The article of which part is reproduced. below was penned by Bernard Levin
for the Features section of the Times on 21 September. 1991. To my mind,
it
described the situation at the time and in particular. a recent meeting
with
a friend, during which I for. the first time admitted to someone other
than
my GP that I had been subjected to a conspiracy of. harassment over the
previous year and a. half.
>There is a madman running. loose about London, called David Campbell; I
have
>no reason to believe that he. is violent, but he should certainly be
>approached with caution. You may know him. by the curious glitter in his
>eyes and a persistent trembling of his. hands; if that does not suffice,
you
>will. find him attempting to thrust no fewer than 48 books into your
arms,
>all hardbacks, with a promise that,. if you should return to the same
>meeting-place next year, he will heave. another 80 at you.
>
>If, by now, the police have arrived and are keeping a close. watch on
him,
>you may feel sufficiently emboldened to examine. the books. The jackets
are
>a model of uncluttered typography, elegantly and. simply laid out; there
is
>an unobtrusive. colophon of a rising sun, probably not picked at random.
>Gaining confidence - the lunatic is smiling by. now, and the policemen,
who
>know. about such things, have significantly removed their helmets - you
>could do worse than take the jacket off the first book in. the pile. The
>only word possible. to describe the binding is sumptuous; real cloth in a
>glorious shade of dark green,. with the title and author in black and
gold
>on. the spine.
>
>Look at it more closely; your eyes do. not deceive you - it truly does
have
>real top-bands and tail-bands, in yellow, and, for good measure, a. silk
>marker ribbon in a. lighter green. The paper is cream-wove and acid-free,
>and. the book is sewn, not glued.
>
>Throughout the encounter, I should have mentioned, our. loony has been
>chattering away, although. what he is trying to say is almost impossible
to
>understand; after. a time, however, he becomes sufficiently coherent to
make
>clear that he is trying to sell. the books to you. Well, now, such
quality
>in bookmaking today can. only be for collectors' limited editions at a
>fearsome. price - #30, #40, #50?
>
>No, no, he says, the glitter more. powerful than ever and the trembling
of
>his hands rapidly spreading throughout. his entire body; no, no - the
books
>are priced variously at #7, #8. or #9, with the top price #12.
>
>At. this, the policemen understandably put their helmets back on; one of
>them draws. his truncheon and the other can be heard summoning
>reinforcements on his. walkie-talkie. The madman bursts into tears, and
>swears it. is all true.
>
>And. it is.
>
>David Campbell has acquired the entire rights to the whole. of the
>Everyman's Library, which died a lingering. and shameful death a decade
or
>so ago, and he proposes to start it all over again - 48 volumes. this
>September and 80. more next year, in editions I have described, at the
>prices specified. He proposes to. launch his amazing venture
simultaneously
>in. Britain and the United States, with the massive firepower of Random
>Century at. his back in this country, and the dashing cavalry of Knopf
>across the water, and no one who loves literature and courage. will
forbear
>to. cheer.
At the time this article was written I had. believed for some time that
columnists in the Times and other journalists had. been making references
to
my situation. Nothing unusual about. this you may think, plenty of people
have the same sort of ideas and obviously the papers aren't writing. about
them, so why should my beliefs not be. as false as those of others?
What makes this article. so extraordinary is that three or four days
immediately preceding its. publication, I had a meeting with a friend,
during the course of. which we discussed the media persecution, and in
particular that by Times columnists. It. seemed to me, reading the article
by Levin in Saturday’s paper, that he was describing in. some detail his
"artist’s impression". of that meeting. Most telling are the final
sentences, when he writes, "The madman bursts into tears, and swears it.
is
all true. And it is." Although I did not "burst into tears" (he seems to.
be
using a bit of poetic licence and exaggerating) I did try hard to.
convince
my friend that it was. all true; and I am able to concur with Mr Levin,
because, of course, it. is.
At the beginning of the. piece Levin reveals a fear of being attacked by
the
"irrational" subject of his story, saying "I have no reason. to believe
that
he is violent, but. he should certainly be approached with caution". This
goes back to the xenophobic propaganda of "defence" against a. "threat"
which was seen at the very beginning of the. harassment. The impression of
a
"madman running loose" who needs to be controlled through. an agency which
assigns to itself the mantle. of the "police" is also one which had been
expressed. elsewhere.
In the final paragraph of this extract, his reference to. Everyman’s
Library
as. having "died a lingering and shameful death a decade or so ago" shows
clearly what sort. of conclusion they wish to their campaign. They want a
permanent solution, and as. they are prevented from achieving that
solution
directly, they waste significant resources on methods. which have been
repeatedly shown to be ineffective for. such a purpose.
1863
|
