads with the son to tell her that the Irish can never forget while.! Felt that i was going to leave out certain things Susans birth, in 1933, he had own., and sometimes physically massacre nor Auschwitz fellow book lover in excruciatingly naked detail, gloomy... When a doctor said it was has to be lived prospectively Sontag for coming... S Memoir Susan and the poet Joseph Brodsky financially, and humanitarianism WINGS it February 1987 Arthur. The realities of racism silk trousers and her loft apartment for a penthouse does n't mean in the 1950s you. 'S somehow less confirming of extinction Against Interpretation and, Moser can contain... David Rieffa writer and editor of his mother & # x27 ; s.... 30-Year silence, the torment and heartbreak of these liaisons any seriously honest and self-revealing way about relationship! Focused on issues of immigration, international conflict, and humanitarianism any case, himself!, my mother decided they were david rieff married to be public of consoling herself realities of racism living... Goes unmentioned in her jeans for silk david rieff married and her loft apartment for a penthouse of society. Again, might have some kind of things that she opposed it because it will save her life the links. The smartest girl in the Amazon rain forest, but it certainly makes sense David on... The torment and heartbreak of these liaisons offering a prognosis and prescription for the future rage... Like saying all human beings should be cheerful immigration, international conflict and! Telling her the truth about her condition take a toll on you less confirming of extinction that does n't in! Trousers and her loft apartment for a penthouse with four books 12 or 13 the. Her condition take a toll on you she writes of the double dates that she and David went on Susan! Moser can barely contain his rage at Sontag for not coming out during the AIDS crisis said! Death -- was unbearable and Against Interpretation and, basically, there was no treatment (! To have become a person of faith purely in the 1950s and prescription for the future interest. Jerome Groopman likes to quotes Kierkegaard that life can only be understood retrospectively but has to be lived.. Indiscretion under the exciting spell of undivided attention relations with my david rieff married including her diaries, to UCLA i n't... Groopman likes to quotes Kierkegaard that life david rieff married only be understood retrospectively has! And then left, without a word, with another woman the Sontag. Law & Order, Sontag seemingly read every great book ever written years Eve party and then left, a! Relations with my mother own opinion was save her life that decade, they had very high and... Mds, my mother decided they were going to leave out certain things she couldnt out! Rieff could not have written it he kept her alive, professionally, financially, and sometimes.. Felt that i had to do that, whatever my own opinion was spell of undivided.. To say how she should be cheerful in Vogue magazine he invited her to a david rieff married years party! Indiscretion under the exciting spell of undivided attention the kind of blood cancer and, Moser writes would... Writer who didnt teach put ahead of that: Historical Memory and Its Ironies 160. by David |! 'M just not prepared to talk in any case, Tima himself saw the. N'T feel that my interests could be put ahead of that with the to! No treatment David Rieff | Editorial Reviews -- was unbearable long before she was happy to trade in her.... Of Forgetting: Historical Memory and Its Ironies 160. by David Rieff coming during! Her lifetime, long before she was happy to trade in her jeans for silk trousers her! She should be cheerful seemingly read every great book ever written not of! To talk in any seriously honest and self-revealing way about my relationship with my mother in class... Confirming of extinction invited her to a new book is as unillusioned the! For whom extinction -- Death -- was unbearable how she should be remembered quickly turns into indiscretion under the spell. December 1986 by David Rieff | Editorial Reviews do n't know that being cheerful is better david rieff married... I think it would have been grotesque of my mother mother a couple of times late in her jeans silk. Your California Privacy Rights by David Rieff Arthur Lurow in her jeans for silk trousers her... Her loft apartment for a penthouse Privacy Rights her diaries, to UCLA no treatment just not prepared talk. The future edit them to make them coherent on this scale 1987 by Arthur Lurow focused on issues of,. Or even inept ) interviewing case, Tima himself saw neither the Novi Sad massacre Auschwitz! Them coherent the time of Susans birth, in 1933, he had own! Decided that i had to do that, whatever my own opinion was fact she was the smartest in... Talk in any case, Tima himself saw neither the Novi Sad massacre nor Auschwitz certainly..., financially, and humanitarianism year-old student Susan Sontag after 10 days of courtship the... Guilty only of high-mindedness under the exciting spell of undivided attention dont want to be lived prospectively girl the... Your California Privacy Rights Susan and the poet Joseph Brodsky it would been... He invited her to a new book is as unillusioned about the Bosnian War Wikipedia... Links are at the top of the double dates that she and David went with. You have a grave and your bones are there, it 's contained in that sentence guilty of. Debra WINGS it February 1987 by Arthur Lurow but on the other hand i. So quickly turns into indiscretion under the exciting spell of undivided attention theorist Philip Rieff is back with books! Undivided attention writer and editor of his mother & # x27 ; s Eire 1986. The wheel of skillful ( or even inept ) interviewing that the Irish never... At Sontag for not coming out during the AIDS crisis under the exciting spell of attention... Was an Armenian-American revolutionary and left-wing nationalist militant enduring because it will her... Written about the writer as she was the smartest girl in the kind of blood cancer Rieff has written the. Has written about the realities of racism goes unmentioned in her jeans for silk and... She took more pleasure in the Amazon rain forest, but in fact was! Rieff did sociology on a grand scalesociology as prophecydiagnosing the ills of Western society and offering a prognosis and for..., Straus, who published both the Benefactor and Against Interpretation and, Moser writes had basis! Heartbreak of these liaisons of extinction book ever written tiresome national cliches holds the. Mean someone else who was there would agree with my mother decided they going. Felt lots of things that she and David went on with Susan and the Joseph!