|
Textual Theory Projects, Spring 1998
|
All that is solid melts into air,
Profaning the Holy: Hallowed Profanities in Verso's
Table of Contents
II. Bourgeois Burgundy:
III. Proletariat Plum:
IV. Appendix A:
V: Appendix B:
|
|
I. Communist Crimson: textual criticism as sociohistorical criticism "The latest in radical chic;" "fodder for capitalist fantasy;" "a snazzy accessory to a designer dress:" these are only several of the terms employed by the American and British press to describe Verso Press' 150th anniversary edition of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels' The Communist Manifesto: A Modern Edition.1 To one who has not yet experienced this edition, these comments seem sorely misplaced-wasn't it Marx and Engels who proclaimed the inevitable downfall of capitalism and renounced bourgeois excess? Indeed, the vision outlined by the two German socialists predicted the self-destruction of capitalism and the ascendance of the heretofore-alienated proletariat. However, one glimpse at Verso's new golden goose resolves (or perhaps, as in my case) exacerbates-the paradox. Verso has designed a hallowed edition for the enchained masses. The compact, black and red, cloth-bound, hardcover volume sells for the blue-collar price of only $12.00. With a sumptuously heavy paper stock, red end-pages, and a red ribbon for marking pages, this provocative text has monopolized the front display counter at Barnes and Noble for weeks. The cover painting, a bleeding red flag flowing in a black background, was designed by two young New York artists, Vitaly Komar and Alex Melamid, who themselves escaped communist Russia in 1974. That which is conspicuously absent from the painting of the red flag is that which makes it most visible: the Russian communist hammer and sickle, attesting to the disappearance of the communist threat to the western world. The emotional exhortation in crimson lettering on the front and back covers proclaims, "The workers have nothing to lose but their chains." To call the bibliographic code of this new edition merely "ironic" in relation to the linguistic code hardly suffices--the intercourse between the bibliographic code and the linguistic code of this edition of CM proves to be much more elaborate: the bibliographic code simultaneously colludes with and resists the linguistic code, both revering and profaning it, succumbing to it while emasculating it, concealing it with one hand and flaunting it with the other. Textual scholar Jerome McGann elaborates upon the interaction between the two codes in The Textual Condition: "Both linguistic and bibliographic texts are symbolic and signifying mechanisms. Each generates meaning, and while the bibliographical text commonly functions in a subordinate relation to the linguistic text, "meaning" in literary works results from the exchanges these two great semiotic mechanisms work with each other" (66-67).2 Indeed, the majority of McGann's case studies focus upon texts whose bibliographic code either disputes (a la Blake) or complements (a la Pound, Emily Dickinson) its linguistic code.3 The time has come for a case study which specifically focuses on a text whose bibliographic code most patently opposes and upholds the great semiotic mechanisms of the linguistic code! Within this schema, meaning will thus inevitably be contradictory, as the continual interaction of codes forestalls all efforts at ascertaining a final semantic value. The intricacies within the text giving rise to this dialectical relationship can be best understood in the context of the specific sociohistorical and political conditions under which this edition was published--the post-industrial, post-modern, post-communist western world. McGann concedes: "Every text enters the world under determinate sociohistorical conditions, and while these conditions may and should be variously defined and imagined, they establish the horizon within which the life histories of different texts can play themselves out" (9). Exploring these sociohistorical conditions and their manifestation in the bibliographic code of Verso's CM is another goal of this project. As a primary sociohistorical data source, I have chosen the Internet-a medium which assembles, perhaps more concisely than any other, mass popular opinion in newspaper articles, book reviews, chat groups and opinion pages. The interaction between the bibliographic and linguistic codes will thus be examined both on a theoretical and a cyberspatial plane. A text's bibliographic code includes all elements of a text's physicality. Such elements, according to Peter L. Shillingsburg's definition of the bibliographic code, include: the texture of paper, the type font, style and expense of binding, color, the indications on the book of the type of marketing undertaken, the price, the width of margins-in short, all aspects of the physical object that is the book that bear clues to its origins and destinations and social and literary pretentions [sic]. (23-24)Advertising mechanisms, distribution venues, editorial decisions--aspects which have traditionally been regarded as peripheral to "the text itself" all constitute the text's bibliographic code (McGann, Text. Cond. 12). McGann attenuates this definition by emphasizing that the bibliographic code focuses not only on the text's materiality, but on the materiality of the event which has produced the text. In his review of D.F. McKenzie's Sociology of Bibliography in which McGann argues against the separation between the linguistic text and the bibliographic code, McGann radically reconfigures the character of textual language itself: "Language is more properly conceived as an event than a medium: not a container or even an avenue of meaning, but an extended field of communicative action" (20). Released from its burden of precise meaning, language metamorphoses into an active historical moment, an event of communication within a specific sociological framework. McGann emphatically reiterates this point in The Textual Condition. The following quote illuminates the socially, historically and temporally contingent nature of the literary text: One overriding fact: that texts are produced and reproduced under specific social and institutional conditions, and hence that every text, including those that may appear to be purely private, is a social text. This view entails a corollary understanding, that a "text" is not a "material thing" but a material event or set of events, a point in time (or a moment in space) where certain communicative interchanges are being practiced. (20)This view directly contradicts G. Thomas Tanselle's assertion in A Rationale of Textual Criticism of the existence of an ideal text which resides within the brain of the solitary genius which is corrupted when finally written down. It also counters Fredson Bower's notion of final authorial intentions which seeks the "purest" form of a text without considering the text as a sociohistorical phenomena, as well as Hershel Parker's theory that the "best" text is the text which best reveals the single author's creativity. Instead, McGann contends that the text can only begin to exist when it becomes a "human act" (Text. Cond. 4), an "interactive locus of complex feedback operations" (Text. Cond. 12), that only at the moment in which it becomes social can it become art. The text's ontology-its existence as an aesthetic form--thus depends on social interchange. In A Critique of Modern Textual Criticism McGann explains, "Because literary works are fundamentally social rather than personal or psychological products, they do not even acquire an artistic form of being until their engagement with an audience has been determined" (43-44). Authorial intention and authorship itself are thus, for McGann, intricate communicative networks of many bodies which resist adhering to one isolated creative locus. Because notions of "authorial intention" and "authority" become so dispersed and anonymous in this model, the terms themselves almost seem to hinder, rather than to clarify the textual process. McGann is not inherently against the notion of authorial intention, but insists that both authorial intentions and nonauthorial intentions contribute to the ceaseless interaction which is textual creation. Existing theories of authorial intention thus "misrepresent the interactive procedures by which texts are constituted" (Text. Cond. 67). Similarly, constructs of "authorship" become a collaborative-or ofttimes contentious-event, involving numerous entities well outside the ivory tower: "Authorship is a social and not a solitary act or set of acts. Authorship is a special form of human communicative exchange, and it cannot be carried on without interactions, cooperative and otherwise, with various persons and audiences" (Text. Cond. 64). Following suit, textual "authority" also becomes dispersed, having abandoned the solitary author and become located instead within the sociohistorical and political constructs which inform the individual edition's creation. McGann emphasizes the fundamentally social, heterogeneous nature of authority: Authority is a social nexus, not a personal possession. . . . It takes place within the conventions and enabling limits that are accepted by the prevailing institutions of literary production-conventions and limits which exist for the purpose of generating and supporting literary production. (Text. Cond. 48)Concepts of authority will become especially pertinent in exploring the motives and rationale behind Verso's choice of the bibliographic code for this edition of CM.4 These expanded theoretical conceptions which McGann outlines will permit a sociohistorical analysis of Verso's most scandalous new treasure trove in relation-and resistance--to its bibliographic code.
II. My attention was first drawn to this edition of CM in an article in The Seattle Times dated March 25, 1998. Having labeled the new CM with the aforementioned definitions, "the latest in radical chic," "fodder for capitalist fantasy," and "a snazzy accessory to a designer dress," author Verena Dobnik continues in her article with an interview with Simon Doonen, creative director of Barneys on Madison Avenue. Dobnik reports, "Doonan is toying with the idea of featuring the manifesto-along with red lipsticks-in the window as 'conceptual art.' His assistants are 'looking for the right lipstick-preferably with a Russian-sounding name.' Likewise, bonanza booksellers Barnes & Noble has marketed the manifesto at its 483 superstores as a storefront feature." Dobnik quotes Managing Director of Verso Publishers, Colin Robinson, as stating: "it's elegant enough to grace a coffee table." Reporter James K. Glassman of the Washington Post quotes Robinson as calling the new edition an "upscale, sybarite's edition." Glassman, unlike Dobnik, immediately points to the outrageous implications of marketing this new edition, noting that Barnes & Noble will promote the book "heavily at the cash register: communism as an impulse purchase." Glassman's sardonic critique perhaps best illustrates the manner in which communism itself has become trivialized since the end of the Cold War, reduced to an object of postmodern consumption and contemplation: Nine years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Karl Marx, with a fuzzy beard like pop-doctor Andrew Weill, has become a cuddly, kitschy, innocuous object of fun, nostalgia and irony. He's beloved by the deconstructionist English departments of America's most expensive colleges, and politicians, journalists and social scientists happily dance on his grave.The threat of communism in the western-world having now subsided, Marxism5 becomes the favorite play-toy of everyone from Fredric Jameson to Frederick's of Hollywood. While this assertion may seem crude and generalist, Glassman's point most certainly holds true: today's sociohistorical context has reduced Marxism to simply another element of fetishized consumption. This is a prime example of McGann's notion of text as an event in time-- Verso's CM becomes text at the moment in which it intersects with the dominant political paradigms which pervade western society. Only in the context of this particular historical juncture can the trivialization of Marxism have such lucrative consequences; only in this moment in time can the fetishism of Marxism generate such long lines at Barnes and Noble. Paula Span of the Washington Post reports her interview with Colin Robinson and crew. The slew of phrases which Robinson utters in relation to his new gold mine range from hilarious to monstrous (non-quoted phrases are Span's unless otherwise noted):
'We've packaged . . . er, produced it in a very beautiful way,' says Amelia La Fuente, fumbling for the PC marketing term for such an influential title. 'It's very chic and looks like something for the sybaritic classes. That differentiates it from all the other editions on sale and should get us some great displays in the book chains.' Never mind the irony, what about the dilemma - do you pop it in your Prada handbag, or leave it casually on the coffee table?Indeed, "that which was once red" is now "that which is green", having become both fashionable and profitable. Byrom continues: Next season's colour is definitely pinko. Prague, Vietnam, and Cuba are just about the hippest destinations you could choose for your hols, and very soon the book shops will be groaning with titles commemorating the 30th anniversary of May 1968 heady events. Perfect for the plane to Ho Chi Minh City.Following McGann's elaboration of the ontology of the text, CM thus owes its existence to the interaction and marketing deals made between Verso and Barneys, or between Verso and Air Cuba, to the success of the display shelves at Barnes & Noble, to the consumer impulses of the masses at the mall. Each of these instances constitute moments of the "interactive locus of complex feedback operations" which constitute text, engagements of the page with the consumer (Text. Cond. 12). Similarly, authorship of CM is just as much a result of Colin Robinson's efforts as those of Marx's or Engels. Each of the above-quoted communicative events, taking the form of marketing, publicity, and critical commentary, participates in the creation of-and authority behind--CM. While this notion of heterogeneous authority may be theoretically viable, upon re-reading the above quote, by say, beauty school drop-out Amelia La Fuente or the particularly profound line by Terrie Albano, it hardly seems plausible to mention Marx, Engels, AND the Verso Circus as "authority" in the same breath, given that the nature of each of their contributions to CM is so profoundly distinct. If these are the implications of McGann's scheme, then his elaboration of "authority," when applied practically, is quite untenable. If one wishes to remain within a McGannian rubric, one would have to discard Marx and Engels all together from notions of authority and focus solely on the social network of 1998 in discussing authority. However, doesn't this stance oust Marx and Engels from a position of authority on their own text? Who's to tell--If Marx and Engels could see Verso's edition today, they would most likely be eager to disclaim such dubious honors.
III. The physical appearance of this edition is so provocative precisely because of the contradictory semiotic codes which its bibliographic and linguistic code emanate. Calling attention to its own artifice through it's various "fashion accessories"-- a red page-marker, crimson end-pages, slogans and flags--CM simultaneously promotes and profanes itself. The complex interaction between bibliographic and linguistic code produces this tension. First, the only physical element which distinguishes this edition from the bibliographic code of the Holy Bible are the thick pages chosen by Verso. All other elements, especially the red page-marker, the emotive exhortations (men in their chains being a recurrent biblical metaphor) and cloth-bound cover, align CM's physical appearance directly with god's word itself. The phrase, "The moral rights of the authors have been asserted," appearing next to the table of contents, and the curious lack of acknowledgement of translation and edition information grants this edition a holy aura which bestows an eternal status upon it. Previously-mentioned references to "the Gideon Bible," Reporter Michael Pye's nomination of CM as "a quasi-bible" and the pertinent discussion of Brother Hobsbawm and Brother Struik in Appendix A support this disturbing phenomena. As also mentioned in Appendix A, the dual nature of the political manifesto as both a religious and a secular rhetorical form lends itself to multiple, often contradictory readings.6 McGann himself in several instances in The Textual Condition employs a manifesto-like rhetoric of his own. One of the most glaring examples reads, Textual and editorial theory has heretofore concerned itself almost exclusively with the linguistic codes. The time has come, however, when we have to take greater theoretical account of the other coding network which operates at the documentary and bibliographic level of literary works" (78, emphasis mine).Perhaps McGann's own rhetorical strategy also relies on the religiously-inspired manifesto form. These examples highlight the often blatant undercutting, yet also subtle upholding of CM's linguistic code. While it is clear that the religious elements of the bibliographic code most patently contradict Marx and Engels' materialist message, the rhetorical form of the manifesto employed within CM's linguistic code most admittedly recurs to biblical metaphors in supporting its socialist claims. The first paragraph of CM serves as a fine example of the religious- interspersed with pagan imagery found in CM7: "A spectre is haunting Europe - the spectre of Communism. All the powers of old Europe have entered into a holy alliance to exorcize this spectre: Pope and Tsar, Metternich and Guizot, French radicals and German police spies" (33; for more instances, see p. 38 "all that is holy is profaned;" p. 41 "a society that has conjured up such gigantic means of production;" p. 59 "the ancient religions were overcome by Christianity;" p. 77 "The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains" ). The metaphor of the chain and of men bound by chains appears 48 times in the Bible, according to one biblical concordance. For instance, in Jeremiah 40:4, the Lord proclaims to Jeremiah, "And now, behold, I loose thee this day from the chains which were upon thy hand" (1007). The proclamation which graces the front cover of Verso's edition, "The workers have nothing to lose but their chains" thus points not only the call of Marx, but also the call of god himself. Yet the pretentious nature of this edition's bibliographic code is far from holy-on the contrary, it has been mass -produced in order to make a profit. The religious nature of CM has thus become secularized, converted into just another marketing object. For some, this conversion has been most propitious: Reporter Alexander Cockburn from the Los Angeles Times writes that Verso has sold over 22,000 copies of the new CM in less than four weeks, with thousands more already on order. Verso's clever decision to publish the edition on May Day, 1998 only highlights the inconsistencies which make this event so disconcerting. May 1st, a day which commemorates ancient spring rituals of fertility and growth, was appropriated as a labor holiday by the Second Socialist International in 1889. Since then, it has been celebrated chiefly by labor unions and political parties of the left as a worker's holiday. David Barton, Sacramento Bee Staff Writer calls May 1st "the high holy day of international socialism," again a curious oil-and-water word choice. Yet another significant occurrence complicates the history of the holiday. In 1933, Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, in an ostensibly benevolent gesture to the German labor movement, declared May 1 an official holiday. One day later, on May 2, 1933, Hitler forbade all labor unions in Germany. The significance of May Day became instantly emptied out into a swamp of Nazi rhetoric. One cannot help but wonder if the rhetoric behind Verso's hyped-up publicity indulgences in the case of CM isn't just as empty. That Verso has been so successful at transforming Marx's radical social critique into a money-making business venture has completely stripped CM of its pivotal political significance, just as May Day was robbed of its political integrity in 1933. In this sense, Hitler's fascist propaganda and Verso's marketing mechanisms are dangerously similar.
|
Please respect the intellectual property rights of our authors.
|