Our Man in the Pews: The Long Tail of the Rattlesnake
Gone are the days of field research when a renegade ethnographer would pile his hefty recording instruments into the trunk of his car and set out on the back roads of the American South in search of that region’s authentic music. This was the method famously employed by the Lomaxes, John…
Several months ago, Ms Odradek posted a section from Auerbach’s “Mimesis” about Francis of Assisi performing acts that were always “impressive, graphic, and indeed scenic.” Shortly after his performances, the Franciscan Order would adopt the act as a liturgy to practice regularly, often turning it into a grotesque or farce. Our Man in the Pew’s article makes it seem like in our age the farce is returning back to an authentic practice.
The great chiasm of time always returns to authenticity?
Our Man in the Pews: The Long Tail of the Rattlesnake