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PRICE $8.99 JAN.

9, 2017
JANUARY 9, 2017

7 GOINGS ON ABOUT TOWN

19 THE TALK OF THE TOWN


Jelani Cobb on 1968 and 2016; teen cyberhackers
solve a mystery; a British rocker gets a history lesson;
New York Citys luggers of junk clean house;
James Surowiecki on corporate boycotts.

THE POLITICAL SCENE


Kelefa Sanneh 24 Secret Admirers
A conservative underground embraces Trump.

SHOUTS & MURMURS


Jena Friedman 31 A Recipe

PROFILES
Tad Friend 32 California Dreamin
The director Mike Millss nostalgia trips.

A REPORTER AT LARGE
Nicholas Schmidle 38 Can Football Be Saved?
A high-school experiment to make football safer.

OUR LOCAL CORRESPONDENTS


Ian Frazier 52 High-Rise Greens
The boom in indoor agriculture.

FICTION
Yiyun Li 60 On the Street Where You Live

THE CRITICS
BOOKS
Joan Acocella 66 Gregor Henss Nicotine.
69 Briey Noted
Jerome Groopman 70 Charles Fernyhoughs The Voices Within.

MUSICAL EVENTS
Alex Ross 74 The super-virtuosity of Daniil Trifonov.

POEMS
Ellen Bass 26 After Long Illness
John Kinsella 58 Milking the Tiger Snake

COVER
Jorge Colombo Waterways

DRAWINGS Will McPhail, Kim Warp, Liam Francis Walsh, Joe Dator, David Sipress, Paul Noth, Jack Ziegler, Tom Chitty,
Roz Chast, P. C. Vey, Tom Toro, Seth Fleishman, Drew Dernavich
SPOTS Greg Clarke
The future belongs to
those who change it.
LIMITED-EDITION CONTRIBUTORS
T-SHIRTS
Take a page out of Nicholas Schmidle (Can Football Be Ian Frazier (High-Rise Greens, p. 52)
Eustace Tilleys stylebook with Saved ?, p. 38), a staff writer, is a Fer- recently published Hogs Wild: Se-
exclusive shirts featuring our ris Professor of Journalism at Prince- lected Reporting Pieces, and is work-
signature typeface. ton this spring. ing on a book about the Bronx.

Tad Friend (California Dreamin, James Surowiecki (The Financial Page,


p. 32) has been a staff writer since p. 23), a staff writer since 2000, writes
1998. about business and economics.

Jerome Groopman (Books, p. 70), the John Kinsella (Poem, p. 58) is the
Recanati Professor of Medicine at author of, most recently, the poetry
Harvard, has written several books, collection Firebreaks.
the most recent of which is Your
Medical Mind: How to Decide What Alex Ross (Musical Events, p. 74), a staff
Is Right for You, with Dr. Pamela writer, is the author of The Rest Is
Hartzband. Noise and Listen to This.

Jelani Cobb (Comment, p. 19) teaches Yiyun Li (Fiction, p. 60) is the author of
in the journalism program at Colum- several books. An essay collection, Dear
bia University. Friend, from My Life I Write to You
in Your Life, will be out next month.
Jena Friedman (Shouts & Murmurs,
p. 31) is a comedian and lmmaker. Joan Acocella (Books, p. 66) has written
Her standup special, American Cunt, for The New Yorker since 1992.
will be available on iTunes later this
month. Jorge Colombo (Cover) is an illustra-
tor, photographer, and graphic designer,
Kelefa Sanneh (Secret Admirers, p. 24) and the author of New York: Finger
is a staff writer. Paintings by Jorge Colombo.

NEWYORKER.COM
Everything in the magazine, and more.

RIGHT: COURTESY NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA

THE TRUMP TRANSITION SCREENING ROOM


Shop now at modthread.com Steve Coll, Amy Davidson, Jane In our latest short film, If I Was
Multiple styles available. Mayer, and others analyze Donald God, a boy daydreams in science
Trumps Cabinet appointments. class as he dissects a frog.

SUBSCRIBERS: Get access to our magazine app for tablets and smartphones at the
App Store, Amazon.com, or Google Play. (Access varies by location and device.)
THE MAIL
WHATS IN A WORD? Trump was a candidate, the tweets
were good for an eye roll, but, now
Hilton Als, in his review of the play that he has been elected, this one-
Sweet Charity, takes the director way communication should be re-
Leigh Silverman to task for her se- garded for what it is: tweets between
riousness of purpose (Dear Heart, Trump and his followers. The role
December 5th). The problem is of the media is to hold politicians ac-
that shes too serious about theatre; countable, through accepted means:
she wants her shows to countto interviews and press conferences,
have a moral purpose, he writes. even talk shows. Trump is able to
Sometimes a play is just a play, avoid these platforms precisely be-
and not all of her productions can cause the media covers his tweets. If
bear the weight of her imperative. newspapers and magazines refused
Throughout the review, Als stops just to do so, he would lose much of his
short of telling Silverman, Smile ability to manipulate his coverage.
more! Have we really not moved be- Not much would be lost and, in my
yond this tired critique of womens opinion, there would be a whole lot
work and ambition? How can The gained.

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New Yorker justify taking aim at a Beth Cahn
woman because she wants her work Richmond, Calif.
to matter? This unexamined clich
is disheartening, and diminishes both SEX AND PRIVACY
Als and your publication. A play
is just a play, perhaps, but the truth Margaret Talbots article on the law-
is that plays matter. Words mat- yer Carrie Goldberg, a leader in the
ter. Evenor, perhaps, especially eld of sexual privacy, reveals the
yours. complexities of adjudicating revenge-

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Bess Wohl porn cases in the evolving world of
New York City online harassment (Taking Trolls to
Court, December 5th). I so appreci-
MEDIA UNDER TRUMP ated Talbots lionization of extraordi-
nary attorneys like Goldberg, who
In Amy Davidsons Comment on have devoted an entire practice to this
Donald Trumps transition team, she issue. While Talbots article focusses
uses the term alt-right to describe on victims of online humiliation, cur-
the rhetoric of Trumps chief strate- rent laws offer protection to those
gist, Steve Bannon (December 5th). who fear they may become victims.
While Im generally supportive of Even threatening to expose explicit
peoples efforts at self-appellation, it photographs is, under existing ha-
is the duty of everyone who objects rassment and extortion laws, often
to white-supremacist ideology to re- a crime. Individuals seeking orders of
sist this groups efforts at mainstream- protection, or restraining orders, can
ing its positions. In practice, this ask the judge to include a provision
means referring to those connected that forbids the dissemination of pri-
to it as the so-called alt-right, or vate media to third parties.
else explicitly noting their ties to Clara Platter
white-supremacist ideologies by New York City
calling them white supremacists or
white nationalists.
Elizabeth Armstrong Letters should be sent with the writers name,
Ann Arbor, Mich. address, and daytime phone number via e-mail to
themail@newyorker.com. Letters may be edited
for length and clarity, and may be published in
Davidson, like many other journal- any medium. We regret that owing to the volume
ists, quotes a Trump tweet. When of correspondence we cannot reply to every letter.

THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 5


JANUARY 4 10, 2017

GOINGS ON ABOUT TOWN

Lee Fields has earned the grit that coats his voice. With more than four decades of wear, his imperfectly
preserved instrument might sound familiar to devotees of Stax and Chess. The North Carolina native,
who plays Irving Plaza Jan. 7 with his band, the Expressions, is more revisionist than revivalist, perform-
ing as if the horns and Rhodes pianos of soul music had never given way to disco. His latest side, Special
Night, arrives via Big Crown Records, a budding Greenpoint soul label pressing seven-inch singles.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ADAM PAPE


duced prints of negatives dated 1952-62 feature
dramatically made up queens in makeshift, lay-

ART
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ered costumes frolicking in a field of sunflow-
ers; one wields a butterfly net. Two vitrines
contain ephemera, including a handwritten an-
nouncement for screenings of Smiths scathing,
thinking as it prepares to expand its building prescient 1968 film, No President, which in-
MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES with an eye toward a more muscular history corporates found footage of the 1940 Republi-
of art. Through March 12. can nominee, Wendell Willkie, whose then un-
Metropolitan Museum conventional political rsum included a stint
Jerusalem, 1000-1400: Every People New Museum as C.E.O. of a utilities company. This exhibi-
Under Heaven Cheng Ran: Diary of a Madman tion in a commercial gallery might well have in-
In this captivating show of some two hundred The young Chinese artist had never visited furiated the notoriously prickly, anticapitalist
objects from the era of the Crusades, there are New York before filming the fifteen disjunc- artist, but its welcome fare in this bleak pre-
manuscripts, maps, paintings, sculptures, archi- tive, often jejune videos in his first U.S. mu- inaugural season. Through Jan. 14. (Marlborough,
tectural fragments, reliquaries, ceramics, glass, seum show. On the largest screen, tourist- 545 W. 25th St. 212-463-8634.)
fabrics, astrolabes, jewelry, weapons, and, espe- standard shots of Times Square are backed by
cially, booksin nine alphabets and twelve lan- a man half singing, half speaking Allen Gins- Masao Yamamoto
guages. The works, from sixty lenders in more bergs Howl; other screens feature a couple Avian photography is a tradition perched be-
than a dozen countries, express the Jewish, Is- having sex in the shower, a gentleman in Ray- tween science and art, but Yamamoto leans
lamic, and Christian cultures of the time, the Bans that reflect the Manhattan skyline, and heavily in the latter direction with these sen-
three great Abrahamic faiths sharing a city holy a shucked oyster on a fire escape. Two films, sitive, impressionistic prints. His small, tran-
to them all, when they werent bloodily con- one shot on the Williamsburg Bridge and the scendent pictures feature cranes in empty
testing it. The installation is lovely: rooms in other on Staten Island Bay, feature Americans fields or doves soaring above petal-bedecked
gray and blue are filled with a cumulative haze speaking halting Mandarin. If Chengs images ponds. Swans get lost in the snow thanks to
of spotlights, designed not for drama but for are undemanding, his seamless integration of low-contrast exposure: birds and precipitation

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ease of attention; the show, though immense, life in two global superpowers has some more resolve into a vaporous beige. Some prints, in-
wont exhaust you. The aesthetic appeal of the bite. Through Jan. 15. cluding one of an owl looking away from the
exhibits is continual and intense, but concen- camera, Garbo-style, are mounted on kakejiku,
tration on it can feel disrespectfully indulgent. the hanging scrolls usually reserved for ink
Message, not medium, is the motive of even GALLERIESUPTOWN paintings; others are subtly numinous, flecked

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the most decorative work, in which visual plea- with whispers of gold paint. Through Jan. 28.
sure serves to enhance belief and, perhaps, to William Christenberry (Richardson, 525 W. 22nd St. 646-230-9610.)
give a foretaste of paradise. Partly, this is true A visual poet of the American South, Chris-
of all properly regarded medieval art and de- tenberry died in late November, three weeks
sign, from the time before Giotto and Duccio after the opening of this understated knockout GALLERIESDOWNTOWN
began insinuating personal style into painting. of a show, which pairs photographs of the same
Most of the work in the show is not credited to sitesramshackle buildings and fecund land- Anna Glantz
a named artist. An exception is Sargis Pidzak, scapes in his native Alabamain summer and These mannered paintings seem to have roots
an Armenian who made superb illuminations winter. The attention that Christenberry paid in high-school surrealism, vintage sci-fi book
for a Gospel book dated 1346. Another illus- to his subjects, which he often photographed covers, and video-game worlds. Retrovertigo
tration, in a beautiful Italian Torah, of sacrifi- years apart, bordered on the devotional. Here, is a bizarre scene framed by imagery of crum-
cial rites in the courtyard of the Temple, is at- his deceptively modest images are poignant bling bricks: a trumpet screws itself into the
tributed to the place-holding Master of the monuments to the passageand the ravages earth while a person hangs onto it for dear life.

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Barbo Missal. Through Jan. 8. of time. Through Jan. 21. (Pace/MacGill, 32 In Mike Kelley Winter, the head of the leg-
E. 57th St. 212-759-7999.) endary late artist floats in a pastel landscape in-
Museum of Modern Art terrupted by starbursts and a stick-figure dog.
A Revolutionary Impulse: The Rise of the While certain motifs recurnotably stone-
Russian Avant-Garde GALLERIESCHELSEA work, animals, pumpkins, and gobletseach
History is not a constant march forwardit meticulous painting suggests its own uncanny
can stand still for decades and then, as it did in Rita Ackermann narrative. The young artists deft, if stilted,
Russia a hundred years ago, explode in a flash. The Budapest-born, New York-based artists re- collision of illustrational styles is either ad-
This extensive showcase, featuring more than cent series, Stretcher Bar Paintings, reveals mirably confident or perplexingly dogged, de-
two hundred and sixty works, sets the formal signs of support that are usually concealed. One pending on your point of view. But the onei-
experiments of early Soviet artLyubov Po- messy red monochrome beckons with a mon- ric non sequiturs in her pictures linger in the
povas geometric prints, Gustav Klutsiss ag- tage of coquettish nudes, its surface subtly im- minds eye. Through Jan. 15. (11R, 195 Chrystie
gressive photocollages, the thick-slashed ab- printed with the cruciform of its stretchers. St. 212-982-1930.)
stractions of Natalia Goncharovawithin a In the series Kline Rape, big, Ab Ex-y ges-
framework of political upheaval. Formal in- tures struggle against Ackermanns long-term Duane Linklater
novation, it proposes, not only reflected re- style of airy figuration. The outlined images of The artist, who is Omaskko Cree, from Moose
bellion but was intertwined with it. Kasimir girls, which have been a hallmark of her work Cree First Nation, in northern Ontario, has
Malevich is well represented, both by his Su- since the nineteen-nineties, rise to the top in installed a disparate array of intriguing ob-
prematist squares and by later, propaedeutic Kline Nurses, in which two neon-pink silhou- jects in an austere, layered, and quietly con-
charts mapping the development of modern- ettes, sporting bobs and fetishlike uniform caps, frontational show titled From Our Hands.
ist style; the real star here, though, is his dis- are fluidly limned over brash swaths of black. Beaded mitts and slippers made of caribou hide
ciple El Lissitzky, whose geometric Prouns Through Jan. 14. (Hauser & Wirth, 548 W. 22nd and rabbit fur by Linklaters late grandmother,
precede bold book covers, multiple-exposure St. 212-977-7160.) Ethel, and a buoyant clay animation piece by his
photographs, and an audacious lithograph, twelve-year-old son, Tobias, join his own enig-
made for the Committee to Combat Unem- Jack Smith matic sculptures. The gallerys south walls are
ployment. Everything on view is from the Artaudian venom and derelict drag are soul stripped of their drywall, exposing a network of
museums collection, and perhaps a full-dress mates in the radical oeuvre of the under- bright steel studs underneath. These industrial
exhibition would have integrated films more ground-cinema hero, best known for his exper- stripes are also the basis for the series Unti-
unexpected than Man with a Movie Camera imental masterpiece from 1963, Flaming Crea- tled Problems, which combines gypsum, faux
and Potemkin, two unimpeachable classics tures. This small show shines a light on Smiths fur, and carpet in seemingly effortless ways;
easily accessed on YouTube. But this sort of feverish output in other media, including vivid the artist renders each column wholly unique
historically grounded, cross-media presenta- marker drawings on paper napkins, collaged fly- and oddly human. Through Feb. 18. (80WSE, 80
tion is precisely how the museum should be ers, and color photography. Posthumously pro- Washington Sq. E. 212-998-5747.)

8 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017


1 OPENINGS AND PREVIEWS

THE THEATRE Jitney


Manhattan Theatre Club stages August Wilsons
drama about unlicensed cabdrivers in nineteen-
seventies Pittsburgh, directed by Ruben Santi-
ago-Hudson and featuring Andr Holland and
John Douglas Thompson. (Samuel J. Friedman,
261 W. 47th St. 212-239-6200. In previews.)

Made in China
The Wakka Wakka ensemble created this con-
sumerism-minded puppet musical, in which a
middle-aged American woman with a penchant
for big-box stores falls in love with her Chinese
neighbor. (59E59, at 59 E. 59th St. 212-279-4200.
Previews begin Jan. 10.)

Orange Julius
Dustin Wills directs Basil Kreimendahls play,
about the transgender child of a Vietnam vet
who is suffering from the effects of Agent Or-
ange. (Rattlestick, 224 Waverly Pl. 212-627-2556.
Previews begin Jan. 10.)

The Present
Cate Blanchett and Richard Roxburgh star in the
Blueprint Specials will be staged on the hangar deck of the Intrepid, with a cast of thirty-four. Sydney Theatre Company production of Andrew
Uptons play, based on an early Chekhov work
(known as Platonov) and directed by John
G.I. Jive written in 1944 for the newly formed
Crowley. (Ethel Barrymore, 243 W. 47th St. 212-
Womens Army Corps, in which the god- 239-6200. In previews. Opens Jan. 8.)
Rare Second World War musicals
dess Athena descends from Mt. Olympus
resurface, at Under the Radar. Yours Unfaithfully
to enlist as a private. The Broadway actors
The Mint stages a comedy by Miles Malleson,
A few years before writing Guys and Laura Osnes and Will Swenson will lead published in 1933 but never produced, about a
Dolls, which premired in 1950, Frank a cast of thirty-four, consisting of both depressed writer (Max von Essen) whose wife
tries to reignite their marriage. Jonathan Bank

1
Loesser put his sizable talents to work for civilians and military performers, whom
directs. (Beckett, 410 W. 42nd St. 212-239-6200.
Uncle Sam, when the U.S. Army hired Ridgely found through veterans groups In previews.)
him to collaborate on a series of musicals by way of Army Entertainment, the
to be performed by and for the troops. modern-day equivalent of Special Ser-
NOW PLAYING
Commissioned by the Special Services vices. Theyll be joined by a fourteen-piece
Division to boost morale, these Blueprint jazz orchestra and eleven dancers from The Bands Visit
Specials came with a script, a score, and the Limn Dance Company, who have How do you make a musical comedy about
boredom, drabness, and disappointment? This
instructions for easy assemblage. (The reconstructed original Blueprint ballets delightful new show, adapted from the 2007
gags and situations are of the type to hit by the choreographer Jos Limn. (non-musical) filmabout an Egyptian police
the GI funnybone. . . . The scenery can Blueprint Specials is one of the more band that travels to Israel to play a concert but
ends up stranded for a night in the wrong town
be knocked together in a jiffy from scrap eye-catching entries in this years Under in the middle of nowheretoys with that co-
materials found in even the loneliest out- the Radar festival ( Jan. 4-15), the Publics nundrum to hilarious and often hypnotic effect.
post.) Loesser, who had been writing showcase of experiments from here and Tony Shalhoub gets top billing for his unshowy
performance as the bands repressed conductor,
lyrics for Hollywood before the war, cut abroad, which heats up the otherwise but the star is Katrina Lenk, as Dina, a world-
his teeth crafting songs for camp shows chilly theatre scene each January. Club weary local who shows him the sights, such as
like About Face and Hi, Yank!; a 1951 Diamond, by Nikki Appino and Saori they are. David Yazbeks songs are charming,
Tyler Micoleaus lighting is precisely evoca-
Billboard prole proclaimed that the Tsukada, also repurposes an old art form, tive, and Scott Pasks rotating sets are inge-
army made a composera one-man in a darker story about the Second World nious. But it all works because David Cromers
songwriterout of Frank Loesser. War. The play begins in Tokyo in 1937, as direction is patient enough to allow the silence
and space in which intimacy blooms. (Atlantic
Many of the scripts were lost to time, a noted Benshi live-narrates a silent lm, Theatre Company, 336 W. 20th St. 866-811-4111.
but the director Tom Ridgely, of the the- then skips ahead ten years, when the same Through Jan. 8.)
atre troupe Waterwell, has unearthed four man survives as a street performer under
COIL 2017
of themall composed principally by American occupation. For more modern
ILLUSTRATION BY NICOLE RIFKIN

P.S. 122s annual festival returns, with works in-


Loesser between 1944 and 1945and will war games, head to the Egyptian wing of cluding Yehuda Duenyass CVRTAIN, which
mount them Jan. 6-11, on the hangar deck the Brooklyn Museum, where the Ger- uses virtual reality to create a cheering audience
of thousands; Nicola Gunns Piece for Person
of the Intrepid. Ridgely spent months man collective Rimini Protokoll stages and Ghetto Blaster, about a womans moral di-
hunting down the scripts from various Top Secret International (State 1), an lemma when she sees a stranger throwing stones
libraries and combining them into a full- algorithmic-based immersive piece at a duck; and Yara Traviesos La Medea, which
recasts the Euripides tragedy as a live TV tell-
length compilation. Much of the story about global intelligence networks. all. For the full program, visit ps122.org. (Vari-
will come from P.F.C. Mary Brown, Michael Schulman ous locations. 212-352-3101.)

THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 9


THE THEATRE

Dear Evan Hansen pendable. Rachel Brosnahan is a very good Des- Suicide Lynn Redgrave. Through Jan. 8. The
This new musical (directed by Michael Greif, demona, and its her strength and clarity that Color Purple Jacobs. Through Jan. 8. The Dead,
with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Jus- make Craigs Iago mad with jealousy. But its a 1904 American Irish Historical Society. Through
tin Paul and a book by Steven Levenson) has cold rage, which makes it that much more scary, Jan. 7. The Encounter Golden. Through Jan.
a long stretch of brilliance, but it is ultimately while the complicated innocence of Oyelowos 8. Falsettos Walter Kerr. Through Jan. 8. Fin-
undone by pop psychology. Evan (Ben Platt) is Othello draws us in moment by moment with- ians Rainbow Irish Repertory. The Front Page
seventeen and in high school. Shyness causes out sacrificing the characters mighty power or Broadhurst. Holiday Inn Studio 54. In Tran-

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his shoulders to hunch up, and he avoids eye his self-protective wit. (New York Theatre Work- sit Circle in the Square. Les Liaisons Dange-
contact with any interlocutor, even his mother, shop, 79 E. 4th St. 212-460-5475.) reuses Booth. Through Jan. 8. Martin Luther
Heidi (Rachel Bay Jones). A classmate, Connor on Trial Pearl. Natasha, Pierre & the Great
(Mike Faist), crosses a line, and, in the after- Comet of 1812 Imperial. Oh, Hello on Broadway
math of his actions, the musical becomes a pro- ALSO NOTABLE Lyceum. Othello: The Remix Westside. The
found evocation of how the need to belong can Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart The Heath
be as ugly as the need to exclude. Platts charac- The Babylon Line Mitzi E. Newhouse. A at the McKittrick Hotel. Sweet Charity Per-
terization is almost beyond belief, one of those Bronx Tale Longacre. Chris Gethard: Career shing Square Signature Center. Through Jan. 8.
supersonic performances that make you sit up
in your chair. The holes in the formulaic second
half dont so much diminish his performance as
smudge it a little, like a beautiful charcoal draw-
ing thats been handled too much. (Reviewed

DANCE
in our issue of 12/19 & 26/16.) (Music Box, 239
W. 45th St. 212-239-6200.)

God of Vengeance
Were it not for Paula Vogels new play Inde-
cent, which masterfully tells the backstory be- American Dance Platform premires, encore presentations, exhibitions, and
hind Sholem Aschs God of Vengeancewhose Alicia B. Adams, the vice-president of interna- discussions, and at least one party. The best bets
main claim to fame is a Broadway run halted for tional programming and dance at the Kennedy are Mercurial George, a volatile reckoning with
obscenity, in 1923the earlier show would be for- Center, has selected eight companies for this one- identity by the Canadian choreographer Dana Mi-
gotten by all but theatre historians. Now we can week festival, arranged in rotating double-bill pro- chel; Cage Shuffle, in which Paul Lazar recites
see what the fuss was about, thanks to New Yid- grams. The most intriguing of them pairs the San randomly selected one-minute stories by John
dish Rep, which is presenting Aschs 1907 melo- Francisco-based group RAWDances Double Ex- Cage while performing choreography by Annie-B
drama in its original language. As it turns out, posure, which was created by twelve choreogra- Parson; and an evening of danced monologues by
the plot point that caught the vice squads at- phers (Ann Carlson and David Roussve among Meg Stuart, a noted American artist whose career
tentiona passionate lesbian kiss between the them), with Agua Furiosa, an Afro-Cuban riff has transpired mostly in Europe. (Various locations.
daughter of a brothel owner and one of her fa- on racism, drought, and The Tempest by Con- 212-352-3101. Jan. 5-10. Through Jan. 12.)
thers employeestakes up only a small part. tra-Tiempo, from Los Angeles. And any visit by
What drives the story is the way men use tradi- Ragamala Dance Company (in a split bill with Contemporary Dance Showcase: Japan +
tion and religion to bolster their status and con- Davalois Fearon Dance), an excellent Indian- East Asia
trol women. Eleanor Reissas production can be American ensemble out of Minneapolis, is always This showcase offers a sampling of the newest
awkwardly earnest, and the acting is often ten- welcome. (Joyce Theatre, 175 Eighth Ave., at 19th St. of the new in the experimental performing-arts
tative, yet the show is a fascinating curio. (La 212-242-0800. Jan. 4-8.) scene in Japan and the Far East. Most of these
Mama, 74A E. 4th St. 800-838-3006.) artists are unknown here, so the audience has no
COIL 2017 idea what to expect. The current edition includes
Gorey: The Secret Lives of Edward Gorey The dance selections of P.S. 122s multidisci- a duet by Un Yamada, set to the 1923 Stravin-
The writer and illustrator Edward Gorey spe- plinary festival include Basketball, the latest sky ballet Les Noces, a high-tech collaboration
cialized in locating humor in peril and gloom; in duet by Molly Lieber and Eleanor Smith, capti- between the Canadian audiovisual composer
his life, he could accurately be labelled a hoarder vating performers whose attunement to each other Navid Navab and the dancer Akiko Kitamura,
and a loner, yet his personality brimmed with in- can be engrossing. In Meeting, the Australian and works by choreographers from Korea and
spirations and enthusiasms. The playwright and choreographers Anthony Hamilton and Alisdair Taiwan. (Japan Society, 333 E. 47th St. 212-715-
director Travis Russ has devised a brilliant solu- Macindoe move robotically while surrounded by 1258. Jan. 6-7.)
tion for dramatizing this contradictory and soli- sixty-four mechanical instruments: pairs of pen-
tary man: three actors, all of them excellent and cils and bells, triggered electronically. (Various lo- Stam-Pede
in perfect tune with one another, play the artist cations. 212-352-3101. Jan. 4-10. Through Jan. 22.) A broad definition of percussive dance is pro-
simultaneously at three different ages, delivering moted in this annual showcase. This years par-
a collective autobiographical monologue, some- Vicky Shick / Another Spell ticipating companies range from the Irish and
times delightedly affirming each others accounts, January has become the month of revivals. This modern of Darrah Carr Dance and the modern
sometimes gently contradicting them. Gorey may week, Danspace revisits Vicky Schicks Another and tap of the Bang Group to the tap and quirk-
be the only character onstage (unless you count Spell, a typically delicate and nuanced work from iness of Off Beat and its tall-enough-for-the-
his overstuffed old house on Cape Cod, which is last year, which creates a quiet dreamscape filled N.B.A. choreographer and star, Ryan P. Casey.
evoked in such loving detail that it deserves its with seven efficiently moving and vaguely mys- (Symphony Space, Broadway at 95th St. 212-864-
own billing), but presenting his life in triplicate terious women. As they go about their business 5400. Jan. 8.)
is like taking a familiar melody and assigning it sometimes in intimate proximity, often alonethey
an unexpected set of chords. (Sheen Center, 18 seem to enact private stories and rituals: spinning Works & Process / Pontus Lidberg
Bleecker St. 212-925-2812.) in tight circles, shuffling on tiptoe, caressing, or The Swedish-born Lidberg is best known for his
simply basking in one anothers company. (Dans- 2010 dance film, Labyrinth Within, a collabo-
Othello pace Project, St. Marks Church In-the-Bowery, Second ration with Wendy Whelan that he later devel-
David Oyelowo and Daniel Craig play the Moor Ave. at 10th St. 866-811-4111. Jan. 5-7.) oped into an immersive stage work. His style
and Iago, respectively, in Sam Golds interesting is poetic and meditative, with emphasis on the
version of Shakespeares poem about possession, American Realness beauty and vulnerability of the human body. This
race, and jealousy, and its those two stars, work- This annual festival of avant-garde performance, winter, he will make his first work for New York
ing without vanity, who do so much to increase long based at Abrons Arts Center, now has a sec- City Ballet, with a score commissioned from the
our understanding of the language. Set in var- ond home at Gibney Dance, where the festivals prominent composer David Lang (The Little
ious contemporary Army barracks, the produc- founder and director, Thomas Benjamin Snapp Match Girl Passion). At the Guggenheim, Lid-
tion closes the viewer into a world where male- Pryor, has recently been put in charge of perfor- berg shows a few excerpts and talks about his ap-
ness is the dominant force, and where women mance and residency programming. The schedule proach with Whelan, who moderates. (Fifth Ave.
are either put on a pedestal or considered ex- is as packed as ever: five world premires, six U.S. at 89th St. 212-423-3575. Jan. 8-9.)

10 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017


CLASSICAL MUSIC

Kiera Duffy takes the leading role in Breaking the Waves, a new opera by Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek, based on the Lars von Trier movie.

In Extremis spied as a double agent during the First cruel scenes night after night, at times in
World War. the nude. Nonetheless, the desperate sce-
Women of indestructible spirit dominate
Breaking the Waves had its premire nario of self-destruction and redemption
this years Prototype Festival.
at Opera Philadelphia in September. The seems to be a projection of Besss will to
Several decades after Catherine libretto, by Royce Vavrek, is based on Lars believe, her reshaping of the fabric of the
Clment wrote Opera, or the Undoing von Triers 1996 lm, which, like other world. Mazzolis score supports that dy-
of Women, a classic feminist critique, von Trier works, has drawn accusations of namic by wedding strong lyric invention
women still frequently come to grief on misogyny because of its brutal treatment to an unsettled, insidiously dissonant
opera stages. The form cant seem to dis- of the principal female character. Bess, a chamber-orchestra texture that evokes the
pense with what Clment describes as a member of a strict religious community jagged beauty both of Skye and of Besss
punitive adoration of female singers: on the Isle of Skye, marries an oil worker inner landscape. Benjamin Britten is a
They suffer, they cry, they die. Yet mod- named Jan; when he suffers a paralyzing palpable inuence, particularly in thrash-
ern tales of doomed heroines tend to accident, he asks her to have sex with other ing orchestral tempests and some melis-
reect a more progressive, critical sensi- men. Bess becomes convinced that by matic, Peter Quint-like writing for tenor.
bility, particularly when female composers abasing herself to the point of death she Yet Mazzoli absorbs these and other ele-
take the helm. Such revisionism could will cure him. Her scheme succeeds, ments into her own spare, propulsive voice.
almost be the theme of this years Proto- through a supernatural logic reminiscent Langs Anatomy Theater, which was
type Festival, which, in the past four years, of the redemptive self-sacrices of various rst seen at L.A. Opera in June, offers
has become essential to the evolution of Wagner heroines. As with Wagner, we won- some of the grisliest images ever shown
American opera. On the bill are Missy der whether Besss act conrms or tran- in an opera house. But the composer han-
ILLUSTRATION BY TOM HAUGOMAT

Mazzolis Breaking the Waves ( Jan. 6-9), scends stereotypes of feminine devotion. dles the material with an eerie grace, cre-
about a Scottish wife who sacrices herself In Mazzolis opera, such issues quickly ating space for another courageous solo
to aid her maimed husband; David Langs recede: we trust that the lead character is turn. The mezzo-soprano Peabody South-
Anatomy Theater ( Jan. 7-14), which not undergoing degradation for the sake well also spends much of the evening
shows the dissection of an eighteenth- of male fantasy. The story is no less harrow- naked, lying on a table and singing as
century English murderess; and Matt ingits perhaps more so, given that Kiera examiners scour her body for signs of evil.
Markss Mata Hari ( Jan. 5-14), about the Duffy, who sang the lead in Philadelphia They nd none, and she goes on singing.
seductive Dutch dancer who allegedly and reprises it at Prototype, must act out Alex Ross

THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 11


1 OPERA
CLASSICAL MUSIC

opera/musical-theatre piece Anatomy Theater cal legacy of his Appalachian heritage. Ameri-
stages the confession, execution, and public dissec- can Songbook III: Unto These Hills is one such
Metropolitan Opera tion of a convicted murderess in eighteenth-century treasure, which will be brought to life by the
Bartlett Sher, a major director of the Mets Peter England. The works lurid libretto (co-written by mezzo-soprano Elspeth Davis, the pianist Erika
Gelb era, adds to his tally with a straightforward Mark Dion) comes to life in haunting, darkly funny Dohi, and Sandbox Percussion in a concert thats
take on Gounods loftily romantic Romo et Ju- recitatives set against a post-minimalist accompani- part of Trinity Churchs January festival of new
liette, with Diana Damrau and Vittorio Grigolo ment that thumps, groans, and heaves; Bob McGrath and early music. Jan. 4 at 5. (St. Pauls Chapel, 209
(an electric combination when they were paired in directs, and Christopher Rountree conducts. Jan. 7-8 Broadway. No tickets required.)

1
Massenets Manon) as its ill-fated lovers; Gian- and Jan. 10 at 8. Through Jan. 14. (BRIC Arts, 647 Ful-
andrea Noseda conducts. Jan. 4 and Jan. 10 at 7:30 ton St., Brooklyn.) (prototypefestival.org.) Bargemusic Here and Now Festival
and Jan. 7 at 8. With its whimsical menagerie of The winter edition of this semiannual new-music
puppets and liberal sprinkling of Masonic symbols, jamboree is filled with works by several nota-
Julie Taymors production of Mozarts The Magic ORCHESTRAS AND CHORUSES ble composer friends of the barge, including
Flute returns to the Met for a round of family- premires by David Del Tredici, Harold Melt-
friendly performances. The abridged, English- New York Philharmonic zer (Preludes), Dalit Warshaw, David Taylor,
language staging stars a talented young cast led Except for a stiff introductory blast from Berlinin and David Leisner (Vapors); the performers
by Christopher Maltman, Jessica Pratt, Ben Bliss, the form of Kurt Weills Little Threepenny Music, include Taylor (on trombone), Warshaw (on
and Janai Brugger; Antony Walker. Jan. 5 at 7:30. for windsAlan Gilberts next round of concerts piano), the violinist Mark Peskanov, and the
This is the final performance. The companys four- with the Philharmonic delves deeply into the mu- violist Mark Holloway. Jan. 4-6 at 7:30. (Fulton
month-long test of the durability of Puccinis ever- sical heritage of Vienna. Emanuel Ax will be the Ferry Landing, Brooklyn. bargemusic.org.)
green romance, La Bohme, continues in the New distinguished soloist in the world premire of the
Year. This time, the youthful cast is headed by Ailyn Piano Concerto by HK Gruber, a grand old man of Bang on a Can: Peoples Commissioning
Prez, Susanna Phillips, Michael Fabiano, and Ales- Viennese composition whose music harbors an anar- Fund Concert
sio Arduini; Carlo Rizzi. Jan. 6 at 7:30. The be- chic streak that Weill might well admire. Schuberts With the organization entering its thirtieth
loved tenor Plcido Domingo continues his vocal comparatively innocent Symphony No. 2 in B-Flat year, the BOAC All-Stars offer their annual

1
descent into baritone territory as the king of Bab- Major completes the program. Jan. 5 at 7:30 and Jan. concert of crowdfunded commissions, which
ylon in Verdis Nabucco, bringing natural gravi- 6-7 at 8. (David Geffen Hall. 212-875-5656.) was going strong long before Kickstarter was a
tas but little bite to the role. There are, however, glimmer in anyones eye. This iteration brings
superb performances from Liudmyla Monastyrska, new works by Nico Muhly, Anna Thorvalds-
Jamie Barton, Russell Thomas, and Dmitry Belos- RECITALS dottir, and Felipe Waller, in addition to pieces
selskiy; James Levine emphasizes the scores beauty by the masters Philip Glass, Michael Gordon,
as well as its might, turning the famous Va, pen- Times Arrow Festival: George Crumb Julia Wolfe (Believing), and David Lang. Jan.
siero (sung with golden tone by the Met chorus) Crumb, long an American icon, has married the 9 at 7:30. (Merkin Concert Hall, 129 W. 67th St.
into the works centerpiece. Jan. 7 at 1. This is the influences of Debussy and Bartk to the musi- 212-501-3330.)
final performance. Bartlett Shers first production
for the Met, a fleet-footed and sun-soaked Il Bar-
biere di Siviglia, remains his best thus far. Three
full-voiced singersPretty Yende, Peter Mattei,
and Javier Camarenahead up the cast as Rossi-

MOVIES
1
nis lovable rapscallions; Maurizio Benini. Jan. 9
at 7:30. (Metropolitan Opera House. 212-362-6000.)

New York City Opera: Candide


The resurgent company seems to be carving out Hidden Figures
a niche in the citys opera scene by offering con- NOW PLAYING A crucial episode of the nineteen-sixties, centered
temporary works, but there is still room in the on both the space race and the civil-rights struggle,
lineup for a backward glance. The Broadway leg- Fences comes to light in this energetic and impassioned
end Harold Princewho first brought Bernsteins Chatting it up from the back of the garbage drama. Its the story of three black women from Vir-
deft operetta to the company, in 1982undertakes truck they operate for the city of Pittsburgh, ginia who, soon after Sputnik shocked the world, are
a new staging of the work, which stars an appro- Troy Maxson (Denzel Washington) and his best hired by NASA, where they do indispensable work
priate mix of opera and theatre talent, including friend, Bono (Stephen McKinley Henderson), in a segregated workplace. Mary Jackson (Janelle
Jay Armstrong Johnson, Meghan Picerno, Gregg launch this adaptation of August Wilsons 1983 Mone), endowed with engineering talent, has been
Edelman, Keith Phares, and Jessica Tyler Wright; play with a free-flowing vibrancy that, unfor- kept out of the profession by racial barriers; Doro-
Charles Prince conducts. Jan. 6 at 7:30, Jan. 7 at 2 tunately, doesnt last long. Under Washingtons thy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) heads the office of
and 8, and Jan. 8 at 4. (Rose Theatre, Jazz at Lincoln earnest but plain direction, scenes of loose- computers, or gifted mathematicians, but cant be
Center, Broadway at 60th St. 212-721-6500.) limbed riffingsuch as a sharp-humored trio promoted owing to her race; and the most gifted of
piece in the Maxson back yard for the two men calculators, Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson),
Prototype Festival and Rose (Viola Davis), Troys steadfast wife is recruited for the main NASA rocket-science cen-
Though historians today cast doubt upon the pur- soar above the dramas conspicuous mechanisms ter, where, as the only black employee, she endures
ported criminality of Mata Hari, she was nonetheless and symbolism. Troy, a frustrated former base- relentless insults and indignities. Working with a
executed in France for being a double agent during ball player from an era before the major leagues nonfiction book by Margot Lee Shetterly, the direc-
the First World War. In their world-premire opera, were integrated, tries to prevent his son Cory tor, Theodore Melfi (who co-wrote the script with
Mata Hari, the composer Matt Marks and the li- (Jovan Adepo) from seeking a football scholar- Allison Schroeder), evokes the womens profes-
brettist Paul Peers deconstruct the nostalgic sounds ship to college. Meanwhile, the embittered pa- sional conflicts while filling in the vitality of their
of the Paris caf (including accordion and banjo) as terfamilias threatens his marriage by having an intimate lives; the film also highlights, in illumi-
a way of delving into the story of the free-spirited affair with a local woman. Much of the action nating detail, the baked-in assumptions of every-
dancer and courtesan who found herself at the center takes place in the stagelike setting of the Max- day racism that, regardless of changes in law, ring
of a very dangerous game of espionage. Tina Mitch- son home and yard; despite the actors precise infuriatingly true today. With Kevin Costner, as
ell and Jeffrey Gavett take the leading roles. Jan. 5-7 and passionate performances, Washington nei- Katherines principled boss; Mahershala Ali, as her
at 7 and Jan. 8 at 2. (HERE, 145 Sixth Ave.) Julian ther elevates nor overcomes the artifice, except suitor; and Glen Powell, as John Glenn, a hero on
Wachner conducts the superb musicians of NOVUS in his own mighty declamation of Troys har- the ground and in space.R.B. (In limited release.)
NY and the Choir of Trinity Church Wall Street in rowing life story. With Mykelti Williamson, as
the New York premire of Breaking the Waves, an Troys brother, Gabriel, a grievously wounded Julieta
opera by Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek, which veteran; and Russell Hornsby, as Troys son The latest film from Pedro Almodvar is more
is based on the film by Lars von Trier. Jan. 6-7 Lyons, a musician whos struggling for suc- temperate than what we grew accustomed to in
and Jan. 9 at 7:30. (Skirball Center, New York Uni- cess and his fathers love.Richard Brody (In his melodramatic prime, but it is just as sumptu-
versity, 566 LaGuardia Pl.) David Langs hybrid wide release.) ous in its color scheme and no less audacious in

12 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017


FEARLESS
MOVIES

shouldering a burden of plot beneath which other Gnecco), whose poetry would later earn a Nobel seventeenth century, is the closest thing to it. Two
directors would sag. The source is an unlikely one: Prize, but who begins the film, in 1948, as a mem- Portuguese priests, Sebastio Rodrigues (Andrew
three stories by Alice Munro, which follow a sin- ber of the Chilean senate; as a Communist, he finds Garfield) and Francisco Garrupe (Adam Driver),
gle figure through motherhood and loss. Julieta himself scorned by the recently elected President. have heard rumors that their teacher and confessor,
played in her youth by Adriana Ugarte and as an The dismissal becomes a witch hunt, with Neruda Father Cristvo Ferreira (Liam Neeson), a mis-
older woman by Emma Surezis a teacher of clas- sly, grand, lecherous, and overweightfleeing from sionary in Japan, has betrayed his Christian faith,
sical literature and myth. She has a child by a man one safe house to another, lovingly supported by his and they travel to search for him. En route, they
whom she meets on a train (the scene is much lust- wife (Mercedes Morn) and harried by an irrepress- learn of the bloody persecution that Christians
ier than it is on the page) and moves to be with him ible policeman (Gael Garca Bernal). Much of this face in Japan, and when theyre smuggled into the
on the coast. But one sorrow after another inter- story, including the journey over the Andes into Ar- country they, too, face the authorities wrath. Ro-
venes, and it is only in maturity, after a chance en- gentina, is a matter of record, but other parts, like the drigues is the protagonist of this picaresque epic
counter, that she starts to solve the puzzle of what character of the cop, were brewed up for the sake of of oppression and martyrdom, which Scorsese in-
feels like a broken life. Even then, the film is sur- the movie. The result is both highly unreliable and geniously infuses with tropes from classic movies,
prisingly open-ended; it leaves you wondering what enjoyably persuasive; we are lured into Larrans as in the mannerisms of a good-hearted but weak-
mysterious path Almodvar will take next. Fans imaginings, such as a final showdown in the snow, willed Christian (Yosuke Kubozuka) and a brutal
will rejoice in the return of Rossy de Palma, one much as Nerudas devotees succumb to the decla- but refined official (Issey Ogata), whose intricate
of his muses, although the role she plays herea mations of his verse. In Spanish.A.L. (1/2/17) (In discussions of religion and culture with Rodrigues
frizzy-haired Mrs. Danversmay come as a shock. limited release.) form the movies intellectual backbone. Many of
In Spanish.Anthony Lane (Reviewed in our issue of the priests wanderings have the underlined tone
12/19 & 26/16.) (In limited release.) Passengers of mere exposition; but as Rodrigues closes in on
This science-fiction drama has the substance and Ferreira the movie morphs into a spectacularly dra-
La La Land the tone of a Twilight Zone episode while offer- matic and bitterly ironic theatre of cruelty that both
Breezy, moody, and even celestial, Damien Cha- ing a too-good-to-spoil and too-evil-to-believe plot exalts and questions central Christian myths. It
zelles new film may be just the tonic we need. The twist thats the movies raison dtre. Sometime in plays like Scorseses own searing confession.R.B.
setting is Los Angeles, with excursions to Paris and the future, a private company offers paying custom- (In limited release.)
Boulder City, and the time is roughly now, though ers the chance to colonize a planet in distant space.
the movie, like its hero, hankers warmly after more The autopiloted flight takes a hundred and twenty Summer
melodious times. Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) is a years, during which time the five thousand-plus set- ric Rohmers 1986 drama, blending fiction and
jazz pianist who dreams of opening a club but, in tlers and crew members are kept in suspended-an- documentary with a graceful splendor, may be the
the meantime, keeps himself afloat with undigni- imation pods that prevent them from aging. But finest example of his supple yet severe artistry.
fied gigsrolling out merry tunes, say, to entertain after an unforeseen calamity only thirty years into Delphine (Marie Rivire) is a stubborn Paris sec-
diners at Christmas. Enter Mia (Emma Stone), the journey two travellers, Jim (Chris Pratt), a me- retary whose instinctive negativity is put to the
an actress who, like Kathy Selden in Singin in chanical engineer, and Aurora (Jennifer Lawrence), test when her vacation plans are spoiled two weeks
the Rain, is waiting for that big break. Haltingly, a writer, are awakened too soon and face a lifetime before her planned departure. Rohmer turns her
they fall in love; or, rather, they rise in love, with a as the only two functioning humans aboard the ef- tentative visits to family and friends in search of
waltz inside a planetarium that lofts them into the fectively empty spacecraft. (Theres also a bartender new vacation options into an ethnographic study
air. The color scheme is hot and startling, and the named Arthurplayed by Michael Sheenbut hes of French leisure habitsas well as an Impression-
songs, with music by Justin Hurwitz and lyrics by actually an android.) The director, Morten Tyldum, ist celebration of the natural habitats and archi-
Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, ferry the action along. thrives on the peculiarities of the spaceships ameni- tectural glories around which theyre organized.
If the singing and the dancing lack the otherworldly tiesthe holographic greeters, the waitstaff robots But the pleasures of new places and new friends
rigor of an old M-G-M production, that is delib- with French accents, the implacable food dispens- clash with Delphines inchoate longings and with
erate; these lovers are much too mortal for perfec- ers, the swimming pool with a cosmic viewand the her resistance to social conventions and, indeed,
tion.A.L. (12/12/16) (In wide release.) most engaging drama arises not from the pairs rela- to decision-making. The films original title, Le
tionship but from the dangers of losing gravity. As Rayon Vert (The Green Ray), is that of a novel
Live by Night for the big, crude, and ugly twist, its just a prefabri- by Jules Verne, which intrudes surprisingly on
Ben Affleckas director, screenwriter, and star cated think piece. With Laurence Fishburne, as an- the action, and which, like the storys many strik-
revels in the juicy historical details of this Prohibi- other human who must make the supreme sacrifice ing coincidences, lends it a retrospective sense of
tion-era gangster drama (adapted from a novel by for the benefit of the movies white heroes.R.B. destiny. As Rohmer rapturously proves through
Dennis Lehane) but fails to bring it to life. He plays (In wide release.) the adventures of his quietly rebellious protag-
Joe Coughlin, a disillusioned First World War vet- onist, the negative of a negative is a positive. In
eran and small-time Boston criminal who tries to Paterson French.R.B. (Metrograph; Jan. 10.)
keep apart from both the citys Irish gang, run by Al- The new Jim Jarmusch film stars Adam Driver as the
bert White (Robert Glenister), and its Italian one, title character; to call him the hero would be some- 20th Century Women
headed by Maso Pescatore (Remo Girone). But, thing of a stretch. He is a bus driver living in Pat- In Santa Barbara in 1979, Dorothea Fields (An-
after being brutally beaten for romancing Alberts erson, New Jersey, with his wife, Laura (Golshifteh nette Bening) presides, with genial tolerance, over
mistress, Emma Gould (Sienna Miller), Joe goes to Farahani), and their dog, Marvin. In idle moments, a mixed household. She is in her mid-fifties, with
work for Maso in Tampa, taking over the rum racket during the evening or on his lunch hour, Paterson a teen-age son, Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann), who is
and falling in love with a local crime lord, Graciella writes poems, not for publication but as if to grat- nurturing an interest in feminism, and a couple of
Suarez (Zoe Saldana), a dark-complexioned Cuban ify some private compulsion or demand. Not that lodgersAbbie (Greta Gerwig), a russet-haired
womanand their affair provokes the wrath of the they seem to cost him much in terms of emotional photographer with violent tastes in music, and the
K.K.K. The drive for power, the craving for love, the turmoil; we hear him recite them in a frictionless more serene William (Billy Crudup), whose talents
hunger for revenge, and a rising sense of justice keep calm while the words appear patiently onscreen. range from meditation and effortless seduction to
the gory and grandiose gangland action churning (The verses are by Ron Padgett, although the pre- fixing the ceiling. Mike Millss movie, like his ear-
and furnish a hefty batch of plot twists and rever- siding spirit is that of William Carlos Williams.) The lier Beginners (2010), is a restless affair, skipping
sals of fortune. But Afflecks flat and flashy story- movie follows Patersons lead, guiding us through between characters (each of whom is given a potted
telling omits the best and the boldest behind-the- successive days and noting the minor differences be- biography) and conjuring the past in sequences of
scenes machinations that Joe and his cohorts pull tween them. Regular scenes in a bar or on a bench stills. Plenty of time is also devoted to the friend-
off, depicting instead the noisy but dull fireworks are barely ruffled by incident, and the only gun that ship, threatened by looming desire, between Jamie
that result.R.B. (In wide release.) is pulled turns out to be a replica. Even as the film and Julie (Elle Fanning), who is older and wiser
flirts with dullness, however, it starts to wield a hyp- than he is, but no less confused; at one point, they
Neruda notizing charm, and Jarmusch has few peers nowa- take his mothers cara VW Beetle, naturally
Another new bio-pic, of sorts, from Pablo Larran, days in the art of the runningor, in his case, gen- and elope. Amid all that, the movie belongs unar-
whose Jackie is still in theatres. Once again, the tly strollinggag.A.L. (1/2/17) (In limited release.) guably to Bening, and to her stirring portrayal of a
angle of approach is oblique, avoiding the standard woman whose ideals have taken a hit but have not
procedures of the genre, although in this instance Silence collapsed, and who strives, in the doldrums of mid-
there is an extra dash of playfulness and mischief. Martin Scorsese has never made a Western; his ad- dle age, to defeat her own disappointment.A.L.
That certainly fits the subject, Pablo Neruda (Luis aptation of Shusaku Endos 1966 novel, set in the (12/19 & 26/16) (In limited release.)

14 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017


1 ROCK AND POP

NIGHT LIFE Musicians and night-club proprietors lead


complicated lives; its advisable to check
in advance to confirm engagements.

Sam Amidon
This genial indie-folk singer, banjoist, and fid-
dler grew up in Vermont with expansive tastes
that included an appreciation for Dock Boggs,
Elvin Jones, and the drone violinist Tony Con-
rad. In 2010, Amidon moved to England with his
wife, the singer-songwriter Beth Orton, where
he has tuned in to the work of pioneering six-
ties British folk revivalists like the singer Anne
Briggs and the song collector and singer Shir-
ley Collins. Amidon, meanwhile, maintains his
own commitment to heterodoxy, which has been
marked by collaborations with gifted improvis-
ers like the Americana-tinged jazz guitarist Bill
Frisell and the multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Is-
maily, his longtime cohort. For this show, part
of the NYC Winter Jazzfest, Amidon takes his
folk-improvisation hybrid one step further, in-
viting the free-jazz drummer Andrew Cyrille to
open with a brief solo performance and asking a
slew of guest improvisers, including Ismaily, the
Ramble Jon Krohn, who produces and d.j.s as RJD2, mans the sound system at Brooklyn Bowl on Jan. 10. guitarist Marc Ribot, and the trombonist Cur-
tis Fowlkes, to contribute embellishments to his
affecting, gravelly songs. (Le Poisson Rouge, 158
New Routes of melody ripped from fuzzy soul and
Bleecker St. 212-505-3474. Jan. 9.)
jazz records, punctuated by kick and
As young producers redene fame, RJD2
snare drums that swung with urgency; Blonde Redhead
remains heard and not seen. Last year, the modish archival label Numero
most vitally, he articulated a style with-
Group released Masculin Fminin, a thirty-
Hip-hop producers have long had to out saying a word. Instead of pitching seven-track, four-LP boxed set of the pre-
conjure up a voice to build recognition: beats to established rappers, he signed Giuliani recordings of this long-standing New
Dr. Dre and Kanye West learned to rap; to the independent label Denitive Jux York indie-rock act. Despite their recent canon-
ization, Blonde Redhead have always seemed like
Mike Will Made-It and Metro Boomin and released an instrumental album of outsiderseven in the eighties, their songs re-
added sonic name tags to their beats. his own, then still a novel proposition flected a cosmopolitan view of downtown no-wave.
But in recent years amateurs have in hip-hop. Deadringer, which arrived (At that time, the group consisted of two Japanese
women and a pair of Italian brothers.) The early
emerged at the fore via new channels. in 2002, was at once a landmark record music remains energetic and sharp, while hinting
SoundCloud, the audio-hosting service, for the producer-as-artist and a gold at the sophisticated art pop they would eventu-
has provided young beatsmiths with a mine for licensors: tracks including ally perfect on their 2004 masterpiece, Misery Is
a Butterfly. This week, the group performs that
social network all their own, where they Ghostwriter and Smoke & Mirrors album in full, backed by the sprawling American
share mixes and build followings with- became inseparable from the countless Contemporary Music Orchestra. (Le Poisson Rouge,
out the need for a rappers endorsement, television spots they scored, including 158 Bleecker St. 212-505-3474. Jan. 8.)
gaining micro-fame in the process. ads for Acura, Saturn, Adidas, and Wells Celebrating David Bowie
Policy updates suggest the company is Fargo. Krohns work became ubiquitous This tribute concert, billed as A Very Special
smartly turning its attention toward even as he remained unrecognizable to David Bowie Concert with Bowie People Playing
Bowie Music Bowie Style, honors what would
this organic community: SoundClouds all but fanatic beat nerdsin 2007, have been the late auteurs seventieth birthday.
founder and tech manager, Eric Wahl- when his instrumental A Beautiful Bowies closest friends have assembled the musi-
forss, recently explained to the German Mine was tapped as the theme song for cians with whom he collaborated most frequently
to perform the music they wrote and recorded to-
magazine Groove that the service would Mad Men, millions heard his work gether across forty years and several tours. The
no longer terminate accounts for up- without ever knowing his name. event is part of a benefit tour, which includes stops
loading copyrighted samples. Krohn loads hundreds of beats and in London, Los Angeles, Sydney, and Tokyo. For
this New York date, the core ensemble includes
Ramble Jon Krohn, who produces thousands of samples into Brooklyn Mike Garson, Adrian Belew, Angelo Moore, of
and performs as RJD2, didnt enjoy such Bowl on Jan. 10, where hell deconstruct Fishbone, and Bernard Fowler, of the Rolling
ILLUSTRATION BY BENDIK KALTENBORN

luxuries, but his hybrid positioning as a and reassemble the collages found on Stones, among more than seventy musicians, all
playing in support of local charities. (Terminal 5,
producer and a commercial artist made his March album, Dame Fortune. 610 W. 56th St. 212-582-6600. Jan. 10.)
inroads others would unwittingly follow. Throughout his sixth release, Krohn
After making a name for himself in conducts a tangle of space funk and PWR BTTM
Ben Hopkins and Liv Bruce, a guitarist-drummer
Columbus, Ohio, cutting up records on atmospheric, choral electronica, doing duo, make knotty, snotty garage pop thats down-
turntables in local d.j. battles, he bought the work of the best producers even in right vital. Bruce, an affecting lyricist, gives their
a sampler in 1997 and began imitating loose momentsnding, and guiding, brimming theatre punk a lively humor and a dark
edge: We can do our makeup in the parking lot /
the sounds he heard churning from the meaningful connections. We can get so famous that we both get shot / But
coasts. Krohn offered catchy, achy loops Matthew Trammell right now Im in the shower, he sings on Dairy

THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 15


NIGHT LIFE

Queen. On their newest single, Projection, the Fitzgeraldin what would have been her hun- trumpeter Mike Rodriguez and the saxophonist
Bard alums sober up, taking on the tortured pur- dredth yearas well as to her own family roots, Dayna Stephens. (Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh
view of a protagonist who feels shunned by the with the Simply Ella project. Fitzgeralds vo- Ave. S., at 11th St. 212-255-4037. Jan. 3-8.)
world beyond his bedroom, and sees no option luminous repertoire, which touched on as many
but to stay inside. Catch them for two nights at of the Great American Songbook standards as New York City Winter Jazzfest
Joes Pub, performing in floral dresses and gobs of possible (with plenty of supplementary mate- Anyone willing to dart through the cold from
glitter; a sort of drag-in-drag gimmick made for- rial filling in the gaps), will offer Carter more one jam-packed venue to the next at this now
givable by their stone-serious talent. (Joes Pub, than enough touchstones with which to honor firmly established festival, currently celebrating
425 Lafayette St. 212-967-7555. Jan. 7 and Jan. 12.) the great lady. (Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St. 212- its thirteenth iteration, will be rewarded with a
576-2232. Jan. 5-6.) firsthand account of jazz in the post-millennial
Thou era. The marathon programs on Jan. 6-7 include
Perhaps its time to give doom metal a try. For Anat Cohen Tentet performances by Jason Moran, Donny McCaslin,
those willing to overlook the genres stoner ni- Wielding her clarinet and saxophones in the ser- Mary Halvorson, Kneebody, Kris Davis, and An-
hilism and satanic posturing (and, of course, the vice of traditional jazz, post-bop, Brazilian, and drew Cyrille (the festivals artist-in-residence),
acrid odor of its most committed practitioners), Middle Eastern musical strains, Anat Cohen is and a swath of ECM Records artists, including
it provides a clenched, cynical take on New Age. a present-day multicultural wonder. Her tentet, Bill Frisell and Ravi Coltrane. (Various locations.
After a decade spent hammering it out in the a consortium of strings, horns, percussion, and winterjazzfest.com. Jan. 5-10.)
underground-metal circuit, this slow-handed keyboards, will provide a sufficiently broad can-
Baton Rougean sludge outfit has emerged as one vas for her far-flung tones. (Jazz Standard, 116 Kendra Shank and Geoffrey Keezer
of the styles key ambassadors. Smeared, apocalyp- E. 27th St. 212-576-2232. Jan. 7-8.) Shank, a vocalist of imaginative latitude, has
tic guitar riffs buoy Bryan Funcks grim, screech- found a duo soul mate in the veteran pianist
ing vocals, which invoke classic black-metal sing- Fred Hersch Trio Keezer, as demonstrated on the new recording
ers while sidestepping any hint of Dungeons and This prime pianists instrumental touch only Half Moon. Investigating worthy, under-the-
Dragons. His punishing songs are grounded in strengthens his acute composing and band- radar material (including work by such jazz lu-
reality, and written in droning long form; for the leading skills. See all three forces in play at this minaries as Abbey Lincoln and Cedar Walton),
right pair of ears, they can be downright medita- six-night stand, where Hersch expands his in- Shank and Keezer find mutual inspiration in in-
tive. (Saint Vitus, 1120 Manhattan Ave., Brooklyn. valuable triowith the bassist John Hebert and tuitive surprise. (Mezzrow, 163 W. 10th St. mez-
saintvitusbar.com. Jan. 6.) the drummer Eric McPhersonto include the zrow.com. Jan. 9.)

Title Fight
Title Fight is among the rare bands that make
good on their efforts to sustain themselves within
a tight-knit community, both personally and mu-
sically. They play a melodic offshoot of the sub-
urban Pennsylvania hardcore sound, which has
only got heavier and rangier in their fourteen
ABOVE & BEYOND
years together, captivating their core fan base
and intriguing curious onlookers. The bands last
release, Hyperview, from 2015, was its first on
ANTI Records, cementing its expanding audi-
ence after a set at Coachella the prior year. This
show is part of a short Northeastern tour of in-
timate venues with limited capacity, and fea-
tures two quality openers: Give, which deliv-
ers an update of D.C. hardcore, and Westpoint,
a relatively young band reimagining the grunge
of their youth. (Knockdown Center, 52-19 Flush-
ing Ave., Maspeth, Queens. 347-915-5615. Jan. 5.)
Three Kings Day Parade our understanding of real and fake news today.
Whitney For many New Yorkers, the holiday season During the Cold War, the C.I.A. infamously col-
The guitarist Max Kakacek, formerly of the Smith doesnt end with the calendar year. El Da de luded with literary magazines, making changes to
Westerns, and Julien Ehrlich, the onetime drum- los Reyes, which marks the adoration of Jesus works by Peter Matthiessen, George Plimpton,
mer for Unknown Mortal Orchestra, came to- by the Three Wise Men, gives children one last and Richard Wright, among others. In Finks:
gether to form this soft-psychedelic outlet to chance at gifts, on the twelfth day of Christ- How the CIA Tricked the Worlds Best Writers,
satisfy more cerebral impulses. Honeyed tim- mas. For the fortieth annual Three Kings Day Joel Whitney and Lisa Lucas examine the neuter-
bres smooth out their back-road-folk influences Parade, in East Harlem, families are invited to ing of literary dissent in a bygone era, and con-
in songs about heartache and home towns. De- join a morning procession through the neigh- sider its implications for our brave new world.
spite the slim lineup, Whitney composes ambi- borhood, starting on the corner of 106th Street (52 Prince St. 212-274-1160. Jan. 5 at 7.)
tious arrangements that add in warm string and at Lexington Avenue and ending at 115th Street
horn sections, pastel bridges, and swelling, shout- at Park Avenue. Attractions include camels, 92nd Street Y
along choruses: Golden Days crams in guitar colorful puppets, musical performances from E. L. Doctorow, the Bronx-born novelist and
and brass solos, but Ehrlichs soft-whine vocals local bands, and traditional Puerto Rican food. playwright, twisted history to his whim in en-
keep the song delicate and compact. Whitneys El Museo del Barrio, which hosts the parade, grossing fictional narratives like Ragtime
album Light Upon the Lake was released last offers free admission throughout the day. (El and Billy Bathgate. More than a year after

1
June by the Indiana label Secretly Canadian, home Museo del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Ave. elmuseo.org. his death, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Don DeLillo, and
to soul stirrers like Anohni and the War on Drugs. Dec. 6 at 11 A.M.) Jennifer Egan pay tribute to the writer in cele-
After hosting a string of ripping local shows last bration of his posthumous Collected Stories,
ILLUSTRATION BY PABLO AMARGO

year, the group returns to the city for an evening which arrives on Jan. 10. The volume contains

1
of ambling AM-radio rock. (Rough Trade NYC, READINGS AND TALKS fifteen stories written between the nineteen-
64 N. 9th St., Brooklyn. roughtradenyc.com. Jan. 5.) sixties and the early twenty-first century, se-
McNally Jackson lected and revised by Doctorow himself, shortly
In the past half century, as media and publish- before his death, including Heist, the short
JAZZ AND STANDARDS ing have advanced and transformed at break- story that was expanded into his best-selling
neck speeds, so, too, has partisan propaganda. City of God, and Liner Notes: The Songs
Regina Carter Indeed, government and literatures relation- of Billy Bathgate, an amendment to his be-
Carter, an imaginative, conceptually minded vi- ship has only evolved, and sifting through past loved crime epic. (1395 Lexington Ave. 212-415-
olinist, pays tribute to a legendary singer, Ella methods of shaping public opinion may sharpen 5500. Jan. 9 at 7:30.)

16 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017


FD & DRINK

TABLES FOR TWO of memorable starter that either hooks


1 BAR TAB
Spice Symphony you with its peppery kick or leaves your
mouth tasting of soap. But not every-
Lexington Plaza, 182 Lexington Ave.
thing on the menu polarizes. The man-
(212-545-7742)
chow soup, long a Chinese-Indian staple,
Depending on the quality of your is a soy-garlic stew, rich in scallions and
introduction to sesame-crusted tuna or chicken and heaped with crispy dry noo-
similar sanitized novelties at trendier- dles, which seems designed to buttress
Rabbit House
than-thou enclaves, your opinion of diners against wintry weather. 76 Forsyth St. (212-343-4200)
Asian fusion may occupy some inter- At a fusion restaurant, it can some-
This exquisite wisp of a sake bar is tucked into a
section of tortured and tacky. The cou- times pay to gamble on dishes that appear vibrant stretch of Forsyth Street, amidst Viet-
pling of Indian and Chinese, then, dubious. To the uninitiated, the Paneer namese restaurants, dumpling shops, and bubble-
would seem like another superuous Chili Dry, an unintuitive pairing of chili tea parlors. Its name is a play on a term popular-
ized by Westerners to describe Japanese abodesa
mashup if it werent for the fact that it and cheese, may seem dangerously ill-ad-
PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL MARCELLE FOR THE NEW YORKER; ILLUSTRATION BY JOOST SWARTE

memo circulated by the European Commission


was conceived not by overzealous food vised, until you realize that strips of fried in 1979 described the Japanese as workaholics
magnates but by Hakka immigrants cottage cheese could not nd a more living in rabbit hutches. But the bars smallness
works to its advantage, and the place has been
living in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) winning foil than the sweet, hot tang of created with intense care and an idiosyncratic
more than a century ago, owing as chili and ginger. On a recent Thursday sensibility: there are warm woods and twinkling
much to homesickness as to a genuine evening, a table of overzealous patrons Edison bulbs; the bases of the water glasses are
tuliped so they spin on their sides precariously
affection for the sweetness and pungent decided to order everything they found but never spill. On a recent Sunday night, Yoshiko
heat of their adopted country. suspect, with varying degrees of success. Sakuma, the owner, chef, and sommelier, asked
The spirit of that diaspora cuisine The spinach chaat is perfect for anyone a patron who had just stepped in from the cold if
she would mind if the bar forwent its overhead
lives at Spice Symphony, a compact, ca- who is indifferent to the vegetable but lights in favor of candles. Sakuma had had a long
cophonous canteen near Curry Hill. enamored of the texture of waffle fries. week. I want to go drink at Shigure after I close,
Headed by Walter DRozario, the former The tandoori achari mushrooms, on the she said, throwing her head back in mock exas-
peration. One patron reminded her that the pop-
chef de cuisine of Junoon, who takes a other hand, faltered, because the addition ular sake bar was closed on Sundays, and she
grandmotherly approach to cooking, of yogurt, a spice mix, and an uniden- groaned. Others suggested places she might visit
Spice Symphony celebrates the cultural tiable sauce conspired to create chaos. instead, as they accompanied her in drinking the
terrific house sake, which is available only during
mix-and-match spirit with the con- Not everything pleased everyone, but happy hour. Flights of sake are another good
dence of a cocksure matriarch who dares the table began to resemble a Thanksgiv- choice, if only because Sakuma walks drinkers
to inspire the palates of her children ing spread: there was way too much food, through each selection, sharing gossip about the
producers. At seven oclock, a saxophonist and a
rather than placating their proclivities. but that was to be expected. In a grand- double bassist came in to play a jazz set. They
Take the coriander soup, a mush- mothers kitchen, nobody gets to leave were so close to the bar that one patron, who was
room-and-ginger broth thickened with the table without a swollen belly and a deep in conversation with a friend, apologized
for interrupting their music. No, no. Keep
earthy greens and topped with a gener- parcel of leftovers. (Entres $15-$23.) talking, the saxophonist said, smiling, then
ous spread of cilantro leaves: its the sort Jiayang Fan played on.Wei Tchou

THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 17


Whats the best way
to survive the holidays?

Humor, of courseits a lifesaver. So grab hold of two hundred and fifty


of our best single-panel cartoons from 2016, as well as delightful features from
Edward Steed, Julia Wertz, Liana Finck, and Roz Chast, to keep you afloat.
On newsstands now or online at newyorker.com/go/cartoons2016.
THE TALK OF THE TOWN

COMMENT
TAKING IT TO THE STREETS

n December 6th, less than a month after the election, Last summer, the A.C.L.U. issued a report highlighting
O Vice-President Joe Biden, who was in New York to re- the ways in which Trumps proposals on a number of issues
ceive the Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award, for his would violate the Bill of Rights. After his victory, the
decades of public service, used the occasion to urge Amer- A.C.L.U.s home page featured an image of him with the
icans not to despair. I remind people, 68 was really a bad caption See You in Court. In November, Trump tweeted
year, he said, and America didnt break. He added, Its as that he would have won the popular vote but for millions of
bad now, but Im hopeful. And bad it was. The man for illegal ballots cast. This was not just a window into the con-
whom Bidens award was named was assassinated in 1968. spiratorial and fantasist mind-set of the President-elect but
So was Martin Luther King, Jr. Riots erupted in more than a looming threat to voting rights. Ten days after the elec-
a hundred cities, and violence broke out at the Democratic tion, the N.A.A.C.P. Legal Defense Fund released a state-
National Convention, in Chicago. The year closed with the ment opposing the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions, of
hairbreadth victory of a law-and-order Presidential nomi- Alabama, as Attorney General, based on his record of hos-
nee whose Southern strategy of racial politicking remade tility to voting rights and on the fact that hed once brought
the electoral map. Whatever innocence had survived the unsubstantiated charges of voter fraud against civil-rights
tumult of the ve years since the murder of John F. Kennedy activists. But, with a Republican majority that has mostly
was gone. shown compliance with Trump, despite his contempt for the
It was telling that Biden had to sift through nearly a half norms of democracy, the fear is that he will achieve much
century of history to nd a precedent for the current mal- of what he wants. Even if he accomplishes only half, the
aise among liberals and progressives, but the comparison landscape of American politics and policy will be radically
was not entirely tting. Throughout Richard Nixons Pres- altered. This prospect has recalled another phenomenon of
idency, Democrats maintained major- the nineteen-sixties: the conviction that
ities in both the Senate and the House democracy is in the streets.
of Representatives. The efforts of the Movements are born in the mo-
antiwar movement to end American ments when abstract principles become
involvement in Vietnam had stalled, concrete concerns. MoveOn arose in
but Nixons rst years in office saw response to what was perceived as the
the enactment of several progressive Republican congressional overreach
measures, including the Occupational that resulted in the impeachment of
Safety and Health Act and the Clean President Bill Clinton. The Occupy
Air Act, as well as the formation of movement was a backlash to the nan-
the Environmental Protection Agency. cial crisis. The message of Black Lives
ILLUSTRATIONS BY TOM BACHTELL

In 2016, the Republicans won the Matter was inspired by the death of
White House, maintained control of Trayvon Martin and the unrest in Fer-
both chambers of Congress, and se- guson, Missouri. Occupys version of
cured the ability to create a conserva- anti-corporate populism helped to cre-
tive Supreme Court majority that could ate the climate in which Senator Ber-
last a generation or more. Donald nie Sanderss insurgent campaign could
Trump, a man with minimal restraint, not only exist but essentially shape the
has been awarded maximal power. Democratic Party platform. Black Lives
THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 19
Matter brought national attention to local instances of po- outrage and more like a preview of what the next four years
lice brutality, prompting the Obama Administration to launch may hold. Unlike the specic protests that emerged during
the Task Force on 21st Century Policing and helping defeat the Obama Administration, the post-election demonstra-
prosecutors in Chicago and Cleveland, who had sought tions have been directed at the general state of American
relection after initially failing to bring charges against po- democracy. Two hundred thousand women are expected to
lice officers accused of using excessive force. assemble in front of the Capitol, on January 21st, the day
Last July, when the Army Corps of Engineers gave nal after the Inauguration, for the Womens March on Wash-
approval for the completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline, ington. Born of one womans invitation to forty friends, the
members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, anxious that event is meant as a rejoinder to the fact that a candidate with
the pipeline would threaten their water supply, started an a troubling history regarding womens rightsone who ac-
online petition and led a lawsuit to halt construction. Thou- tually bragged about committing sexual assaulthas made
sands of activists, including members of Black Lives Mat- it to the White House.
ter, and two thousand military veterans went to Standing The rst Inauguration of George W. Bush, in 2001, saw
Rock, to protest on the Siouxs behalf; last month, they en- mass protests driven by the sentiment that the election had
dured rubber bullets and water hoses red in freezing tem- been stolen. The protests that greet Trump will, in all prob-
peratures. On December 4th, the Army Corps announced ability, exceed them: some twenty other groups have also ap-
that it would look for an alternate route. But, since Rick plied for march permits. Given his history with African-
Perry, Trumps choice for Energy Secretary, sits on the board Americans, Muslims, Latinos, immigrants, unionized labor,
of Energy Transfer Partners, the company building the pipe- environmentalists, and people with disabilities, it is not hard
line (and in which Trump, until recently, owned stock), pro- to imagine that there will be many more to come. The Con-
testers are settling in for a long winter. gress is unlikely to check the new President, but democracy
In that context, the waves of protests in Portland, Los may thrive in the states, the courts, the next elections, and,
Angeles, Oakland, New York, Chicago, and Washington, lest the lessons of the sixties be forgotten, the streets.
D.C., in the days after the election look less like spontaneous Jelani Cobb

UP LIFES LADDER Theres a large difference between The students stuck to the N.Y.U.
CYBERKIDS the hacking competitions that we do for building or to their hotel, next door. Wang
fun and actually setting up securities or and his Stuyvesant teammate, Nobel
trying to break into them to test them, Gautam, milled around trying to spot
Kenzie Togami, a senior with shaggy name tags they recognized from online
black hair, said. communities. (Not a single high-school
Prater had persuaded Togami to join girl took part in this years competition.)
the hacking club their freshman year. On a normal Saturday, Wang might
hortly after Election Day, be- Its not like criminal hacking, Prater be with his robotics team at a karaoke
S fore the interference of Russian hack- explained. That said, real-life hack- parlor in Queens, where he lives. But
ers became front-page news, a group of ing is super cool. They discussed a for the Dos Pueblos students C.S.A.W.
thirty-one high-school students gathered hacking hero, George Hotz, who, in presented a rare opportunity to social-
at N.Y.U.s Tandon School of Engineer- 2007, at the age of seventeen, became ize face-to-face. Back home, Grosen
ing, in Brooklyn, for Cyber Security the rst person to carrier-unlock an said, we hang out online. He cited the
Awareness Week. Their mission: to solve iPhone. Hed made a surprise appear- asymptotic increase in homework as
a murder mystery involving a ctional ance at C.S.A.W. three years earlier. break approaches.
Presidential race by analyzing digital ev- Wait, I missed meeting Geohot? Another factor is college applica-
idence of security breaches. In the prompt Prater asked, using Hotzs online han- tions, Prater said. When thats done, I
given to the students, a candidate named dle. A Stuyvesant senior named James denitely want to hang out.
Candice Deyte collapses and dies onstage Wang pointed out that Hotz also goes In the lobby, government agencies
at an event where she was to discuss im- by Tom Cr00se. like the D.H.S. and the N.S.A. had set
portant cyber topics with a famous I dont know if Id exactly call him a up recruitment booths for the col-
hacker named Pat Rogers. Using a trail celebrity, Paul Grosen, a lanky blond lege-age competitors, and top-tier col-
of clues that included Deytes smartwatch, sophomore on the Dos Pueblos team, lege scouts had pamphlets for the high
leaked e-mails, and Rogerss computer, said. Hes really smart. But morally . . . schoolers. Togami, who plays the viola,
teams of pubescent cyber-forensic inves- Hes denitely infamous, Prater said. said that he planned to go to Carnegie
tigators were tasked with determining the The Dos Pueblos kids didnt have Mellon.
culprit. (The hacker did it.) much good to say about New York City, Youre going to jinx it, Kenzie! Prater
During a break, a trio of teammates agreeing that there is too much construc- yelled. Apply rst.
from Dos Pueblos High School, in tion. Its like dodging bullets on the Conversation turned to cybersecurity
Goleta, California, decompressed. street! Grosen said. in the news. When someone mentioned
I think we were doing all right, I hate smoking, Togami added. So Julian Assange, Grosen offered a thumbs-
Kenyon Prater, a restless senior, said. many people smoke here. up and a grin.
20 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017
Wait, you actually like Julian As- which include the fall of Saigon and Healy twisted a strand of his long
sange? Prater asked. the near bankruptcy of New York City, dark hair, which was worn in an aspar-
To a certain extent, Grosen said, do not overly concern the bands front agus-going-to-seed style on top of his
backpedalling. I dislike his persona. man, Matty Healy, who was born in head. My existential crisis is lived out a
O.K., but hes been accused of rape, 1989 and grew up in Manchester, U.K. lot onstage, he went on. The other day
Prater argued. I like Snowden more Nevertheless, on a recent visit, Healy in Orlando, I said, I think I might be-
than Assange. Assange has this thing, gamely agreed to walk the winter blocks lieve in God. And then I left it for a
like, everything is fair game. Snowden around his East Village hotel in search couple of songs, and then I said, No, I
has more of a morality behind what of the 1975 that New Yorkers of a cer- dont actually really know.
hes doing. tain age remember. He soon found him- The 1975s name comes from a hand-
What about the question of Russian self in a caf, Physical Graffitea, at 96 written inscription that Healy found
hackers meddling in the election? St. Marks Placethe building that, to- in a copy of On the Road. The book
Togami was careful. Its not always gether with No. 98, appeared on the
possible to tell where something comes cover of Led Zeppelins 1975 album,
from, because people can use proxies Physical Graffiti. Healy wore a long
and pretend theyre in another coun- wool coat, a red sweater with white rose
try, he said. You can kind of guess patterns on it, and different-colored
and speculate. They all agreed that socks. He is twenty-seven years olda
government security is bad in the U.S., fatal age for some of his rock-star pre-
in part because the smartest computer decessorsbut while vampire-pale and
scientists take better-paying jobs in the thin, Healy looked healthy. (Ive
private sector. stopped doing drugs! he declared, after
Grosens older brother John, who par- pausing to read a plaque at 57 Great
ticipated in C.S.A.W. competitions in Jones, the Warhol-owned building
high school, had returned as a freshman where Jean-Michel Basquiat died, at
at M.I.T. Hed already cultivated a kind twenty-seven, in 1988.)
of jaded wisdom. The stuff you hear What does concern Healy is the
about, like the D.N.C. e-mails, are just problem of how to be a rock star for
really, really trivial things, he said. Like, people who dont buy that anymore.
oh, they left the default user name and Choosing a table in the corner, he ex-
password open. plained how he goes about this delicate The 1975
I dont have any evidence myself, task. For every rock-star move I make
but if the agencies are saying the D.N.C. onstage, I do penance, he said. He was given to him by the painter David
leak was orchestrated by the Russian brought his palms together piously. I Templeton, in Dei, the famous artists
government Im inclined to believe will have these true moments of em- colony, where Healys mother and step-
them, Prater said. bracing the fucking situation I am in father stayed when Healy was nineteen
As we all know, Putin loves Trump, and being what people want me to be, and impressionable. You know what
Paul Grosen said. He brought up the but then immediately followed by feel- its likeI was swept away in the dec-
possibility of escalating security threats. ing like a fraud, and that vulnerability adence of it, he said, his long ngers
The Russians denitely have the capa- being experienced and bought back into uttering around his face.
bility, given how horrible our security is. by the fans. He sipped his English Graffitea didnt have much of 1975
Worldwide, weve created this beau- breakfast tea. Because the only place to offer, so the party headed west. Healy
tiful thing, Prater said. And then there that kind of ego is allowed nowadays is received several text messages from

1
are a lot of holes. hip-hop. It is simply not allowed in peo- George Daniel, the 1975s drummer and
Carrie Battan ple who are in a rock band. electro-sound-maker, with whom he
Healys rock-star problems are com- writes the songs. George is kicking off
THIS CHANGING WORLD pounded by the fact that he grew up about the Grammys, he noted. The
LE TEMPS PERDU privileged and connectedwhich is nominations had come out that morn-
a challenge, especially for me, because ing, and the 1975 was nominated for
my parents are famous in the U.K. Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition
(His father, Tim Healy, is an actor, and Package, but not for its music. I dont
his mother, Denise Welch, is a former want a Grammy for a fucking box,
host on the British equivalent of The Healy said, with a sardonic laugh.
View.) Record labels want that kid He turned into the former CBGB,
hatever attractions the 1975, from Sheffield with his T-shirt hang- on Bowery, now a John Varvatos
W a British rock band, holds for its ing off him, he said. So weve just had store. He had never been inside be-
many fans, a shared interest in the year to be cleverer than that and speak to fore. This was CBGBwow! he
1975 is probably not among them. Cer- the broad middle class, whose search said, skirting the menswear and the
tainly the events of that nadir of a year, for identity is just as strong. merch (including lots of boxed sets) to
THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 21
look at the photographs on the walls. furniture removal, Zach Cohen, the deal was off. I told them, Im giving
He peered at a shot of the Sex Pis- twenty-nine-year-old owner of its New it to you for nothing. You got to be
tols performing in 1976. Nothing about York City franchise, said the other day, kidding me!
Johnny Rottens aggressively careless in his Long Island City office. Were The Salvation Army has this atti-
posture conveyed penance, vulnerabil- passionate about donation. Cohen tude, Cardona said as he and Brad-
ity, or any of the other things Healy added that he was an accountant until ley maneuvered the sofa through the
has to worry about. He could just go he realized he wasnt passionate about front door. Except the one on Twenty-
about the business of being a rock star. taxes. Junkluggers, which aims to nd third Street, which is run by a very nice
Wheres our CBGB? Healy asked, new homes for all your unwanted junk woman.
shaking his head sadly. Gone with the (for a non-trivial fee of between two Later that day, Angela Kelly, the nice

1
rest of 1975. hundred and a thousand dollars, plus woman who manages the Twenty-third
John Seabrook tax), was founded by Zachs brother, Street Salvation Army thrift shop, wel-
Josh, in 2004, after an elderly neigh- comed the gray Ultrasuede sleep sofa,
ONE MANS TRASH DEPT. bor in Faireld County, Connecticut, overlooking the scratch but giving the
OUT WITH THE OLD offered to pay him a hundred dollars mattress a once-over (many organiza-
to get rid of a couch. In those days, the tions will not accept mattresses for
Dodge Durango that Josh and Zach bedbug and ick reasons). Yall got to
borrowed from their mother played a put those legs back on, she told Car-
central role. Today, the company oper- dona and Bradley as they lifted the piece
ates in ten states, takes in eight million off the truck. I dont have man help
dollars annually, and owns a eet of today. The sisters would be sent a tax-
his is the year you swear you are gleaming chartreuse trucks. deductible receipt.
T going to eat less saturated fat, learn Cardona and Bradleys rst schlep of Have Cardona and Bradley ever
Latin, enjoy life to the fullest, blah blah the day was an easy one: no stairs, no pi- brought home swag acquired on the
blah. Chances are you will do none of anos (hard to give away), no dead cats job? We arent allowed to keep some-
the above. But if your to-do list in- (harder) or human skulls (a pair discov- thing unless the customer gives us per-
cludes getting rid of your old stuff to ered by Luggers cleaning out the home mission, Cardona said, explaining that
make room for new stuff, help is on of a deceased man one Halloween were a Lugger must offer an item to three
the way. One morning not long ago, bequeathed to the police). Two sisters charities before dropping it off at head-
Mike Cardona and Darryl Bradley, were disposing of their old living-room quarters. Cardona counts among his fa-
both thirty-three and dressed in black furniture to make room for a new set vorite freebies a table made from a tree
T-shirts, cargo pants, and baseball caps, being delivered that afternoon. Their fa- trunk and a violin. Bradley once nabbed
showed up at a one-bedroom apart- ther, supervising the goings and com- a frozen-smoothie-maker and a Pink
ment near Sutton Place to pick up a ings while his daughters were at work, Floyd boogie board. Last year, he was
sleep sofa, love seat, sideboard, and ot- said that he had called the Salvation named Lugger of the Year, an award
toman. The two men are employees of Army for a pickup, but theyd detected based partly on the number of dona-
the Junkluggers, the Robin Hood of a scratch on one of the sofa legs, and the tions secured. The honor comes with a
Verizon tablet.
On the way to job No. 2a pied--
terre on the Upper West SideBradley
recounted how, a few days earlier, he and
a colleague had mistakenly taken a statue
from a large apartment in midtown and
donated it to a church. Fortunately, when
the mixup was discovered, the piece had
not yet been sold. That statue had to
be seventy-ve pounds. It was awesome,
he said. Did you ever hear of Reming-
ton? The Bronco Buster?
Last collection of the day: a down-
town penthouse loft where a few trees,
some ceramic planters, and ten gar-
bage bags of dirt needed to be removed
from a rooftop patio. Some people
will look at this job as just hauling
junk, Bradley said as he drove down
Varick Street. But were so much more
than that.
Due to a power loss, this train will be replaced by a wave of rats. Patricia Marx
THE FINANCIAL PAGE which people now respond to corporate statements or sig-
SHOP TILL THEY DROP nals. You can see it as the next logical step in the evolu-
tion of whats sometimes called political consumerism. In
the past few decades, weve grown accustomed to holding
corporations responsible for their labor practices and en-
vironmental records. So its not surprising that they are
ere always hearing about restorms of protest, being called to account for their real or imagined political
W but they seldom involve actual re. In November, messages.
though, people who owned New Balance sneakers began If we are indeed entering a Trump-fuelled era of con-
setting them alight, posting videos of aming footware to sumer activism, its bad news for companies. Boycotts are
social media, and calling for a boycott of the company. Like not just futile griping; they often work. The U.F.W., Green-
so much else these days, its because of Trump. The night peace, and anti-Nike boycotts were all successful. A study
that he was elected, a New Balance spokesman told the by Brayden King, a professor at (aptly) the Kellogg School
Wall Street Journal, With President-elect Trump, we feel of Management, found that, during high-prole boycotts
things are going to move in the right direction. The spokes- between 1990 and 2005, a companys stock price fell, on
man was actually making a fairly limited point about trade average, every day that the boycott was in the news. King
policy. Trump has promised to scrap the Trans-Pacic Part- also found that more than a third of the boycotted compa-
nership, a deal secured by President Obama that would re- nies ended up changing their behavior in response to the
duce trade barriers between many protest. Perhaps his most striking nd-
Pacic Rim countries. That suits New ing was that boycotts usually had only
Balance, which still manufactures some a small impact on sales. Bad publicity
of its shoes in the U.S., but good luck and worried stockholders were enough
trying to communicate such subtleties to bring a company to heel.
in the current climate. New Balance Thanks to social media, boycotts are
suddenly found that its support for easier to organize than ever. They used
American workersP.R. gold, you to face a classic collective-action prob-
would have thoughthad led it into lem: taking part makes sense only if
contentious territory. everyone else is. Unlike a street pro-
New Balance hasnt been the only test, a boycott isnt inherently visible:
corporate victim of a hyperpolarizing you cant really watch someone not
election season. After Pepsis C.E.O., buying Frosted Flakes. Now you can
Indra Nooyi, said that company em- see how many people have signed on-
ployees were crying after Trumps vic- line pledges, and view videos of burn-
tory, conservatives called for a boycott. ing sneakers. All this helps project a
(The cause was aided by a viral fake- feeling of momentum and critical mass,
news story claiming that Nooyi had which in turn attracts more participants.
told Trump supporters to take their The obvious solution for corpora-
business elsewhere.) A couple of weeks later, Kelloggs be- tions is to say nothing controversial. But in the Trump
came the target of a conservative boycott, for yanking its era a truly neutral position is hard to nd. Pepsis Nooyi
advertising from Breitbart News. has agreed to join Trumps so-called Strategic and Pol-
Theres a long history of corporate boycotts: the labor icy Forum, a group of C.E.O.s who will meet with him
movement used them during strikes at the turn of the twen- periodically. Does that mean Pepsi will go from being
tieth century, and theyve been common since the nine- the target of conservative attacks to being the drink of
teen-sixties. But, until now, boycotts have usually been choice for the alt-right? Kelloggs stopped advertising on
staged in response to specic corporate practices. The United Breitbart after being spotlighted by Sleeping Giants, a
Farm Workers, in the mid-sixties, organized the famous social-media campaign that is pushing brands to cut their
grape boycott in order to get farmers to stop relying on un- ties to the site. But, in trying to avoid one consumer back-
derpaid, non-union workers. Greenpeace organized a boy- lash, Kelloggs walked straight into another. Companies
cott of Shell, in 1995, to stop the company from dumping are used to facing pressure over where they advertise. But
an old oil platform at sea. And, in the nineties, Nike faced now they have to worry about where they dont adver-
a boycott over its reliance on sweatshop labor. tise, too. Trumps victory has created a political realm in
By contrast, the Trump boycotts, from both the left and which tens of millions of people feel that if youre not
the right, have been driven by issues extraneous to the tar- with them youre against them. Thats a curse for com-
CHRISTOPH NIEMANN

gets core business practices. There are antecedents: a few panies that aim at a mass market, Americas traditional
years ago, L.G.B.T. activists went after Chick-l-A after strength. Its hard to be all things to all people in an us-
its president voiced his opposition to gay marriage. But versus-them world.
theres something new about the speed and ferocity with James Surowiecki

THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 23


Decius argued, Trump could help fos-
THE POLITICAL SCENE ter solidarity among the working,
lower-middle, and middle classes of all

SECRET ADMIRERS
races and ethnicities. Decius identied
himself as a conservative, but he saved
much of his criticism for house-broken
The conservative intellectuals smitten with Trump. conservatives, who warned of the per-
ils of progressivism while doing noth-
BY KELEFA SANNEH ing in particular to stop it. Electing
Trump was a way to take a stand against
both ambitious liberalism and in-
sufficiently ambitious conservatism.
The essay was meant to provoke
conservatives, and it succeeded. Ross
Douthat, of the Times, responded that
Decius had underestimated the likeli-
hood that a Trump Presidency would
damage both the country and the move-
ment. On Twitter, Douthat wrote, Id
rather risk defeat at my enemies hands
than turn my own cause over to a in-
competent tyrant. The Web site of
National Review, the eminent conser-
vative magazine, published a series of
critiques, including one by Jonah Gold-
berg, who called Deciuss central met-
aphor grotesquely irresponsible. No
doubt Goldberg expected that, before
long, he would be able to reminisce about
that strange week, near the end of an
endless campaign, when a blogger using
a pen name was the most talked-about
conservative columnist in America.
But for conservative intellectuals,
as for so many others, November 8th
did not mark a return to normalcy. A
day and a half after Donald Trump
was elected President, he ew from
New York to Washington to meet
he most cogent argument for of inaction were surely so. Decius sought with President Obama at the White
T electing Donald Trump was made to be clear-eyed about the candidate House. Afterward, Obama expressed
not by Trump, or by his campaign, but he was endorsing. Only in a corrupt his hope, however faint, that Trumps
by a writer who, unlike Trump, betrayed republic, in corrupt times, could a Presidency would be successful. In
no eagerness to attach his name to his Trump rise, he wrote. But he argued response, Trump expressed his belief,
creations. He called himself Publius that this corruption was also evidence previously undisclosed, that Obama
Decius Mus, after the Roman consul of a national crisis, one that could be was a very good man. At the same
known for sacricing himself in bat- addressed only by a politician unteth- time, about two miles east, in an au-
tle, although the author used a pseu- ered to political piety. The author hailed ditorium at the headquarters of the
donym precisely because he hoped not Trump for his willingness to defend Heritage Foundation, the well-con-
to suffer any repercussions. In Septem- American workers and Americas bor- nected conservative think tank, a hand-
ber, on the Web site of the Claremont ders. Trump, he wrote, alone among ful of prominent conservatives gath-
Review of Books, Decius published The candidates for high office in this or in ered onstage to try to gure out their
Flight 93 Election, which likened the the last seven (at least) cycles, has stood place in this new political order. Just
country to a hijacked airplane, and ar- up to say: I want to live. I want my about every seat in the auditorium was
gued that voting for Trump was like party to live. I want my country to live. taken, one of them by Edwin Meese,
charging the cockpit: the consequences By holding the line on unauthorized Attorney General under President
were possibly dire, but the consequences immigration and rethinking free trade, Reagan, who was in the front row, and
whose phone was almost certainly
A small group of thinkers argue that Trumpism could be more than a political slur. the source of a pleasant symphonic
24 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 ILLUSTRATION BY BARRY BLITT
ringtone that briey intruded upon Thats true, Goldberg replied, Take a break from the stresses
the proceedings. chuckling. Tell my wife I love her, if of daily life. Hear the whistle of
Jim DeMint, the former senator I suddenly disappear. VWURQJZLQGVWKHDSSLQJRI
from South Carolina, is the president The speakers at Heritage that day SUD\HUDJVDQGWKHLQWHUSOD\
of sound and silence from the
of the foundation, and he was jubilant. differed in the degree of optimism they
highest mountains in the world.
DeMints current job, like his old one, allowed themselves. All of them believed
requires a degree of ideological exi- that Trump would likely nominate a Sacred Spaces: Himalayan
bility, and he had forged a close rela- suitably conservative judge to ll An- Wind & the Tibetan Buddhist
tionship with Trump. In March, Her- tonin Scalias seat on the Supreme Court. Shrine Room Installation by
itage published a list of eight worthy But when the host asked whether Trump Soundwalk Collective
nominees for the Supreme Court; when might be more sensitive and self-
Trump released his own list, in May, it restrained than Obama in the use of
included ve judges from the Heritage executive power, the room erupted in
slate. Addressing the audience, DeMint laughter. Yoo didnt dismiss the idea. He
looked like a man who had won a long- imagined Trump, on the rst day of his
shot bet. What just happened, in this term, repealing all of Obamas executive
election, may have preserved our con- orders and agency regulationsan im-
stitutional republic, he said. perious way to make the Presidency less
Some of the people onstage werent imperial. Goldberg, by contrast, insisted
so sure. One of them was Goldberg, that, despite Trumps declarations of par-
who had had an eventful year: his tisan fealty, he was at heart a lifelong
response to Decius was only one in Democrat from New York who likes to
a series of acerbic essays that had cut deals. He argued that conservatives
established him as a leading light of should make it their mission to keep
the #NeverTrump movement, a group President Trump in lineto insure that
of normally reliable partisans who said he has to deal with us and get our ap-
they could imagine voting for just about proval on the important things.
any Republican candidateexcept But why should Trump now heed a
one. This was in some sense a protest political movement that was unable to
movement, albeit one led by a polit- stop him? In May, he told George Steph-
ical lite. Its ranks included both anopoulos, Dont forget, this is called
National Review and its chief rival, The the Republican Party. Its not called the
Weekly Standard, as well as most of the Conservative Party. During the cam-
leading conservative newspaper col- paign, Trump declared himself a con-
umnists, countless scholars and policy vert to some conservative causes, like
wonks, and, quite possibly, the two Pres- the pro-life movement, while unapol-
idents Bush, both of whom declined ogetically spurning others: he excori-
to endorse Trump. Goldberg once called ated the Republican Establishment,
Trumpism a radiation leak threaten- took a skeptical view of free trade and
ing to destroy the G.O.P. and com- free markets, and shrugged at gay mar-
pared the candidate to a cat trained riage and transgender bathroom guide-
to piss in a human toilet. (Its amaz- lines. Trumps popularity was undimmed
ing! Its remarkable! he wrote, mock- by these transgressions, which led Rush SACRED SPACES:
ing those impressed by Trumps oc- Limbaugh to suggest, in one memora-
casional displays of political poise. ble broadcast, that the Republican con- HIMALAYAN WIND
Yes, yes, it is: for a cat.) At the Her- servative base is not monolithically con- NOW ON VIEW
itage event, though, Goldberg tried servative. If liberals were shocked, on
to be magnanimous in defeat. I am Election Night, to realize that they were THE RUBIN MUSEUM OF ART
entirely open to giving Donald Trump outnumbered (in the swing states, at 150 WEST 17TH STREET
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10011
the benet of the doubt, he said. least), then many leading conservatives RUBINMUSEUM.ORG
The #NeverTrump thing is overby must have been even more shocked to
denition. discover, throughout the year, that their
Sitting next to him was John Yoo, movement was no longer theirsif it
who was a prominent Department of ever had been. We have grown accus- Sacred Spaces: Himalayan Wind LVPDGHSRVVLEOHWKURXJKWKHJHQHURXV

Justice official under President George W. tomed to hearing stories about the lib- VXSSRUWRI&KULVWRSKHU-)XVVQHU7KH+RFK&KDULWDEOH/HDG
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Bush, and who had recently likened eral bubble, but the real story of this *XSWD3UHHWKL.ULVKQDDQG5DP6XQGDUDP:LOOLDPDQG3DPHOD
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Trump to Mussolini. Glancing mischie- years election was about the conserva- 3UDWLPD6ULQLYDVDQWKH=DNDULD)DPLO\)RXQGDWLRQDQGFRQWULEXWRUVWR
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vously at Goldberg, Yoo said, I dont tive bubble: the results showed how
know if its over for him, though. sharply the priorities of the movements
THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 25
leaders differed from those of their pu-
tative followers.
Now that Trump is the President- AFTER LONG ILLNESS
elect, plenty of prominent conserva-
tives are hoping that he will govern as My wife calls. She left the eggs
a reliably conservative Republican. shed gathered in a small tin pail
Decius, the faceless blogger, is hoping
instead that Trumps Presidency will and would I bring them in
mark the dawn of a new kind of con- so the dog doesnt eat them. Or maybe
servative movement. He is one of a
handful of pro-Trump intellectuals who he already has. Theyre by the shed
have been laboring to establish an ideo- where were trying to trap the rat
logical foundation for the political ten-
dency sometimes known as Trumpism. or maybe by the greenhouse.
Politicians, as a rule, do not trouble I walk out in my robe and slippers, crushing
themselves overmuch with the opin-
ions of intellectuals, and Trump is un- some mint which rewards me
usually untroubled by debates about with its sharp identity. And there
political philosophy. But these intel-
lectualsa group that includes anon- is the pail by the coop.
ymous bloggers and prominent aca- And there are two eggs, cold and whole
demicsmaintain that he does have a
distinctive world view. In their argu- with a fleck of wood shaving stuck to one,
ment, his unpredictable remarks and as though a child had just begun
seemingly disparate proposals conceal
a relatively coherent theory of gover- to decorate it, maybe making a horse
nance, rooted in conservative political with a tiny fetlock.
thought, which could provide an anti-
dote to a Republican Party grown rigid Ellen Bass
and ineffective.
Charles Kesler, a political-science
professor at Claremont McKenna and were among the early adopters, mainly Trump crowd will come around. In
the editor of the Claremont Review of because Trump gave voice to their be- the day, some of the people who were
Books, calls Trumps election a liberat- lief that unauthorized immigration conservatives didnt think much of
ing moment for conservatism, an over- was one of the countrys biggest prob- Reagan, either, he says.
due repudiation of conservative lites lems. But, among conservative pun- The differences, of course, are plen-
and orthodoxy. The irony is that the dits more broadly, skepticism of Trump tiful. Not only was Reagan a two-term
modern conservative movement co- was so widespread that it began to governor of California; he also ran
hered, in the nineteen-sixties and sev- threaten the business model of cable- for President with considerable sup-
enties, as a rebellion against a Repub- news networks. CNN dealt with this port from the conservative movement,
lican establishment that it considered problem by hiring Jeffrey Lord, an ob- which was emerging as the dominant
out of touch. Now, according to a small scure columnist and former Reagan intellectual force in American poli-
but possibly prescient band of pro- aide who had met Trump in 2013 and tics. His conservative coalition brought
Trump intellectuals, it is happening been a supporter ever since. Lord was together free marketeers, military
again. They suspect that Trump, de- genial but unyielding in his defense of hawks, and Christian activists; it is
spite his self-evident indiscipline, may Trump, and he became one of the sea- partly thanks to him that those three
prove to be a popular and consequen- sons most unlikely new television stars: groups came to be regarded as natu-
tial President, defying his criticsmany he is sixty-ve and lives in Camp Hill, ral allies. Trump was not tied to any
of them conservative. They think that Pennsylvania, where he takes care of prexisting political movement, or to
Trumpism exists, and that it could en- his mother, who is ninety-seven; every any rm ideological commitments.
dure as something more substantive weekday, CNN sends a car to drive Before launching his campaign, in
than a political slur. him nearly two hundred miles to Man- June, 2015, he had been a Democrat
hattan, and back again. Lord still calls (for most of his life), a potential Re-
t was not impossible, during the himself a Reagan conservative, but he form Party candidate (during a brief
I campaign, to nd prominent Trump says his belief in Trumps political in- irtation with Presidential politics, in
2000), and, starting in 2011, a kind of
supporters, even setting aside mem- stincts has been bolstered by a series
bers of his immediate family. Populist- of private conversations. He has come conservative gady, obsessed with the
minded commentators like Ann Coulter, to regard Trump as a serious guy, and fallacious idea that Obama was not
Michael Savage, and Laura Ingraham he suspects that some of the #Never- born in America. Throughout the
26 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017
campaign, he seemed to get all of his eign policy. After Andrew Sullivan,
information from the cable-news the pioneering blogger, published a
channels that spent so much of their widely read New York story suggesting
time covering him, which created an that Trump might be just the kind of
eerie and sometimes unsettling feed- tyrant against whom Plato once warned, journey into the
back loop. Decius responded with an essay that ancient world
So it was something of a surprise was nearly as long and much more ab- over 120 tours with
when, this past February, an academ- struse. He argued that Sullivan had leading archaeologists
ically inclined online publication ap- misread Plato, and proposed, not very Exclusive access to the sites
peared, full of erudite arguments in reassuringly, that in our current polit- where history was made...
favor of Trump. It was called the Jour- ical climate an overdue recognition of pompeii
nal of American Greatness, in tribute the peoples sovereignty might en-
to Trumps pledge to Make America tail, for a time, more control and less crete
Great Again, although its sensibility freedom in certain areas. Like virtu-
was more tweed jacket than red base- ally everything written in the Journal,
sicily
ball cap. A charmingly bare-bones site, this essay expressed seemingly sincere dordogne
hosted at a lowly blogspot.com Web convictions in a faintly ironic tone,
address, it evoked an earlier, nerdier which was disorienting: we didnt re- & many more
version of the Internet, and its wry ally know who these people were, or
tone seemed calculated to contrast how serious they were, even though - from as little as $895
with the bombastic style of its cho- the political movement they sought to expert-led | small groups
sen candidate. This was where Pub- explicate was anything but marginal. special access -
lius Decius Mus began his career, Then, in June, the Journal signed off toll-free 1-888-331-3476
alongside a handful of other writers, and deleted its archives, declaring that tours@andantetravels.com
most of whom adopted Latin pseudo- it had been an inside joke, which, in andantetravels.com
nyms. The hidden identities of Decius the course of a few months, attracted We can arrange your international air -
and the other Journal contributors a large following, and ceased to be a contact us for more details
may have made the essays more se- joke. In this last respect, the Journal
ductive, by making their authors seem had more than a little in common with
like fugitives, desperate to stay one the man who inspired it.
step ahead of the ideological author- Evidently, Decius was not quite pre-
ities. Their facelessness also conveyed pared to quit the debate. That may ex-
a faint sense of menace, as if these plain why, in September, he published BPD is a disorder,
were the distant, Plato-quoting cous- The Flight 93 Election. It may ex- not a destiny.
ins of the balaclava-wearing hooligans plain, too, why he agreed to meet, a
who are a regular presence at nation- Treatment for women with BPD at U.S.
few weeks after Trumps election, on
News Top Ranked Psychiatric Hospital
alist marches throughout Europe. the condition that his pseudonymity
The Journal eventually published a be maintained. He chose a private club 855.707.0520 mcleangunderson.org
hundred and twenty-nine articles, the in midtown, where he had been at-
rst of which acknowledged the per- tending a lecture. (He hastened to point Ohana Family Camp in Vermont
versity of the project: out that he was not a member him-
Swim Archery
It may seem absurd to speak of Trumpism self.) Then he strolled over to a suit- Sail Tennis
when Trump himself does not speak of Trump- ably anonymous location: the tatty food Kayak Hiking
ism. Indeed, Trumps surprising popularity is court in the basement of Grand Cen- Canoe Biking
perhaps most surprising insofar as it appears tral Terminal, where he endeavored to Ohanacamp.org (802) 333-3460
to have been attained in the absence of any- fold his long legs beneath a small table.
thing approximating a Trumpian intellectual
persuasion or conventionally partisan organi- The man known as Decius was tall
zation. Yet, Trumps unique charisma notwith- and t, a youthful middle-aged pro-
standing, it is simply impossible for a candi- fessional dressed in a well-tailored gray
date to have motivated such a passionate suit and a pink shirt. He has worked
following for so long by dint of sheer person- in the nance world, but he talked about
ality or media antics alone.
political philosophy with the enthusi-
At times, the authors even sought asm of someone who would do it for
ADVERTISEMENT
to separate Trump from Trumpism, fun, which is essentially what he does.
suggesting that the candidate was a Before he began to speak, he held out
powerful but inconstant champion of an iPhone showing a picture of his
his namesake philosophy, which Decius family: if he was unmasked, he said,
summarized as secure borders, eco- his family would suffer, because he
nomic nationalism, interests-based for- works for a company that might not newyorkerstore.com
THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 27
want to be connected to an apostle of plaints about inequality are calculated tive stateand desperately need more
Trumpism. to mask the Partys true identity as unity.
It is not necessarily absurd for the political home of the cosmopoli- Decius takes perverse pride in hav-
Decius to suggest that he might suffer tan lite. But he suggests that a gov- ing been late to come around to Trump;
a fate like that which befell Brendan ernment might justiably hamper as a populist, he likes the fact that ev-
Eich, who resigned under pressure international trade, or subsidize an eryday American voters recognized
from Mozilla Corporation, the tech ailing industry, in order to sustain par- Trumps potential before he did. When
company he co-founded, after he was ticular communities and particular Decius started paying serious atten-
discovered to have donated to an anti- jobs. A farm subsidy, a tariff, a tar- tion, around January, he discerned the
same-sex-marriage initiative. By ob- geted tax incentive, a restrictive ap- outlines of a simple and, in his view,
scuring his real name, Decius is also proach to immigration: these may be eminently sensible political program:
claiming a new kind of civil right, one defensible, he thought, not on nar- less foreign intervention, less trade,
often claimed by political activists in rowly economic grounds but as ex- and more immigration restrictions.
the era of social media: the right not pressions of a countrys determination Decius cited, as one unlikely precur-
to be doxedthat is, not to have ones to preserve its own ways of life, and sor, the 2004 Presidential campaign of
online activity linked to ones offline as evidence of the fundamental prin- Dick Gephardt, the Democratic con-
identity. ciple that the citizenry has the right gressman, who ran as a erce opponent
Decius is a longtime conservative, to ignore economic experts, especially of NAFTA and other free-trade agree-
though a heterodox one. He had grown when their track records are dubious. ments. (During one debate, Gephardt
frustrated with the Republican Par- (In this respect, Trumpism resembles argued, We have jobs leaving South
tys devotion to laissez-faire econom- the ideologically heterogeneous pop- Carolina, North Carolina, Missouri
ics (or, in his description, the free ulist-nationalist movements that have my home statethat originally went
market ber alles), which left Repub- lately been ascendant in Europe.) Most to Mexico; theyre now going from
lican politicians ill-prepared to ad- important, he thinks that conserva- Mexico to China, because they can get
dress rising inequality. The conser- tives should pay more attention to the the cheapest labor in the world in
vative talking point on income in- shifting needs of the citizens whom China.) In his Flight 93 essay, Decius
equality has always been, Its the government ought to serve, instead of called Trump the most liberal Repub-
aggregate that mattersdont worry, assuming that Reagans solutions will lican nominee since Thomas Dewey,
as long as everyone can afford food, always and everywhere be applicable. and he didnt mean it as an insult.
clothing, and shelter, he says. I think In 1980, after a decade of stagnation, Trump argues that the government
that rising income inequality actually we needed an infusion of individual- should do more to insure that workers
has a negative effect on social cohe- ism, he wrote. In 2016, we are too have good jobs, speaks very little about
sion. He rejects what he calls puni- fragmented and atomizedunited for religious imperatives, and excoriates
tive taxationlike many conserva- the most part only by being equally the war in Iraq and wars of occupation
tives, he suspects that Democrats com- under the thumb of the administra- in general. Decius says that he isnt
concerned about Trumps seeming fond-
ness for Russia; in his view, thought-
less provocations would be much more
dangerous. In his telling, Trump is a
political centrist who is misconstrued
as an extremist.
There is a reason for that, of course.
Trump has routinely said things that
would, in previous elections, have been
considered scandalous and disqualify-
ing. His outlandish and often incom-
patible claims, along with his refusal
to admit mistakes, make it impossible
to determine which of his notions are
likely to become policies, and can fos-
ter the sinister impression that, as Pres-
ident, Trump will be accountable to
no one, not even himself. Decius says
that he learned to accept what he calls
Trumps unconventionality as a can-
didate, and maintains that his sup-
port never wavered, even when Trump
said things that he found indefensible.
Do you have anything with a view of God? (The worst, Decius says, was Trumps
suggestion that Gonzalo Curiel, a fed- lished a taxonomy of the alt-right that white, or even explicitly so. Francis once
eral judge presiding over a fraud case included Richard Spencer, a self- wrote that he wanted to ght for the
against him, had an absolute conict described identitarian whose politi- survival of whites as a people and a civ-
of interest, because he was of Mexi- cal dream is a homeland for all white ilization. (The Journal article that cited
can descent. I thought that was ex- people. At a recent conference in Francis also made passing reference to
actly the wrong thing to do, Decius Washington, Spencer acted out the his undeniable lapses in judgment and
said.) But he also thinks that Trumps worst fears of many Trump critics when decency.) Buchanan, more circum-
occasional crudeness and more than he cried, Hail Trump! Hail our peo- spect, nevertheless linked his economic
occasional intemperance are insepara- ple! Hail victory! Later, Spencer told argument to an argument about the
ble from his larger-than-life person- Haaretz that the election of Trump erosion of Americas cultural and ra-
ality, which was what allowed him to was the rst step for iden- cial identity. In a 1997 news-
challenge conservative orthodoxy in tity politics for white peo- paper column, inspired by
the rst place. ple in the United States. one of Bill Clintons paeans
Trumps disdain for what he calls It is important to note to multiculturalism, Bu-
political correctness, and often for com- that the link between Trump chanan asked, When did
mon courtesy, made him seem uncom- and someone like Spencer we Americans vote for a
promising, even though a passion for is tenuous and seemingly revolution to overturn our
dealmakingthat is, for nding ad- unidirectional. (When re- ethnic and racial balances?
vantageous ways to compromiselies porters from the Times asked When did we vote to rid
at the heart of his origin story. Per- Trump about the alt-right, America of her dominant
sonality and media antics might not in November, he said, I dis- European culture? He sup-
have been sufficient to explain Trumps avow the group.) But it is also true plied his own stern answer: Never.
success, but neither were they inciden- that partisan politics in America are Compared with forebears such as
tal to it. Lets say we get to dene stubbornly segregated: exit polls sug- these, what is striking about Trump is
what Trumpism is, and hypothesize a gest that about eighty-seven per cent how little he engages, at least explicitly,
perfect candidate who goes out with of Trumps voters were white, which is with questions of culture and identity.
scripted speeches and policy papers roughly the same as the correspond- The great America that he talks about
and campaign staff, Decius said. ing gure for his Republican prede- is an unsentimental place: not a tight-
Would he get the same traction as cessor, Mitt Romney. It is no surprise knit community dened by old-
this guy? The answer, in my opinion, that many of Trumps critics, and some fashioned values but a big and shiny
is no. of his supporters, heard his tributes to and rather nonjudgmental country
a bygone American greatness as a form where everyone has a good job, stays
f course, for the tens of mil- of identity politics, designed to re- safe, and adores the President. Whether
O lions of Americans who loathe mind white people of all the power he was in a rural white town or an urban
and fear Trump, this guy does not and prestige they had lost. black church, Trump avoided moral ex-
appear to be merely an economic pop- It is true, too, that Trumpism draws hortation, preferring to focus on the
ulist with a loose tongue. Throughout on a political tradition that has often economic renewal that his Presidency
the campaign, he was accused of being been linked to white identity politics. would bring. Accepting the Republican
the leader of a white backlash move- One Journal author suggested that the nomination, in July, he bemoaned the
ment, waging war on minorities: he true progenitor of Trumpism was Sam- number of shootings in Obamas ad-
says that he wants to expel millions of uel Francis, a so-called paleoconserva- opted home town of Chicago. But then,
unauthorized immigrants, and calls tive who thought that America needed rather than adducing the usual list of
for a moratorium on Muslims enter- a President who would stand up to the social pathologies, he implied, prepos-
ing the country. Since his election, globalization of the American econ- terously, that the major source of crime
many analyses of his political program omy. In Franciss view, that candidate in America was illegal immigrants with
have focussed on his ties to the alt- was Pat Buchanan, a former longtime criminal records, who are roaming free
right, a nebulous and evolving con- White House aide who ran for Presi- to threaten peaceful citizens.
stellation of dissidents who sharply dent in 1992 and 1996 as a ery pop- To Decius and his comrades, the
disagree with many of the conserva- ulist Republicanand in 2000 as the language of citizenship is central to
tive movements widely accepted te- Reform Party candidate, having staved Trumpism, which encourages Ameri-
netsincluding, often, its avowed off a brief challenge, in the primary, cans to think of themselves as mem-
commitment to racial equality. This from Trump. Francis and Buchanan bers of a wonderful club, besieged by
connection runs through Stephen Ban- were united in their disdain for the Re- gate-crashers. In Trumps view, loyal
non, Trumps chief strategist, an eco- publican lite, which seemed to them American citizens can never fail, only
nomic nationalist who was previously too cozy with international business be failedeither by their own leaders,
the executive chairman of Breitbart, a interests and too removed from the who are (sadly) stupid, or by leaders of
news site that aimed to be, Bannon concerns of everyday Americans. Both competitor countries like Mexico and
once said, the platform for the alt- also saw themselves as defenders of an China, who are (even more sadly) smart.
right. Earlier this year, Breitbart pub- American culture that was implicitly Decius contrasts the Trumpist belief
THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 29
in a common citizenship, entrusted by a more conventional spinoff, Amer- On a rainy afternoon last fall, as
with sovereignty, with the bipartisan ican Greatness, published by a little- news of Trumps Cabinet appoint-
tendency to leave consequential gov- known polemicist named Chris Bus- ments began to trickle in, an English
ernment decisions in the hands of kirk, who wants it to become the professor named Mark Bauerlein sat
agencies staffed by technocrats. When leading voice of the next generation in a small apartment in Manhattan,
he speaks of the administrative state, of American conservatism. And the sounding perplexed. It could be twenty
he is drawing on a concept that has Washington Post recently reported or thirty years before we really have
been elucidated at length by John Ma- that newspaper editorial pages are the distance to see what is happen-
rini, a political scientist at the Univer- scrambling to nd pro-Trump colum- ing, he said. Bauerlein was on leave
sity of Nevada, Reno, whom a num- nists; no doubt both demand and sup- from Emory University, in Atlanta, to
ber of the Trumpists regard as an ply will increase in the next few years. attend to his other job, as senior edi-
intellectual mentor. Marini is a mem- In the meantime, Trumps political tri- tor of First Things, the ecumenical
ber of an exotic tribe known as West umph has caused a number of previ- journal of religion and culture. Bauer-
Coast Straussians: a student of Harry ously steadfast conservatives to rethink lein is an admirer of Decius, and also
Jaffa, who was a student of the opaque some of their lifelong positions, none a supporter of Trump, whose prom-
but inuential political philosopher more spectacularly than Stephen ise to control the border appealed to
Leo Strauss, and who sought to draw Moore, the free-market evangelist who his sense of patriotism. What its re-
out connections between the Ameri- serves as an economist at Heritage. ally about is planting an idea into
can republic and its classical anteced- Soon after Trumps election, Moore Americans that this is our country,
ents. (The Latin pseudonyms used by told a group of Republican congress- he said. This is our home! Its going
Journal authors paid winking homage men that the Reagan era was over, and to have a boundary. He also views the
to this scholarship.) Another member that Trump had converted the G.O.P. rise of Trump as a reaction to politi-
of this tribe is Larry Arnn, the presi- into a populist working-class party. cal correctness, which has, he main-
dent of Hillsdale College, a strong- In a column for Investors Business tains, made people feel that they cant
hold of conservative thought, who sees Daily, he explained that the new Re- express themselves.
in Trump a leader who, because of his publican Party would be more willing He said he understood that many
willingness to violate political taboos, to spend money on infrastructure and people, including many students at
might be independent enough to check less willing to support trade deals. I Emory, had experienced Trumps vic-
the progress of runaway regulations. dont approve of all these shifts, he tory as a violationan extraordinary
The government itself has become wrote, betraying his residual anti- desecration of the progressive temple.
dangerous, he says, and I think Trump Trumpism, but they are what the vot- But he was also suspicious of his own
is likely to make that better. What ers voted for. urge to glory in that desecration. His
many of these Trumpists share is a dis- It is also possible that Trumps Pres- hope, however far-fetched, was that
dain for what Charles Kesler calls idency will be catastrophic, in ways that Trump, by demolishing traditional
moralistic conservatives, who are too have a lot to do with the tendencies Party ideologies, might somehow help
concerned with propriety to see that that Trumpists overlook: he could be people move beyond hardened parti-
our decaying political system needs a ruined by corruption, or enmeshed in san positions. Like a fair number of
leader like Trump, and has therefore international scandal; he might spend Trumpists, Bauerlein holds some be-
produced one. his Presidency persecuting his enemies, liefs that might have been expected to
or letting his deputies run amok. It is incline him toward #NeverTrump-ism,
s Trump a Trumpist? So far, his difficult to predict the outcome of any including an abhorrence of vulgarity.
I announced appointments have given Presidency, but with Trump the worst- He once wrote a memorable essay about
orthodox conservatives little cause for case scenarios seem particularly plau- the indignity of overhearing curse
alarm, raising the possibility that Trump sible, because he is so uninterested in words on an airplane; Trump has prom-
might be ideologically reliable after all. the safeguards that might prevent them. ised to bomb the shit out of ISIS.
And, because he will be working in His reliance on his own intuition is When Bauerlein was reminded of this,
concert with a Republican House and part of what Trumpists love about him, he merely sighed. All intellectuals who
Senate, his legislative record will nec- because it frees him from the tyranny support politicians must make com-
essarily be shaped by the Partys con- of technocracy, but it also makes their promises, but Trumps style makes those
gressional agenda, on topics ranging job much more difficult. There is a pro- compromises harder to ignore. At times,
from abortion to Obamacare. Some foundly asymmetrical relationship be- Bauerlein sounded as if he were still
Trumpists say that the biggest risk of tween Trump and the Trumpist intel- guring out what it meant to support
a Trump Presidency is that he wont lectuals, who must formulate their President Trumpas if he were try-
be Trumpist enough. doctrine without much assistance from ing to stay optimistic while steeling
But his Presidency, especially if it its namesake; Trumps political brand himself for all sorts of disappointment.
is successful, will inevitably change the is based on his being the kind of guy There are some things in politics that
shape of conservatism in the United who would never feel the need to ex- you say, This runs against what I be-
States. The Journal of American Great- plain himself to a bunch of scholars, lieve. He lowered his voice. You have
ness was replaced, this past summer, no matter how supportive they were. to suck it up.
30 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017
will sour the mix, so store your terror-
SHOUTS & MURMURS isms separately.

A RECIPE
4. As for misogyny, a little goes a long
way. Its already everywhere, like salt
or CO2 emissions, so theres no need
BY JENA FRIEDMAN to overdo it. But, if you do have a taste
for it, you can spice up the dish with
a pinch of ass, a small handful of pussy,
a smear of telling a candidate who has
spent forty years in public service that
she looks tired, or a scant cup of sexual-
assault accusers paraded around as
human shields on live TV. (Fun tip:
Add insult to injury by not paying for
their hair and makeup!)

Note: If accusers start to bubble up in


the pot, put a lid on it immediately by en-
listing the F.B.I. director to do something
moronic to deect from snowballing sexual-
assault allegations.

5. At this point, everything may begin


to boil over. Common sense would call
ith the inauguration almost PREPARATION: for lowering the temperature, but that
W upon us, I thought Id share an 1. Preheat the planet to record tem- would obscure the full, rich (or ostensi-
old family recipe, of Italian origin, passed peratures to accelerate climate change, bly rich, but who really knows without
down to my grandmother from her aunt and trigger a global refugee crisis. Put tax returns) avor. Instead, toss in some
in Germany. The ingredients have been the refugee crisis aside and let it rise. outside help to keep the concoction
tweaked to appeal to American tastes. It will come into play later. heated but contained, like a D.N.C. hack
or another variety of Russian cyber-
Warning: This dish contains nuts. 2. Next, youll need a melting pot, or terrorism (e.g., tampering with voter da-
the illusion of one. Mix a colorful gure tabases), as no one you are serving will
INGREDIENTS: (preferably orange) into a liberal but seem to notice these extra ingredients.
of all eligible voters (or less, de- fractured democracy, where the left has
pending on how many votes you can been weakened by inghting and the Note: To prevent progressives from
suppress) right has been reduced by impotent sticking together, whisk some yolks into
leadership. the mix. The kids will think its barnaise
1 charismatic leader with a wildly suc- and eat it right up!
cessful book, TV show, or lm (and Note: The gure may curdle the dish,
weird facial or head hair) unless he appears at rst to be a joke, a 6. Whip the ingredients into a pungent,
clown, or a total idiot. Add the media here gravy-like sludge. The early admixture
1 gaggle of Russian hackers to help emulsify. of the media (including social media)
will insure the perfect sludginess.
1 well-timed WikiLeak 3. Allow the mixture to congeal into a
malignant orange mass, and let it stew 7. Once it seems edible, serve on Elec-
1 rogue F.B.I. director (or other high- in the pot for several months, heating tion Day. Be advised, however, that this
level government official) the populace with racist rhetoric. Now recipe is not meant to appeal to all
that the refugee crisis has risen, knead tastes; in fact, most Americans have
A dollop of racism it back into the mixture, along with never been exposed to this dish and
any leftover xenophobia, bigotry, or probably wont be able to stomach it,
A spritz of anti-Semitism fears of terrorism lying around in your but as long as they dont vote (or arent
cupboard. able to, thanks to the repeal of key pro-
A sprinkle of idiocy (for a low-fat visions of the Voting Rights Act), your
version, substitute applesauce for Note: This recipe calls specically for dinner should be a hit!
JOOHEE YOON

idiocy) Islamic terrorism. Even a small splash


of domestic terrorism (often a by-product Yield: Serves 10-12, mostly Trumps but
The media of toxic masculinity and lax gun laws) not Tiffany.
THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 31
in feminism, menstruation, and the im-
PROFILES portance of the clitoris.
Millss wife, Miranda July, a writer

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN
and lmmaker with the steely fragility
of a Buster Keaton, once anatomized
guys like Mills in a short story. New
Mike Millss anti-Hollywood family films. Men are more in touch with their feel-
ings than even women are, she wrote.
BY TAD FRIEND New Men want to have children, they
long to give birth. Making a movie is
as close as Mills can get. Greta Ger-
wig, who plays a punk photographer
named Abbie in 20th Century Women,
told me, Mike runs a uid, non-mas-
culine set, where hell cry behind the
monitor. He cast Lucas Jade Zumann,
a fourteen-year-old newcomer, as Jamie
because, he said, I dont like fteen-
year-old boystheir sexuality is too ac-
tualized. The lms only adult male is
William, an earnest mechanic who
makes his own shampoo.
Mills views himself as an outsider, a
borderline recluse, but his sweet-natured,
Eeyoreish manner disarms almost ev-
eryone. While his stance is one of self-
deprecating bewilderment, he is also
often genuinely bewildered. On his ight
from Los Angeles, hed been astonished
that the four Wall Street guys around
Millss childhood suffuses his work. The ve-year-old me never goes away, he says. him were watching Fox News on their
seatbacks as they yammered about a
utside the New York Film Fes- A former competitive skateboarder dealastonished, that is, that business
O tival, the writer-director Mike and punk artist, Mills made his name class was lled with businessmen. An
Mills kept freezing up on the red car- designing wryly impersonal T-shirts and uptalker (Obviously, I did something
pet. Which strobing camera to face? album covers for Beastie Boys and Sonic wrong or it would be more popular?),
Which shouted question to answer? Youth. But his lms are nakedly per- he watches you on the question mark,
Seeing his perplexity, Annette Bening, sonal. Beginners (2011) featured a char- seeking a responsive nod. Yet, Annette
who plays Millss mother in his new acter based on Millsreticent, emotion- Bening observed, theres a part of Mikes
lm, xed his lapels and gave him a ally scarredand one based on his father, being a beautiful person thats quite
brisk, man-up pat. He shuffled gamely an art historian who, after becoming a shrewd. He wins us over by being hum-
after her. Upon clearing the gantlet, he widower in his seventies, came out as ble, so we help him with this thing hes
cried, Who invented that? gay, bloomed briey, then died. In 20th makingand that part of him is very
Mills was there, on this Saturday night Century Women, which opened on erce and tenacious.
in October, to introduce his lm 20th Christmas Day, Mills recasts his mother, At the festival, Mills stood in the hall-
Century Women, the festivals center- Jan, as a Salem-smoking architectural way as his lm played, listening through
piece. Backstage, he gravely smoothed draftsman named Dorothea. In the dis- a closed door. Watching live with the
his lapels, now a matter of concern. At tant summer of 1979, she lives with her audience is like being in a plane in tur-
fty, with graying whiskers and a broad, teen-age son, Jamieanother Mills bulence, he said. Youre trying to y it
lonely face, he has the soulful air of a stand-inin a tumbledown pile in Santa with your body, trying to keep it from
sepia-era frontiersman. He quivered when Barbara. Flinty, funny, stylish, and man- crashing. He added, softly, The ve-
he heard that David Byrne was in the nish, a blend of Amelia Earhart and year-old me never goes away. Why cant
crowd: a Talking Heads song gures Humphrey Bogart, Dorothea adores I sit through my movie on opening night?
signicantly in the lm, and Millss love Jamie, but her Depression-era rigor pre- Because I think I fucking suck. Waves
of the band, when he was a teen-ager, cludes her saying so. As he gravitates to of laughter made him crack the door.
made hard-core kids call him an art fag. skateboarding and Iggy Pop, she enlists Dorothea was writing Jamie absurd notes
Which is more pressure? he wondered. two much younger women to help teach to excuse his serial tardiness at school:
My therapist seeing the lm tonight, him how to be a good man. To Doro- He was involved in a small plane acci-
or David Byrne? theas consternation, they instruct him dent. Fortunately, he was not hurt.
32 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID BLACK
Mills went outside in the drizzle to rate their own and one anothers biog- Armstrong, Humphrey Bogart, a huge
call July, just to hear her voice. He de- raphies. Their stories are accompanied night sky.
scribes her as the true artist in their by montages of period photos intended Jan Mills, a pilot whod wanted to be
houseShes so much braver than I to create an air of credence. A believer in the Air Force, loved the aerial view.
ambecause, unlike him, when her in sympathetic magic, Mills gathers dog- Mills has some photographs of her smil-
work goes badly she doesnt threaten to eared objects and forgotten rituals to ing at him as a toddler, but the smiles
quit and work in a dog-rescue shelter. summon a world of mixtapes and Judy faded once he could talk back. All my
Then he sneaked into the back of the Blume and Three Mile Island and skate- therapy was about my mother, Mills
theatre for the last twenty minutes. It boarders who grab their boards behind told me. When he was a boy, they were
was almost as terrible as hed feared, until their front leg. Julie (Elle Fanning), a like a couple, he said: she took him to
the standing ovation. In the greenroom seventeen-year-old who cuddles with museum openings as her date, and she
afterward, Warren Beatty, whos married Jamieand sleeps with older, dumber was often beguiling. But there were so
to Bening, was giving everyone teary boysreads The Road Less Travelled many things I missed. You couldnt be
nodswasnt that something? Mike is and uses the language of self-help as a sad in her house. And anytime I reached
the real real thing, he told me. He pulled weapon. Bening wears Jan Millss jew- out to her or asked a question that made
Mills into a bear hug and murmured elry, and we see the wooden rabbit that her feel vulnerable, I got shut down.
plaudits into his ear. Warren cried, he Jan carved after reading Watership She died of cancer in 1999. Death al-
hugged meand he did Reds! I should Down. Mike is obsessed by exploring ways comes as a shock, but Mills does
just quit right now! Mills said after- the connection between the dramatic nothing to prepare us for Dorotheas:
ward. He changed masculinity in the and the real, the director Lance Ham- halfway through the lm, as she scruti-
twentieth century. He lled being a mer, a neighbor of Millss, said. I think nizes a punk drummer, she offhandedly
movie star with doubt and befuddle- it comes from the need to believe hes tells us, In 1999, I will die of cancer,
ment. His Clyde, in Bonnie and Clyde, actually here, that hes not having a dream, from the smoking. Yet Mills isnt inter-
is impotent? And he produced the lm? not oating away. ested in provoking gasps of surprise. He
Thats so amazing. Directing like a designerre-creat- wants to mine the gap between what we
ing the family scrapbook down to the know and what the characters know. In
ollywood films generate emo- last pilled sweater long gone to Good- lieu of a more traditionally rousing sec-
H tion in predictable ways: by having willhas its risks. Some critics nd ond-act climax, everyone watches Jimmy
a man voice long-unspoken admiration Millss work quirky or precious; some Carters Crisis of Condence speech.
(Good Will Hunting, Million Dollar nd it inert. The Boston Globe called Dorothea is thrilled by his candor, some
Baby), having a woman utter a death- Beginners the passive work of a man of the others scoff, and Jamie silently
bed avowal (Love Story, Terms of En- nervous to touch the third rail of his par- registers the moment. Carter, punk, and
dearment), or killing the dog (every- ents discontent. Yet his lms lure you the expansive cultural impulse that
thing from The Road Warrior to in with their precise, unemphatic pre- brought this random family together are
Marley & Me). Millss characters long sentation, their accrual of detailsa heap about to be supplanted by the Reagan
for that kind of intimate intensity, but of oily rags that could ignite at any time. era. We know how fateful the occasion
their feelings remain undisclosed. In Be- Joachim Trier, the Norwegian director, is. Whats moving is that they dont.
ginners, the dying father looks past his said, Theres a Todd Rundgren-ness to
yearning son to ask a hospice nurse to Mikes work, a Steely Dan coolness, the ills knelt at the foot of his bed
stiffen his hair with gel, which hes never melancholy low light of a late Califor- M in the Standard Hotel, on the
tried before. nia afternoon in Laurel Canyon. Lower East Side, scrolling through pho-
Mills rejects the well-made Holly- Like his mother, Mills became a tos on an iPad, exclaiming at a woman
wood script, which bullies us into em- parent late in life, and his son, Hop- huffing glue and an owlish boy who died
pathy for the main character by picking per, spent time in the neonatal ward. young. The photographer Richard Verdi
on him in the rst act and giving him In 20th Century Women, this pro- and his wife, Mindi, looked on. In the
increasingly sizable obstacles to over- vided the germ of an opening-scene late seventies, Verdi chronicled the punk
comethen rewards us with a gauzy ashback. (Where most directors use scene at CBGB with a Leica, capturing
scene of affirmation. He rejects even the ashbacks surgically, Mills revels in the jagged, eeting deance. Mills used
customary reliance on an eventful plot. them; his lms fall back as much as ve of Verdis images in 20th Century
One of his art lms, in 2009, needled they spring forward.) In the NICU, Dor- Women, as Abbie recalls coming to
Steven Spielberg by assembling title cards othea squeezes Jamies nger as she New York and learning to be brave and
that tartly summarized the beginning of says, in voice-over, I told him life was sexual, and now he envisioned making
E.T. (The creature squeals as it runs / very big, and unknown, and that hed a book about the lms photos and pho-
The ship slowly closes its door.) fall in love, have his own children, have tographers. Verdi, a silver-haired wed-
His interest is in people and their tra- passions, have meaning, have his mom ding photographer, murmured, You cant
jectories; a maximalist, he wants to re- and dad. Real-world images ash by, really explain what it was like to be ve
veal the entirety of his characters lives the compass points of Dorotheas life: feet in front of the Ramones with their
and minds. In 20th Century Women, a couple doing the Charleston, an el- Marshall amps on ten.
the ve main characters periodically nar- ephant, New York in the twenties, Louis Mills experienced CBGB through his
THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 33
sister Megan Ace, the inspiration for America and Japan; he also designed its ing his runstaken in the old style, fast
Abbie, who attended Parsons School of album covers. He became a mainstay of and owing, like a surferon bygone
Design by day and the clubs by night. the D.I.Y. scene around the Alleged skate parks all over L.A.
Mills followed her to New York in 1984, Gallery, on the Lower East Side, where
to study art at Cooper Union. The rst Shepard Fairey and Ed Templeton, self- n the nineties, when Mills watched
thing I saw, Mills told the Verdis, point- taught artists who prized feeling over I Jim Jarmusch lmsa few charac-
ing out the window to the school, a few technique, drank forty-ounce Budweisers ters, a laconic camerahed think, I could
blocks away, was a homeless guy taking and skateboarded out front. Like the do that. He began by shooting music
a leisurely shit on the front steps. The Alleged artists Harmony Korine and videos. In 1998, his video for All I Need,
view was now mostly condos. Spike Jonze, whod also become direc- by the French band Air, was a four-min-
Mills studied a series of photos of tors, Mills was a skateboarder at heart. ute documentary about a young skate-
women, pausing on one hed used: a Mike D, of Beastie Boys, for whom boarder couple with nothing but their
woman wearing a necktie, her legs akimbo. Mills designed two album covers, told palpable love for each other. It gave him
Theres a gritty, worldly insolence to me, Kids like Mike who get bitten by a taste of pulling off the magic trick of
them, and a sense of power, he said. the skate bug have a deep-down rage making people get a little teary-eyed.
But a vulnerability, too, Mindi noted. that they channel by saying, Im going After moving to Los Angeles, in 1999,
She pointed out another woman: She to do a rail slide down the railing of this Mills co-founded a commercial-produc-
was on heroin for twenty years. Indicat- public building, and you cant do any- tion company, called the Directors Bu-
ing the womans bruises, she said, Get- thing about it! Skateboarding is great reau. He was already directing Gap ads
ting beat up after CBGB was the ulti- training wheels for expressing that feel- khakis-wearing dancers doing the
mateyoud made it with somebody who ing on a bigger canvas later. mamboand hed shown that he could
was of that frame of mind. Mills winced. Mills was a versatile designer, turn- quickly summon a world and a vibe.
His detractors accuse him of excessive ing out skateboards for Subliminal, Volkswagen and Nike wanted his pawky
charm, but it may be more accurate to say scarves for Marc Jacobs, and graphics sensibility, up to a point. I hired Mike
that he edits brutality from his world view. for Kim Gordons clothing company. for an Old Spice ad, Sarah Shapiro, an
When another photographer told Mills Hed use corporate fonts, such as Hel- ad-agency producer who went on to cre-
about one clubgoers violence and anti- vetica, and welcoming colors, like ate the TV show Unreal, said. It was
Semitism, he replied, hopefully, So she Tokyo-taxi green, to make a childs fascinating to watch him, with his odd
was just a troubled soul? T-shirt that said Child. Its very Ses- palette and Jacques Tati references, try-
In Millss family, you put the best face ame Street, Mills said. I like a real ing to navigate these straight, corporate
on things. Born in 1966, he was roughly Anybody could have done it manufac- clients from Cincinnati. (Mills told me,
a decade younger than his two sisters, a tured simplicity, the at clunkiness My Tati references have the unintended
surprise consequence of what he terms showcasing the idea. Aaron Rose, who benet of scaring the clients. Theyre
his parentsrecreational sex. Megan Ace owned the Alleged Gallery, told me, afraid to say, Who the fuck is Tati? on
told me, Mike was Baby Jesus, the boy Youd see ve album covers by Mike the conference call.)
who was supposed to save the family. in Tower Records window. Unlike a lot In 2000, he optioned Walter Kirns
Both my parents had such high regard of his contemporaries, he never had novel Thumbsucker, about an adoles-
for men, and theyd been disappointed punk guilt, or fear of selling out. When cent boys mutiny against his stiing fam-
by having two girls. Ace con- Mills sprayed graffiti on ilya safe proxy for his own story. He
tinued, But it turned out the side of the Paramount wrote a script and raised four million
Mike was born in our bal- lotBoring and Surren- dollars to make it, as an indie lm star-
samic phasewhen the fam- derhe wore a business suit, ring Tilda Swinton and Vincent DOn-
ily, like balsamic vinegar thats and documented the en- ofrio. He began to hone a method: use
been in the fridge too long, deavor with a photo essay. real-world settings and hunt for mo-
had gotten funky. The Verdis asked whether ments that made his ctions feel like
His teen-age rebellion was he had shot a scene at CBGB, documentariesthe takes when an actor
less deant than exploratory. and Mills said that hed de- stumbled or momentarily forgot her line.
Though Mills haunted the cided against it, because it He aspired to the simplicity of Yasujir
mosh pits of L.A., his hair would be so bad compared to Ozu, the Japanese master, who placed
spiked up with beer, he told me, Id al- the real thing. His relationship with his camera at only two levels: sitting
ways keep an eye open for a way out. I nostalgia is complex. Although he is cu- height and standing height.
was such a conformist, timid little boy. ratorially respectful of vanished cultures, Yet Thumbsucker, released in
His parents, with no sense of their des- his lms are often counterfactualwist- 2005, is an apprentice work. During
ignated role as oppressors, let his punk ful imaginings of what might have been. the editing, one of Millss producers sent
band practice in their house. He recalled, What if everything was exactly the same him a note: No more self-pity. Mills
Mom would say, I thought Just a Slut but had worked out better? Mills keeps was shocked that it was so evident.
was pretty good this time! an Alva skateboard in the back of his Thumbsucker didnt do what I hoped,
In the nineties, Mills played bass in Volvo station wagon, and when he cant he said. And the documentary I made
a band called Butter, which toured sleep he soothes himself by remember- next, about depressed JapaneseDoes
34 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017
Your Soul Have a Cold?, in 2007
which focussed on all the things I love
and Hollywood cant stand, like people
eating, drinking, and sleeping, was a
complete miss.
He was at a creative loss. But he
gradually realized that his fathers hav-
ing come out and then died a few years
later, in 2004, was not only a trial but
also a gift. Mills recalled, He had
this monstrous gay adolescence where
he started telling me everything, in-
cluding which of my friends were cute
and how sexy the UPS mans legs were.
Beginners took six years to realize. It
was an ambitious attempt to braid two
stories, set in two periods: 1997 to 2002,
when Oliver (Ewan McGregor) and
his father, Hal (Christopher Plummer),
belatedly get to know each other; and
2003, after Hal dies, when the griev-
ing Oliver tries to establish a relation-
ship with a French actress named Anna Maybe it doesnt want to be identied.
(Melanie Laurent). Mills believed that
sorrow had made his work stronger
and stranger. Yet when he pitched his

script he downplayed its oddness: the
history-of-the-gay-pride-ag inter- his delicate way with psychology. At half nished and a stick that his dog
lude; the magazine photos from 1955 eighty-two, he won his rst Academy Zoe had fetched for her. When he pro-
of people kissing that appear when Ol- Award for the role. posed, years later, he began by showing
iver imagines his parents early connec- her a lemonade-and-stick tableau that
tion. Mills told me, Id say, If you take hen Mills met Miranda July, at hed re-created. She had no idea what
out the history and the narrative bits, Wa noisy bar at the 2005 Sundance it represented.
the rest of the movie totally holds to- Film Festival, she was wearing a Mickey Both of them had piercing blue eyes;
gether! If its too much me, I can make Mouse sweatshirt and leather pants. So both loved James Baldwin, Agns Varda,
it more you. To get the lm nanced, it was a no-brainer. But July had a boy- and Velvet Underground. Both were seek-
he ended up throwing in his fee. When friend, so she suggested to her friend ers of buoyancy. As Brownstein said,
his producer remonstrated with him, Carrie Brownstein, the writer and Sleater- Mike is more mournful and Miranda
he said, My fear is not of not making Kinney guitarist, that she date Mills. I more sinister, but neither lacks hopeful-
moneyits of not making this lm. was sitting next to Mike at dinner, ness. But, where Mills situated a group
To establish a barbed intimacy be- Brownstein recalled, and he pulled out of characters in semi-recent history, July
tween the pairs of actors, Mills assigned a FedEx envelope. Amid all the hustling poured her spiky personality into novels,
them tasks in rehearsalthe kind of and dealmaking at Sundance, hed had lms, interactive projects, and concep-
emotional calisthenics hed picked up in his assistant send him photos of his dogs, tual arthard-to-categorize scenarios in
an acting class and from working with because he missed them so. So when which shed dance entirely encased in a
a story guru named Joan Scheckel. He Miranda later confessed that she had T-shirt, or speak in the scratchy voice of
had Laurent and McGregor, whod just feelings for Mike, I said, Obviously this a cat with a wounded paw. My punk
met, repeatedly break up with each other. is someone you should be with. scene was very unfeminist, and Miran-
And he had Plummer shop for a scarf They came together back in Los An- das scene was slightly lesbian separatist,
with McGregor and supervise him as he geles, cinematically: an agreement over Mills said. Im a Labrador and shes a
made a bed. Christopher wasnt buying lunch to be just friends, sealed with a Border collie. Also, her lmMe and
it, Mills sheepishly recalled. He told handshake; a surprise visit by July to You and Everyone We Knowwon
me, You know, Michael, not every di- drop off two wooden mice shed found handily at every competition our lms
rector needs to do this. Plummer says, at an estate sale; a lingering kiss. When were in together, and she was becoming
It was like being in school again, with July saw the model of a house that Mills hugely famous. It was a lot to date.
the theatre exerciseshe went much too was building in the Sierras, she probed Millss father had died four months
far. Mills politely insisted, and Plum- her nger into it and said, That could before they met, and July worried that
mer acknowledges, I was better as a be my room. After she left, Mills took shed get swamped by his overwhelm-
screen actor because of Mike Mills and a photo of the glass of lemonade shed ing need: Mike, at the beginning, was
THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 35
like, Just lost familymust make new is what you do to comfort yourself if you this is new. The kids have come back!
one. His desire for approval also made feel an inborn loneliness that wont go He began trying to corral all this ma-
her uneasy. But she decided that he away, she said. So the reservoir idea ut- terial into a lm by jotting dozens of un-
was, after all, an artist. He may cast the terly failedother than that we got mar- related facts and ideas on le cards, from
pretty faces and get the biggest stars he ried and had a child. gun control (an obsession of his moth-
can get, which to me is sort of ad-yhe ers, which didnt make it in) to blow jobs
can sell a feeling, she told me. But Im ills stood on Miramar Beach, always existed (an obsession of his own,
agog at how little he cares about story- M in Santa Barbara, squinting wor- ditto). For two and a half years, he la-
telling conventions, like suspense and riedly as perfect waves rolled in. This is bored on a script. Mills carries low, like
reveals. Hes ultimately more experimen- not where I should have grown up, he a woman carrying a baby low, July told
tal than I am. said. It felt so oppressive. As a freckled, me, admiringly. He holds a project in-
Since their wedding, in 2009, theyve burnable person, I couldnt go to the beach side him at a very low register for a long
lived together in Silver Lake, a hilly, fast- all day. When he was six, his mother time. As he glued and whittled, he oc-
gentrifying area near downtown L.A. began encouraging him to get out of the casionally studied a reminder pinned to
whose residents have included James house, telling him to be home by sup- his bulletin board, which hed written after
Franco and the Transparent creator Jill pertime. With the beach proscribed, hed listening outside the door during screen-
Soloway. The couple work in separate follow dry creek bedsthe child high- ings of Beginners: Stronger, faster paced,
offices nearby but share Millss old house, waythrough the neighborhood, ex- more punch, no lulls, more graphic.
a place where jacaranda roots poke ploring groves of live oak and g, nas- Finally, he asked July to read the script,
through the driveway and Talking Heads turtium hedges, mysterious culverts. As which at that point also featured Jamies
albums are stacked beside a vintage turn- we drove around, Mills noted where hed divorced dad. Was it ready? Mills said
table. Geographically, Mills positions the been hit by a car while running for the that July told me, Its hackneyed, its
couple below Warren Beatty and An- bus; where hed drunkenly fallen out of making your movie about women really
nette BeningTheyre in that top-of- a convertible and got a concussion; and about a manshe was brutal. I went,
Mulholland realmand to the east of where hed got third-degree burns try- Aah, broken, a disaster, and it got
the entertainment industry. Referring to ing to stomp out wildres. heatedbut it turned out she was to-
a boulevard that bisects West Hollywood, As a high schooler, he often headed tally accurate. The audience doesnt need
Mills told me, I only cross La Cienega to Franceschi Park, where the local punks dads, is the sad truth.
if I need money or actors. drank Mickeys malt liquor and took Mills eventually wrote a dad-free
What connects Mills and July is the speed. He led me to a concrete under- script that felt faithful to his experience
failure of connection. Early on, July said, pass that spanned the San Ysidro creek except that Dorothea was warmer and
we took this walk around the reservoir bed, where hed shot several hangout more denitively heterosexual than Jan.
and talked about how wed worked so scenes in the lm. The place was snugly My mom was dark and had a level of
hard all our adult lives, and maybe we feral, lacquered with graffiti, some of it undiagnosed depression and self-attack,
could do something else. For her forti- added during shooting. We painted in Mills said. But I couldnt put all that
eth birthday, two years ago, she travelled Cito Ratsa gang back thenand the in. Annette Bening explained, Female
to Mexico alone, because they couldnt logo of Black Flag, to make it look right characters in lm are judged harshly, so
nd time to go together. Making things for the time, Mills said. But a lot of we have to love her. Its why lm is the
great near-art formyou want your
movie to be seen.
On set, Mills is his best self: assured,
curious, generous. He brought in Bud-
dhist monks to bless the cast and crew,
and a cellist to play during rehearsals.
In the mornings, he and the actors would
dance to each characters theme song,
from Why Cant I Touch It?, by the
Buzzcocks ( Jamie), to As Time Goes
By (Dorothea). It felt like he was in-
terested in creating a happening, and
the lm occurred around that, Greta
Gerwig said. But in the editing room
the lm once more refused to cohere
an occupational hazard when you jetti-
son plot. Millss stomach knotted up
and he couldnt sleep. As a dad and
Mirandas husband, he said, there was
These smug pilots have lost touch with regular passengers so much more at stake now in becom-
like us. Who thinks I should fly the plane? ing a total failure.
To calm himself, he watched Casa- movie to be funnyand, the funnier you chastened, Mills said, Its two captains
blanca over and over. Eventually, he re- make your movie in testing, the farther with one boat.
alized that his lm might work if he used you get from life as it really is. He and Hopper ambled into the
his characters the way that Michael Late one Friday afternoon, at his back yard to sweep up fallen olive leaves.
Curtiz had used Ilsa and Rick, linking office, Mills said, Id guess if we made He was getting a stream of e-mails
his disparate story lines by cutting from twelve to fteen million in box-office from the lms distributor, A24, about
Jamies face at the end of one scene to Im still in the game, and if Im up in tastemaker screenings, to position
Dorotheas at the start of the next. Mom the twenties that would be huge. He Annette Bening for a Best Actress nom-
loves boy but cant express it; boy is dis- noted, though, that every dollar you ination. July had told me that shed re-
enchanted; mom and boy reconnect, if spend on a movie is a dollar further away minded Mills that the Oscars could
only briey. He sent a le of that version from art and deeper into commerce. be seen as a major artistic failthat
to July. After calling her therapist for re- He wanted to spend less on his lms being beloved by the really homoge-
assurance (she wasnt in), July sat at her and make just enough to keep making neous, conservative group that votes
computer and pressed play. Afterward, them. After his fathers death, he quit on them would be bad. Mills said,
she sent her husband a sele that she ad work. I decided, Im helping capi- Thats where Mirandas a savior. I felt
describes as someone whod been cry- talism look benign, he said, so I bailed dumb that I was falling for the com-
ing for ninety minutes. When Mills saw from the Directors Bureau. He laughed. petition. But a moment later he added,
her happily messed-up, cried-upon face, And then I missed directing, and I If we dont get a nomination now, it
he knew he was home. needed money. Now I try to do two ads is perceived as Youre not worthy of
Judd Apatow told me that he was a year, so I can earn the hundred and seeing on Friday night.
wrecked by a scene, near the end of fty thousand dollars I need to pay for People began to arrive, and the rem-
20th Century Women, when Jamie my life. The politics of doing them re- iniscences owed over soft Hawaiian
skateboards while holding on to Dor- mains unresolved. music on the hi-. A few hours in, Mills
otheas VW Bug. As Jamie swoops hap- He was also worried about where chatted with Lindsey Jacobs, his on-set
pily through the curves, he says in voice- the next lm would come from. July dresserthe person who wrangled the
over, I thought that was just the told me that Mills recently had a dream furniture and the props. Hed just told
beginning of a new relationship with in which someone told him, You can me how much hed enjoyed working with
her. Where shed really tell me stuff. just combine the rst two movies and her, and how eager he was to see her
But maybe it was never really like that make a third about your mom and your again.
again. Maybe that was it. Apatow said, dad! He was exhilarated until he woke Jacobs, a candid woman in her early
Mikes lms make me think of my up. Was there a way to honor his mem- thirties, had a slightly different take.
late mother, and how I handled that ories yet be at least slightly commer- Mike is very appreciative but very par-
relationship, andhow can I do bet- cial? Would a dash of dramatic conict ticular, she said. There was a lot of freak-
ter with the people around me? He help? Mills gazed at Hopper, now four, ing out. I had repeated nightmares where
paused, choking up, and nally said, as he ran off to explore, and said, My I was in bed and Mike was calling me
Mikes lms make me proud to be a shit is so sweet and earnest and trying to set.
human being. so hard to be nice, and at times I just Im a designer, so I have to futz with
Late in the lm, Jamie dances with feel, like, Lets do something nasty, whats on my screen until its just right,
Dorothea, just as, late in Beginners, Mike, with some evil people! Lets fuck Mills said, apologetically.
Oliver dances with Hal. To have recon- some shit up! I would love to be more I eventually gured out what you
stituted my parents as movie stars, and orid, in a way that wasnt annoying. wanted, she said. Natural, lived-in, but
to dance with them on lm, is, psycho- He laughed. But therein I betray my- also really beautiful. Because that disap-
logically, moving in the right direc- self. Watching Hopper, so nice, giving pointed lookI couldnt bear to see that!
tion, Mills said. Much as July loves her his lunch money to other kids, I think Mills met this swift rebuttal of his nos-
husbands work, she remains mystied I was a little like that. Poor that per- talgia with a game smile.
by the gap between his actual child- son, being raised by Humphrey Bogart: Jacobs asked, So, what is it going
hoodYou could hug Mike for a long Do we really have to drink and smoke? to beanother ten years before the
time, and it wouldnt be enoughand Cant we just cuddle? next one?
these glowing portraits. Its almost what He drove with Hopper to pick up Wow! Mills said, taken aback. My
you would do in some spiritual practice, food for a party for his lm crew. Ex- therapist told me, No one keeps track
she said. A devotion to an absence. pecting twenty guests, Mills got salads, of how much time it takes.
eight bottles of wine, and two hefty She shrugged: Well, we do. Because
B eginners was a modest hit;
Thumbsucker was not. But the
wedges of cheese, then returned to the
counter to ask, If you were going to have
youve got to have a lot more life rst,
right? she went on.
budget for 20th Century Women was a third cheese to make everyone happy? Yeah, Mills said. He looked around
seven million dollarsa number at which At home, July took inventory, cried, in seeming astonishment at his family
commercial responsibilities begin to ac- Theres no protein!the kind in cheese and friends and the bounty hed pro-
crue. Apatow observed that, as your bud- apparently didnt countand raced off vided, with such hopes, for a much larger
get rises, theres more pressure on your to buy roast chicken. More amused than audience. Yeah, I gotta stew it down.
THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 37
A REPORTER AT LARGE

CAN FOOTBALL BE SAVED?


A high school is experimenting with technology to make the sport safer.
BY NICHOLAS SCHMIDLE

n October 4, 1986, the Uni- long time, he said. Every week after a

O versity of Alabama hosted


Notre Dame in a game of foot-
ball. Notre Dame had won the previous
game, I got some sort of headache.
In 1996, he signed a thirteen-mil-
lion-dollar contract with the Atlanta
four contests, but this time Alabama was Falcons. He received weekly injections
favored. It had a stiing defense and a of Toradol, an anti-inammatory drug.
swift senior linebacker named Corne- It was magicit made me feel like I
lius Bennett. Ray Perkins, Alabamas was twenty-four again, Bennett said.
head coach, said of him, I dont think He helped carry Atlanta to the Super
theres a better player in America. Bowlhis fth. (A more dubious dis-
Early in the game, with the score tinction: his team lost in every one.) In
tied, Bennett blitzed Notre Dames quar- 2000, at the age of thirty-ve, Bennett
terback, Steve Beuerlein. I was like a retired and moved to Florida. He lived
speeding train, and Beuerlein just hap- in a hotel in Miamis Bal Harbour area,
pened to be standing on the railroad worked on his golf handicap, and vaca-
track, Bennett told me recently. Foot- tioned with his wife and friends in Eu-
ball is essentially a spectacle of car rope and in the Napa Valley.
crashes. In 2004, researchers at the Uni- Several of Bennetts football peers
versity of North Carolina, examining were having a far tougher time. Darryl
data gathered from helmet-mounted Talley, a former Bills teammate, suffered
sensors, discovered that many football from severe depression. Mike Webster,
collisions compare in intensity to a ve- a Hall of Fame center for the Pittsburgh
hicle smashing into a wall at twenty-ve Steelers, had become a homeless alco-
miles per hour. holic; he died, of a heart attack, in 2002.
Bennett, who weighed two hundred Three years later, Terry Long, another
and thirty-ve pounds, drove his shoul- former Steeler, committed suicide by
der into Beuerleins chest and heard drinking antifreeze. Andre Waters, a
what sounded like a balloon being punc- former Philadelphia Eagles safety, killed
turedbasically, the air going out of himself with a gunshot to the head.
him. Beuerlein landed on his back. He A neuropathologist named Bennet
stood up, wobbly and dazed. I saw Omalu autopsied Webster, Long, and
mouths moving, but I heard no voices, Waters, and detected a pattern: each
he later said. He had a concussion. After had a high concentration of an abnor-
Bennetts vicious, high-speed direct mal form of a protein, called tau, on his
slam, as the Times put it, Alabama seized brain. Scientists associated tau buildup
the momentum and won, 2810. with Alzheimers, but that disease rav-
Following college, Bennett was aged the elderly. This was clearly a differ-
drafted into the National Football ent pathology, and in a 2005 paper
League. Between 1987 and 1995, he Omalu called it chronic traumatic en-
played for the Buffalo Bills, and ap- cephalopathy, or C.T.E., which he cat-
peared in four Super Bowls. During his egorized as a degenerative disease caused
pro career, he made more than a thou- by the long-term neurologic conse-
sand tackles, playing through sprains, quences of repetitive concussive and
muscle tears, broken bones, and con- subconcussive blows to the brain.
cussions. I asked him how many con- The N.F.L. tried to discredit Oma-
cussions hed had. In my medical le, lus ndings. The league had set up a
there are probably six. The real num- committee for traumatic-brain-injury
ber? I couldnt even begin to tell you. research, led by a rheumatologist with a
Fifteen? More. Twenty? I played a medical degree from the University of The varsity football team at St. Thomas Aquinas,
38 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017
a high school in Fort Lauderdale, gathers around Rob Biasotti, one of the coaches. No other school has sent more players to the N.F.L.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY THOMAS PRIOR
Guadalajara; the committee insisted that how to improve his footwork. I always his neck, and he had tucked some crum-
there was no evidence of worsening in- tell him, Positioning, positioning, Ben- pled notes into the waistband of his
jury or chronic cumulative effects of mul- nett said to me. If hes going full speed shorts. The other guys are playing check-
tiple mTBIsmild traumatic brain and hes positioned, I feel as though thats ers, he likes to say. Were playing chess.
injuriesin N.F.L. players. When Ber- safe football. Above all, he stressed to Look me in the eyes! he barked, as
nard Goldberg, of HBOs Real Sports, Kivon that he should let someone know his players marched past him, single le.
asked a committee member if multiple if he thought hed received a head injury. He starts each practice by shaking their
head injuries could cause any long-term Bennett wanted to give Kivon the hands and asking them about their day,
problem, the member replied, In N.F.L. best chance to excel. In 2015, when Kivon or their parents, or their progress in re-
players? No. At a congressional hear- was a high-school junior, he transferred covering from an injury. They dont
ing, in 2009, Linda Sn- to St. Thomas Aquinas, a care how much you know until they
chez, a Democratic represen- prestigious Catholic high know how much you care, he said.
tative from California, com- school in Fort Lauderdale. Harriotts father was born in Jamaica
pared the leagues blanket Kivon, a strong student, en- and came to the United States when
denial about C.T.E. to the rolled in Advanced Place- Roger was an infant. Roger grew up in
defenses once mounted by ment classes. He had recently South Florida, and in the nineties he
Big Tobacco. discovered Macbeth, he was a running back for St. Thomas. He
Bennett, outraged by the told me this fall. I like the won a scholarship to Boston University,
leagues stance, joined the way the story lines didnt add and became a star there, then transferred
board of the N.F.L. players up at rst but in the last few to Villanova. He contemplated a career
union. In 2010, he was elected scenes it comes together, he in the N.F.L., but he tore his anterior
to head the Board of Former Players, and said. He has a Twitter account, and in his cruciate ligament in practice and never
he participated in heated discussions bio he posts his G.P.A.currently 3.7. regained top form. After graduation, he
among league representatives, team own- But Kivon went to St. Thomas pri- went into coaching.
ers, and players. What the hell was a marily to play football. The school has In March, 2015, he took the St.
rheumatologist doing talking about head produced more pro players than any other Thomas job. His predecessor had just
injuries? he asked himself. Current and high school in the country. By the time won a state championship, but he had
former players, he told me, harbored a Kivon enrolled, the St. Thomas Aquinas also been hard-nosed and profane. In-
lack of trust toward the league. In 2011, Raiders had won eight state champion- timidation was not Harriotts style. He
players launched a class-action lawsuit ships and two national titles. Moreover, didnt scream or grab players by the face
against the N.F.L., alleging that it had the school had embarked on a potentially mask to make a point. Students should
ignored and concealed evidence about radical experiment. The head football play for the love of their teammates, he
the risks of permanent brain damage, coach, Roger Harriott, had been institut- told them, not out of hatred for their
and had deceived players into thinking ing changes to make the game safer. He opponents. He banned cursing and rep-
that serial concussions did not pose life- limited practices to ninety minutes, and rimanded coaches who broke the rule.
altering risks. Bennett told Bloomberg got the school to acquire a pair of mo- His tenure got off to a rough start.
News, If the lack of information and neg- torized human-size robots, wrapped in In the opening game, several rst-string
ligence continues, you arent going to have foam, which players could tackle, saving players sustained season-ending injuries.
moms let their little boys play football. their teammates from unnecessary hits. The quarterback missed a few games.
His own son, Kivon, had just turned Harriott hoped to put St. Thomas at the A standout defensive end, an Ohio State-
eleven, and was starting to play tackle vanguard of football safety while remain- bound senior named Nick Bosa, suffered
football. Bennett was attered (Id ing champions. an A.C.L. tear. Sports reporters lowered
dreamed of having a son that followed in Football is just a vehicle to make their expectations for the team. Kivon,
my footsteps), but also anxious (You these kids better young men, Harriott a third-stringer behind Bosa, urged his
never want to get that call). Parenting is said. One day this fall, he told his team, teammates to ignore the press. My pops
about providing children with opportu- Ultimately, its for you to become a played in the N.F.L., he said at one
nities while protecting them from harm, champion in lifea champion husband, point. And one thing he always told me
and few recreational activities put those a champion father, community leader, was Dont listen to these so-called ex-
impulses in opposition the way football colleague. perts. Theyre just pencil pushers.
does. Yet Bennett never considered try- Such talk pleased Bennett. My son The Raiders went to the playoffs, but
ing to stop Kivon from playing. This is getting something from Roger that during one game Bosas backup was in-
country is built on giving you a chance to hes going to take with him the rest of jured, and so Kivon was put in. As his
pursue your dreams, he said. his life, he said. father described it, he looked like a deer
Kivon was big for his age, like his fa- in headlights. Harriott pulled him off
ther had been, and performed well on arriott blew an air horn to sig- the eld. Then, Kivon recalled, I felt a
his youth team. Bennett shared safety H nal the start of practice. It was late switch come on. He went back in and
tips with Kivon: how to protect his head August. He had on a short-sleeved wind- made multiple tackles.
when tackling by hitting his opponent breaker and a sun hat with a wide brim. The team advanced to the champi-
with his shoulder instead of his helmet; A stopwatch hung from a cord around onship game, and Kivon sacked the rival
40 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017
quarterback twice as St. Thomas won, mentsa mark of a concussion. Hoffer dont change the way we coach the
4510, securing its ninth state title. His was funded, in part, by the N.F.L., but game, we wont have a game to coach.
father watched, proudly, from the stands. the goggles would be useful to all types Harriott and George F. Smith, St.
I had my day in the sunits his time, of athletes. According to a 2016 study Thomass athletic director, learned about
Cornelius said. This summer, Kivon ac- published in Pediatrics, the number of the robots through an alumni parent, and
cepted a scholarship offer from the Uni- school-aged soccer players seeking E.R. asked for a demonstration. In the spring,
versity of Tennessee. In August, USA treatment for concussions has risen six- two prototypes arrived by FedEx. The ro-
Today released its national pre-season teen hundred per cent in the past twenty- bots, called Mobile Virtual Players, or
rankings. St. Thomas sat atop the list. ve years. Owens told me that, in the past M.V.P.s, stand just under six feet tall,
year at St. Thomas, he had identied con- weigh a hundred and ninety pounds, and
uring the 2015 season, St.Thomas cussions in two female soccer players, two look like pillars of black foam. Some play-
D players, despite their many inju- volleyball players, and a baton twirler. St. ers laughed when they saw them, but they
ries, did not suffer a single concussion. Thomas now requires female soccer play- stopped when a coach squeezed the trig-
Harriott and the school had made pre- ers to wear protective headbands. ger on a remote controller and an M.V.P.
venting head injuries a priority. The Studies show that sports practice ses- took off, moving at about sixteen miles
team bought Riddell SpeedFlex hel- sions are a major source of concus- an hour. It just annihilated one of our
mets, which came onto the market in sions. In 2015, nine St. Thomas football guysran him right over, Smith recalled.
2014, and cost nearly four hundred dol- players suffered season-ending injuries Kivon Bennett told me, Those things
lars apiece. They have a polycarbonate in training. Harriot decided to ban tack- are no joke. Smith ordered two, at a price
shell, extensive padding, inatable blad- ling at practice, and he also introduced of sixteen thousand dollars. (The proto-
ders, and a cutout on the crown that the robots, which were designed by four types were sent off to the Pittsburgh Steel-
exes upon impact, which, according Dartmouth engineering students, in col- ers, who wanted to give them a try.) Smith
to Kivon, disperses all the pressure. laboration with Eugene (Buddy) Teevens, said of the robots, Youre taking one player
Last year, Virginia Techs Institute for the colleges football coach. Teevens was who can get hurt out of the equation, but,
Critical Technology and Applied Sci- worried about the future of the sport. more important, your helmet is not hit-
ence gave the helmet its highest safety Since 2009, the number of boys between ting another hard helmetits hitting
rating. the ages of six and seventeen who play cushion. The helmet-on-helmet is the
At the start of the season, each St. football has fallen by nineteen per cent. dangerous part. St. Thomas can afford
Thomas player takes an exam known In 2010, Teevens outlawed tackling such experiments. The football program
as Immediate Post-Concussion Assess- during Dartmouth practices. He told is hugethe varsity team alone has a
ment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPACT. me, Its real simplethe more you hit, hundred playersand its training facili-
The exam is designed to establish a cog- the more you get hurt. And Im in a ties rival those of top colleges.
nitive baseline; after a suspected con- unique position to add hits to someone, The robots arrived in late summer.
cussion, a player is supposed to retake or take them away. He went on, If we Adam Bolaos, a science teacher and
the test, allowing a medical professional
to determine whether the athlete re-
quires further assessment. But self-re-
porting of injuries is inherently unreli-
able, and no player wants to sit out for
a ding. A 2014 study in the Journal of
Neurotrauma found that, on average,
players reported only one out of twenty-
seven incidents in which they saw stars,
became dizzy, and got a headache.
Dwayne Owens, the athletic trainer at
St. Thomas, said that he knew players
who had intentionally botched their
baseline tests. Their parents might even
tell them, Dont do your best, he said.
St. Thomas wanted to make the as-
sessment of student concussions more
objective, and this summer it agreed to
participate in a research project with the
University of Miami. Michael Hoffer, a
professor of otolaryngology and neuro-
logical surgery, had developed goggles,
equipped with two high-resolution cam-
eras, that could detect the desynchroni-
zation of the wearers rapid eye move- Make a notetheir use of tools is both efficient and precise.
an assistant coach, put them in an equip- was tall and lean, with blazing speed Thomas has sponsorship contracts with
ment room, among non-motorized pads and grippy hands. He referred to him- Nike and Gatorade.)
of various shapes and sizes, and plugged self as a light-skinned stallion, and The programs resources and repu-
them in. Two days later, the M.V.P.s had altered his name on the back of his tation attract players from across the
were fully charged, and Bolaos and an- practice jersey so that it read CRIME. country. Grimes grew up in Indianap-
other assistant coach joysticked them He was charismatic like Muhammad olis, and started playing football at the
onto the eld. When an offensive line- Ali, Harriott said. age of seven. His mother, Leah, told me,
man reached for the remote, Bolaos Sorry, Coach, Grimes said. He had He was a foot taller than everybody
jerked it away and said, Do you know forgotten to take off his watcha red elsebigger, faster, more aggressive. Par-
how expensive these are? Casio that he calls my Rolexand he ents used to pull their kids off the eld
In one drill, a robot simulated a run- ung it against a fence. He was the only and say, Is that boy really eight?
ning back breaking into the open eld. St. Thomas player who had chosen not In 1953, the American Association
Ameer Riley, the defensive cordinator, to wear a Riddell SpeedFlex helmet. of Pediatrics recommended banning
watched a defensive back lunge ineffec-
tually at the M.V.P. We dont tackle by
diving! he yelled. You gotta drive
through this guy. Riley exhibited the
proper form: lowering his shoulder,
wrapping his arms around the dummy,
then wrestling it to the ground. A min-
ute later, the defensive back dragged the
M.V.P. down. Riley exclaimed, There
you go!
Riley wasnt fully sold on the robots
utility. Im a dinosaur kind of guy, he
said. I like the old way. I feel a kind of
sadness about the way the game has
evolved. Safety, he conceded, was par-
amount, but he feared that the robots
might encourage bad habits. The guys,
he said, were launching themselves at
the robots as if they were about to jump
on a Slip N Slide, which is not an effec-
tive way to tackle.
Dave Billitier, the assistant head
coach, also observed the robot drill with
a skeptical eye. I just dont think they The robots, covered in black foam, are known as Mobile Virtual Players, or M.V.P.s.
simulate a kid tackling someone at
speed, he said. The way the robots When Harriott informed Grimes that children under twelve from playing foot-
move is so static. But something had the Riddell was scientically safer than ball. (In 2013, the Annals of Biomedical
to change in order to diminish the dam- the one he was wearing, a Schutt Air Engineering published a study indicat-
age done in practice. The kids are so XP Pro, Grimes said, I did my own ing that the head impacts sustained by
much stronger and faster than they used medical research. (In truth, Grimes players nine to twelve years old could be
to be. After ve minutes, the drill ended. simply found the Riddell too big and as severe as those sustained by college
The team, Billitier said, was dying for bulky. He told me that all the college athletes.) But the sport continued gain-
some fresh meat. receivers and N.F.L. receivers wear the ing in popularity. Three years after the
Schutt, because its lighter. According A.A.P.s recommendation, an American
ne afternoon this summer, Har- to the Virginia Tech ratings, the Schutt Medical Association official declared that,
O riott, while shaking hands at the helmet is the second safest.) although football was potentially a killer
start of practice, noticed a player near Harriott smiled. Grimes felt that and a maimer, it offered character-
the back of the line putting his shoulder Harriott, who has ve children, treated building advantages for young children,
pads on, shimmying them over his head. him as much like a son as like a foot- and should not be banned.
The student, Trevon Grimes, had a ball player. As Grimes put it, He lets After Grimes completed the fth
temple-fade haircut so bushy on top that us be ourselves. grade, Leah, a nurse, found a job at a
classmates compared his head to a broc- Grimes asked Harriott when he could hospital in Margate, Florida, so that
coli oret. You shouldve already been get his game cleats. I need to break Trevon could eventually attend St.
suited up, Grimes, Harriott said. them in, or my feet gonna be sore, he Thomas. She worked twelve-hour shifts
Grimes was arguably the best high- said. Harriott told him that an expected to save up for tuition, which costs more
school wide receiver in America. He shipment, from Nike, was late. (St. than twelve thousand dollars. Grimes
42 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017
tested in before his freshman year. In pulling down a pair of catches against St. Frontline about the concussion crisis.
2014, as a sophomore, he made the var- Thomass top cornerback, Grimes teased In 2015, Bill Simmons, at the time an
sity football team; during that champi- his defender: Im a machine! Sometimes ESPN contributor and the editor of
onship season, he scored two touch- I just need a little WD-40. Grantland, an online publication owned
downs. In his junior year, he scored seven Harriott is a devout Christian, and by ESPN, lost his job after questioning
touchdowns, helping St. Thomas win he ends each practice with a sermon at the testicular fortitude of Tagliabues
the state title yet again. Leah, now a mideld. successor, Roger Goodell.
ight nurse at a childrens hospital, kept How long you think hes gonna talk The 2015 hack of Sony Pictures
a crazy schedule, but insisted on having for today? one player muttered. Ten e-mails exposed correspondence sug-
one free day a week. Friday nights are minutes? gesting that the N.F.L. also inuenced
mine, she said. When Trevon gets to Forty-ve, another said. the making of the lm Concussion,
the N.F.L., it will be Sundays. He be using them S.A.T. words, starring Will Smith as Bennet Omalu,
By the end of his sophomore year, talking about Sophocles, a third joked. the neuropathologist. A Sony lawyer
Grimes had received scholarship offers Improve my vocabulary, though, had written that unattering moments
from nearly every top college program. the second admitted. for the N.F.L. were edited out, remov-
Laundry baskets of letters arrived for In one post-practice speech, Harri- ing most of the bite. (The lms direc-
him daily, Leah said. Privately, Grimes ott thanked God for Your love, Your tor, Peter Landesman, disputes this.)
was intent on attending Ohio State. But guidance, Your leadership, Your parent- Whether or not the lm was signi-
he couldnt help doing a little preening: ing, Your benevolent nature, Your com- cantly edited, it haunted Garin Patrick,
in March, at a Nike-sponsored camp in petitive attitude. He said to his team, St. Thomass defensive-line coach. Pat-
Fort Lauderdale, he told the press, Concern? Worry, fellas, thats the op- rick played in the N.F.L. for three years,
Whatever school makes me feel com- posite of faith. Thats sin. And sin sep- and suffered three concussions, which
fortable, thats one of the biggest aspects arates you from performing to the best he described as getting his bell rung.
that will bump a school up. of your ability. Last winter, he left a screening of Con-
ESPN invited Grimes to announce He also impressed on the students cussion feeling alarmed. The lm, echo-
his college choice on-air, but he declined. that they were just playing a game. This ing the scientic consensus, puts forth
In August, he posted on his Twitter ac- is fun, fellas, he said. When you get to the idea that repetitive subconcussive
count, @GrimeTime, that he was the next level, youre going to miss this. blows are thought to be the main cause
headed for Ohio State. Urban Meyer, its When you leave here, it gets real. of C.T.E. A one-off concussion likely
head coach, had been in frequent contact represents a lesser threat. That scared
with him. I felt loved, Grimes told me. here are three former N.F.L. the shit out of me, Patrick said.
Harriott knew that, if Grimes left T players on Harriotts staff. One of In April, 2016, he contacted a law
Ohio State as hyped as he was going them is Glenn Holt, who was a wide rm that was representing former play-
in, he had a chance to become an N.F.L. receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals, tal- ers suing the N.F.L. The league settled
star. But athletic talent is fragile. Har- lying two touchdowns and four concus- the case for nearly a billion dollars. Pat-
riott had dreamed of the pros before sions in three years. Its a different deal rick was skeptical of the deal; in his view,
tearing his A.C.L. (For most teen-agers, at that level, he said of the N.F.L. it made it too difficult for individual
who tend not to think about long-term Those guys work for the company. Its players to receive medical compensation.
repercussions, a busted knee is far more really big business. Not long after the N.F.L. proposed the
worrying than a concussion. If you take The N.F.L. is not just a sports league; initial terms of the agreement, its own
somebodys legs out, you instantly take it is also one of the worlds most pow- consulting rm concluded that twenty-
away their livelihood, Cornelius Ben- erful media companies. NBC, CBS, Fox, eight per cent of former players would
nett said.) and ESPN pay billions of dollars a year likely develop some form of dementia,
Harriott stressed the importance of for broadcast rights, giving the N.F.L. Alzheimers, Parkinsons, A.L.S., or
character development, and he didnt great leverage. (Ratings dipped before C.T.E. Patrick, who suffers from short-
make exceptions for his star. Once, in the elections this year, but they have re- term-memory loss, told me, I think Im
practice, Grimes caught himself on the bounded.) In 2003, after ESPN launched one of the twenty-eight per cent.
verge of swearing, and said fudge in- a dramatic series, Playmakers, about a Subsequent research has indicated
stead. Harriott pointed to the ground. pro football team with a player who beats that symptoms of C.T.E. may emerge as
Coach! Grimes said. I cant believe his wife, and others who are implicated early as high school. At a congressional
I gotta do pushups for fudge. But he in a night-club shooting, the league com- hearing in March, Ann McKee, a C.T.E.
complied. missioner at the time, Paul Tagliabue, expert from Boston University, reported
Harriott blasted the air horn and the expressed disapproval. The show was seeing tau-protein buildups in ninety
offense lined up for seven-on-seven drills. cancelled. John Eisendrath, its creator, out of ninety-four N.F.L. players whose
On one play, Jake Allen, the starting quar- accused Tagliabue and other N.F.L. ex- brains weve examined.She added,Weve
terback, threw the ball to Grimes, amid ecutives of behaving like bullies. found it in forty-ve out of fty-ve
double coverage. Grimes plucked the ball A decade later, ESPN again caved college players, and twenty-six out of
out of the air. That boy is like a mag- to league pressure, terminating a col- sixty-ve high-school players.
net, an assistant coach marvelled. After laborative investigation with PBSs I asked Patrick if, given these ndings,
THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 43
has outlawed two-a-day practices, and
helmet-rst tackling, known as spear-
ing, elicits an automatic fteen-yard
penalty. (At a rally in October, Presi-
dent-elect Donald Trump mocked the
N.F.L.s rule changes as soft: Uh-oh,
got a little ding on the head? No, no, you
cant play for the rest of the season!)
According to todays rules, Cornelius
Bennett said, his sack of Steve Beuerlein
would be grounds for ejection. He ac-
knowledged that reforms were needed,
but worried about hamstringing defend-
ers. I dont want nobody crossing my
space if I cant lay the wood on him, he
said. I tell my son, Its nice to be nice-
nasty on the football eld. I call it nice-ty.
I would lay you out and smile and laugh
about it at the same time.
Ameer Riley, the defensive cordina-
tor, expressed similar concerns about the
safety rules. I fear that theyre taking a
Were decluttering. big part of the game away, he said. Now
that so many kinds of hits were banned,
he said, the wide receiver dont have that
fear that he used to have of going over
the middle. Riley went on, All those
he regretted having played football. his butt and rub your balls in his face. stats you see nowadays? There should be
Would I do it again, knowing the When Samuels interception appeared an asterisk next to those names, just like
stakes? he said. Absolutely. You could on the video, Harriott paused it to ap- Barry Bondsthe baseball player who
live into your nineties, or get hit by a car plaud the block that had opened up a holds the home-run record, but is ac-
tomorrow. You gotta go from something. path for Samuel: Lashawn Paulino-Bell, cused of having used steroids. They dont
a two-hundred-and-forty-ve-pound play the same game as Jack Lambert
n a classroom one afternoon in Au- defensive lineman, had de-cleated an the former Steelers middle linebacker.
I gust, St. Thomass offensive linemen unsuspecting Dillard player. It was, like, If you were coming across the middle,
sat slumped at their desks, watching boom! Paulino-Bell told me, reliving Jack Lambert would annihilate you. He
game lm as preparation for a pre-season the play. He was almost on a stretcher. added, Im all in for safety. I just worry
contest, later that week, against Dillard How did it feel? Its a rush, he said. about the integrity of the game, and it
High School. This is going to be a Its, like, Ahhh, thats live! He had no being a fantasy-football-run generation,
nut-kicking game, Ryan Schneider, the reservations about levelling the guy. At where all the emphasis is on offense.
offensive cordinator, told the players. the end of the day, you know what you In 2012, the N.F.L. began promot-
Theyre not running complicated cov- signed up for. ing a youth initiative, Heads Up Foot-
erages. Its just whos the bigger, badder Harriott reminded Paulino-Bell ball, which teaches young players tack-
S.O.B. up front. He advised, Smash and the others about a new rule: block- ling and blocking techniques that are
the hell out of them! And then let them ing uninvolved players was not allowed. meant to take the head out of the game.
know its coming again. Paulino-Bells hit was clean, Harriott Last year, the league cited a study that
On game day, St. Thomas amassed said, but he noted that those plays are seemed to attribute a decline in youth
a thirty-ve-point lead before halftime. over if youre nowhere near the ball. In concussions to Heads Up, but the Times
Grimes caught a ball in tight coverage, recent years, the youth league Pop War- subsequently obtained a copy of the study
brushed off two tacklers, and ran for a ner, the National Federation of State and discovered that the initiative showed
touchdown. Kivon Bennett made two High School Associations, the National no demonstrable effect on concussions.
sacks, and Asante Samuel, whose father Collegiate Athletic Association, and the A similar public conversation about
was a cornerback in the N.F.L., returned N.F.L. have implemented rule changes safety in football occurred at the end
an interception for a touchdown. The aimed at reducing injuries, and intro- of the nineteenth century. Back then,
Raiders won, 510. duced protocols for treating concussions. the sport was played almost exclusively
Later, Schneider, Harriott, and the Helmet-to-helmet hits are forbidden at Ivy League schools. In 1884, Har-
team reviewed the game on video. across all leagues. The N.C.A.A. has vard tried to ban it for being brutal,
Schneider praised Grimes for a downeld banned gratuitously hitting the head or demoralizing to teams and spectators,
block, adding, Next time, put him on neck of an opposing player. The N.F.L. and extremely dangerous. The effort
44 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017
was not successful, and dozens of play- the stadium fence when a Booker T. you rather be shovelling snow? He asked
ers died from broken backs and snapped player jogged over and taunted him: if anyone had heard what Booker T.s
necks. Games increasingly resembled Youre next. coaches and players had been calling
blood sport. In 1905, President Theo- Back at St. Thomas, Harriott told St. Thomas. P cubed, Harriott said.
dore Roosevelt invited representatives his guys, They think theyre tougher Privileged. Private. Pussies.
from Harvard, Yale, and Princeton to than you. They talk a lot. Theyre back- One afternoon, Grimes was running
the White House, and they agreed on yard brawlers. Booker T.s head coach, a curl route when he pivoted awkwardly,
signicant rule changesincluding the Tim (Ice) Harris, was featured in a 2003 torquing his right knee. He headed to
forward passthat were intended to documentary, Year of the Bull, that the sideline and adjusted a neoprene strap
make the game safer without sapping focusses on another tough Miami high that he wore on the knee to alleviate the
its vitality. school. In it, Harris and other coaches pain in his patellar tendona symptom
The death rate declined, but football are shown cursing at and hitting their of Osgood-Schlatter disease, an adoles-
did not lose its martial character. Sam players. That was another era, Harris cent form of tendinitis. Grimes had been
Huff, a New York Giants linebacker in told me. Our kids needed a different playing through nagging knee pain since
the nineteen-sixties, has described the kind of push to be able to understand the eighth grade. A coach asked him if
game as war without guns.The special- and obey. As a coach and a father, Im he was O.K. Im good, he said. I just
teams coach at St. Thomas gives his units completely different from that now. got to stretch it out. I told you, Im a stal-
militaristic nicknames: SEAL team, Delta Harris still ran tackling sessions at lion, not a donkey.
Six. Conor ONeill, a former St. Thomas Booker T., he said, but only once a week, The day of the game, Harriotts eyes
linebacker who played for four years at for thirty minutes. He said that he looked feverish. Booker T. was ranked
the University of Wisconsin, told me, wanted to get the kids to the game, No. 6 by USA Today, and to win the na-
Were the gladiators of the twenty-rst not get them all banged up on the tional title St. Thomas would have to
century. Last year, eight American high practice eld. Booker T. couldnt afford go undefeated. Send a message, Har-
schoolers died from injuries sustained Riddell SpeedFlex helmets, though riott told his players. They play. We
while playing football. The causes in- Harris was trying to raise funds. And love. Fellas, its whats expected of you.
cluded a broken neck, a lacerated spleen, robots? We wish, he said. We got to Live up to your standards and be grate-
and blunt-force trauma to the head. have a coach that holds the pads and ful for the opportunity to prove your
runs with them. He said that Booker T. love, prove your worth. His tone sud-
n late August, on the day before embraced the Rocky concept. When denly changed. Right now is our state
Iclasses resumed, Harriott instructed I attended a recent evening practice, at championship! Right now is our na-
his team to comply with St. Thomass a public park near Booker T.the tional championship! There is no to-
grooming standards. You cant have schools eld has no lightsthe de- morrow! Its now! I want their heads!
parts in your eyebrows, he warned. He The game was held at a stadium in
also reminded the boys to complete their Miami-Dade County. Cumulonimbus
summer reading assignments. Dont clouds hung in the sky. An air siren her-
embarrass us, he said. alded Booker T.s entrance. As the play-
That night, Grimes shaved off the ers ran onto the eld, they mimed ring
inverted V that he had stencilled along machine guns. Im So Hood, by DJ
his neckline. He ran up to Harriott Khaled, blared over the speakers: I aint
before practice the next day. Coach, gon play wit em / Id rather let the AK
I got a real emergency situation, he hit em.
said. Why am I in pre-cal? Everyone The play-by-play announcer wel-
else is in college algebra. Im going to fensive coaches had wheeled out large comed spectators to a matchup between
have an F! Ive heard stories. Its hard. plastic trash cans to simulate offensive two nationally ranked high-school pow-
Harriott told him to stick with it. (He linemen. erhouses. Larry Little, a former Miami
did, and as of December he had a B.) Dolphins guard and a Booker T. alum,
St. Thomass rst regular-season he week of the Booker T. game, and Michael Irvin, a former Dallas Cow-
game was against Booker T. Washing- T the air was soupy, the sun devastat- boys wide receiver and a St.Thomas alum,
ton, a public high school in a rough ingly hot. By three-thirty, when prac- met on the fty-yard line and shook hands.
neighborhood of Miami. In 2009, one tice started at St. Thomas, rubber pel- After that, the good-will gestures ceased:
of its players was shot and killed at a lets dusting the articial turf were a Booker T. defensive end facetiously
party. Booker T. was the four-time re- absorbing heat, pushing the eld tem- blew kisses at St. Thomas players; a skir-
turning state champ. (It competed in a perature well above a hundred degrees. mish nearly broke out among the two
different division than St. Thomas.) One player threw up. I dont think its schools coaches. Rob Biasotti, St. Thom-
Harriott and his coaching staff had ever been this hot before, Grimes said, ass strength-and-conditioning coach,
recently scouted their opponent, observ- bent over and sucking air. told me that he had never witnessed such
ing them play against a team from Plan- Harriott used the weather as motiva- a hostile pre-game atmosphere. This is
tation, Florida. Booker T. won. At one tion. At the end of practice, before a hun- going to be a war, he said.
point, Harriott was walking alongside dred dripping faces, he demanded, Would On Booker T.s rst possession, the
THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 45
quarterback scrambled, and he appeared had been living in a motel, after his fam- talking about! a coach yelled. Carter
to step out of bounds shy of the rst- ily lost their home; another student, jumped up, his body surging with adren-
down marker. But the official spotted whose guardian had been a drug addict, aline; the returner did not. (I thought
the ball favorably. Irvin said, loud enough was in foster care. he broke his leg, Harriott said later.)
for the linesman to hear, That dont On the next play, Booker T.s quar- Booker T. trainers carried the player off
look like no rst down to me. terback, who last year suffered a con- the eld. Lets give him a hand and hope
Irvin graduated from St. Thomas in cussion that left him foaming at the that hes not hurt, the announcer said.
1984. He went on to win a national cham- mouth, tossed an interception. St.Thomas, Carter told me that, for a moment, he
pionship with the University of Miami, with Jake Allen at quarterback, took felt a little bit of guilt, adding, But at
and three Super Bowl rings with Dallas. over, but Allen fumbled and Booker T. the same time its football.
In 2007, he was inducted into the Hall recovered. The score seesawed, and the In the fourth quarter, with St.Thomas
of Fame. St. Thomas was special to him. rst half ended with the Raiders in the down by a point, Grimes came alive. He
He still attended games, and bragged lead, 1714. caught a short pass, stiff-armed his de-
about the school on the NFL Network, During halftime, Harriott urged fender, and ran for an additional twenty
where he is a color commentator. calm: Encourage one another. Dont yards. The Raiders kicked a eld goal
His professional career was cut short hold your head and point ngers. He and retook the lead, 2321.
by a spinal-cord injury. Im not say- privately regretted having presented the The air smelled like car tires. It started
ing I wont experience some negative contest as an existential struggle. St. to rain, but the boys kept playing. Thun-
effects from the game, he told me. But Thomas was obviously the better team der boomed. Booker T. pushed up the
football critics, he said, failed to appre- and it was just a game, after all. Get in eld, and with two and a half minutes to
ciate the sports importance to low- the mind-set of enjoying yourselves, he go they scored, taking a four-point lead.
income students. Irvin, who is one of told his players. St. Thomas needed a touchdown, and
seventeen children, asked, Without Grimes desperately wanted the ball. He
the opportunity to play this game, where t. Thomas came out in the second caught a pass near the sideline, but
would they go? What would they do? S half and played more mistake-lled seemed to aggravate his knee injury, and
Harris, the Booker T. coach, told me football: dropping an easy interception hobbled off the eld. He sat out for a
that he regarded football as one of the opportunity, getting penalized for rough- play, then went back in and made an-
best dropout-prevention programs in ing the punter. The teams supporters, other catch, advancing the ball deep into
the world. accustomed to blowouts, grew restless, Booker T.s end.
In The U, a 2009 ESPN documen- noisily criticizing the coaches play calls. With twenty-three seconds left, St.
tary about the University of Miami in Late in the third quarter, St. Thomas Thomas had the ball on Booker T.s
the late eighties, Melvin Bratton, one drove deep into Booker T. territory, but twenty-ve-yard line. Allen dropped
of Irvins college teammates, described Allen threw two incomplete passes, and back, swivelled right, and threw to
football as basically a way out of the the Raiders settled for a eld goal, mak- Grimes, who, after catching the ball, cut
hood. Irvin agreed. Youth participation ing it 2014. inside and got by a potential tackler. An-
may be down in well-to-do communi- The players lined up for the kickoff. other one stood in his way. Grimes low-
ties, but the Upper East Side has never Perhaps no part of football is more dan- ered his shoulder, plowed over the de-
been a font of football talent. Wealth- gerous than the kickoff, when both sides fender, and fell into the end zone. Ecstatic,
ier Americans might ponder the future barrel toward each other at full speed, he pulled off his helmet to celebrate.
of football, Irvin said, but poor and like jousters. Ghastly collisions often But the head official insisted that
middle-class kids were betting their fu- occur. Pop Warner has eliminated kick- Grimess knees had touched the ground
ture on football. offs for children under eleven, but the before the ball crossed the goal line. The
This socioeconomic disconnect is kickoff will most likely endure elsewhere, ball was spotted at the one. On the next
not unique to football: in 1965, after the because every once in a while a kick re- play, Allen lobbed a weak pass toward
second heavyweight ght between turner shoots the gap and runs all the Grimes, which was intercepted.
Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston, the way to the end zone. For fans, the thrill St. Thomas had been defeated; for
Times columnist Russell Baker addressed derives, in part, from the possibility of the rst time in decades, the team had
the growing abolitionist campaign disaster. Other sports have moments of a losing record. Grimes was crying, as
against boxing, noting, Fighters usu- similar risk: the soccer star Lionel Messi were others. Harriott tried to console
ally came from the hungry classes and dazzles most when dribbling through, them. I appreciate the fact that you
were risking their brains for the titilla- and around, slide-tackling defenders. guys are heartbroken, he said. Its going
tion of the overfed. Irvin put it this As the football sailed through the air, to make us better. Nobody died tonight.
way: When we start talking about Will Daniel Carter plunged down the eld
parents stop letting their kids play?, for St. Thomas, weaving around poten- orale was terrible for days.
well, some parents will have that oppor- tial blockers. Booker T.s returner caught M Biasotti, the conditioning coach,
tunity. But many will not. They will say, the ball. Seconds later, Carter smashed called it a disaster like Ive never seen.
Son, this is your best chance. Even into his legs, slamming him to the He told me that he feared a break-
some of the St. Thomas players were grounda legal hit. St. Thomass side- down of civil order if the team didnt
growing up in dire circumstances: one line erupted in whoops. Thats what Im bounce back strong.
46 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017
An MRI scan of Grimess knee re-
vealed that he had a bruised patellar
tendon. His doctor gave him a dose
of oral steroids, and recommended
two weeks off. High-school football
was important, but being healthy for
Ohio State was essential. In class, he
acted out; injured athletes are notori-
ously cranky. I ball up my emotions
and let them out on the eld, he said.
When I cant go out and release that
energy, I dont know another way. (He
later apologized to his teachers and
teammates.)
At practice, Harriott urged the play-
ers not to let anger distract them. Were
not about that, he told me. Practicing
with the M.V.P.s, he noted, helped keep
the players emotions in check, allowing
them to focus on strategy.
The next Friday, St. Thomas won,
426. A week later, the score was 490.
Grimes returned for the homecoming
game and caught a touchdown pass.
The Raiders won, 420. His knee felt

strong and the team looked condent.
A few days later, the Raiders ew to sented the matchup as if it were a South Florida shit. Before the kickoff,
Las Vegas for a nationally televised game prizeght. A commentator declared, Harriott offered some nal words:
against the new No. 1 in the country, Tonight, two high-school heavyweights Leave a mark forever on this eld. The
Bishop Gorman, a team that had not square off in the city where champions St. Thomas spirit should never leave
lost since 2013. The players and coaches are crowned. here. They should never, ever want to
checked into a resort nine miles south- Gormans stadium was lled to its see blue and gold again.
west of the Strip. There were ten restau- capacity of ve thousand. A row of rug- From the outset, St. Thomas played
rants and a pool with a waterfall, but ged mountain peaks loomed to the west. stiing defense, but on offense the team
Harriott prohibited his team from en- Flavor Flav, whose son attended the faltered. Jake Allen looked nervous and
joying any of it. This was not a pleasure school, showed up to watch. Harriott struggled to nd his rhythm. He missed
trip. Nevertheless, Harriotts tone was told his players, Enjoy every second of Grimes a few times, and then threw an
more low-keyed than the one hed ad- this night. interception. Grimes stormed off the
opted before the Booker T. game. He Cornelius Bennett made the cross- eld, and when a coach tried to calm
cut back on the motivational speeches. country trip, as did Leah Grimes. She him he snapped, Everything is not O.K.,
If his players werent at practice, meals, was wearing a St. Thomas jersey with Coach. Sometimes you got to say, Its
or meetings, he wanted them resting, 16her sons numberprinted on the not ne. You got to say to Jake, Get
visualizing their assignments on the front and the back. Leahs mother had your head out of your ass!
eld. also own in, from Seattle. Before the Nevertheless, the Raiders went into
Gorman had already beaten top- game, some of the players talked about halftime behind by only 30. The decit
ranked teams from Texas, Hawaii, Flor- why they were playing. Grimes stood was no big deal, Harriott assured his
ida, and California, and it had an elec- up and said, Im doing it for my guys, but theyd win only if they played
trifying quarterback, Tate Martell, who, grandma. She has cancer. She made a as a team. God is going to test our
like Grimes, was headed to Ohio State. long trip to come watch me play. First resilience, he said, eying Grimes. Oth-
In ve games, Martell had thrown for time she saw me play live. During ers were more direct. Schneider threat-
thirteen touchdowns and run for six. warmups, Leah told me that the two ened to bench Grimes if he didnt stop
The bookies made Gorman a sixteen- weeks of rest had done wonders for her fussing, and Michael Irvin, who had
point favorite. son. She hoped that his patellar prob- own out for the game, said, I dont
They saying we underdogs! Kivon lems were over. He was free of pain for want to hear this shityall ghting
Bennett said, indignantly. He and the rst time in years. each other on the sidelines. We ght
the others knew that, if they brought The game started at seven oclock. together! After that, several players
down Gorman, they had a chance of Kivon Bennett looked across the eld, looked prepared to run through a brick
regaining the No. 1 spot in the USA and said to a fellow defensive line- wall.
Today rankings. Indeed, ESPN pre- man, Lets show them some of that Early in the third quarter, St.Thomas
THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 47
had the ball on its own forty-six-yard in agony. Hurrying over, the team doc- kick was blocked. In triple overtime,
line, and went into a spread formation. tor saw that the injury was to Grimess St. Thomas scored again, but so did
Allen took the snap and pitched the left kneenot the one with tendinitis. Gorman, and instead of settling for
ball to Michael Harley, a wide receiver. He and a coach carried Grimes to the an extra point they went for a two-
Gormans defense pinched in around bench. Grimes puffed his cheeks and point conversion. Gorman made it, and
the line of scrimmage, assuming that his eyes looked panicked, as if he were won, 2524.
Harley would tuck the ball and run. contemplating, for the rst time, a fu- Fans rushed the eld.The St.Thomas
But Harley stopped, set his feet, and ture that did not include professional players looked bewildered: they had
tossed an arcing pass toward the end stardom. been so close. A Gorman supporter
zone. Grimes outran his defender, ex- Leah ran down the bleachers and patted a despondent St. Thomas player
tended his arms, and pulled the ball in. unfastened the clips on Grimess shoul- on the back, and said, Outstanding
Touchdown. der pads. By the look on his face, she athletes. Worked yalls butts off. Keep
Grimes swaggered back to the bench. said later, I knew it was something se- it up. Gormans coach, Kenny San-
Irvin smacked him on the butt, exclaim- rious. A doctor packed his knee with chez, said, Weve played in some great
ing, Thats how big boys answer the ice and braced it with a cardboard splint. games over the years, but that was prob-
call! Fans hollered, Grime Time! The Grimes left the stadium on a stretcher, ably the best.
Raiders kicked the extra point, and went with a Gatorade towel covering his face. Cornelius Bennett stood in the end
ahead, 73. On the next possession, they I didnt want people to see me going zone, ruing St. Thomass lost opportu-
forced a fumble and recovered the ball. out like that, he told me. An ambu- nity. Shitty feeling to come out on this
When the third quarter expired, Allen lance took him and Leah to a hospital side of it, he said.
had led the offense to within inches of for an X-ray. Harriott was a few feet away, address-
the goal line. Grimes refused pain medication, so ing his team. He reminded the guys that
On the rst play of the fourth quar- that he could stay awake and follow their season was far from over. They still
ter, Grimes ran a corner route, in dou- the game on his phone. He watched had a chance to win a third consecutive
ble coverage, along the back of the end Gorman score a touchdown and re- state titlesomething the team had
zone. He routinely outmuscled and out- take the lead, 107; then, with two sec- never accomplished.
jumped opponents, but this time the onds left, he cheered from the rear of While the ESPN crew packed up
ball was thrown short, and he didnt the ambulance as St. Thomas kicked a their gear, little kids, basking in the bright
have a chance. As he and the two Gor- eld goal, tying it up. The game went lights, pretended that they were the stars.
man defenders fell trying to reach the into overtime. The Raiders scored a A group of twentysomethings crossed
ball, Gormans safety intercepted it. touchdown, then Gorman did the same. the parking lot, trying to nd their car.
Grimes did not get up. When he hit Double overtime. St. Thomass defense I think thats the best ten dollars Ive
the ground, he heard a whole bunch of prevented Gorman from scoring, and ever spent, one said.
pops. He pounded his st on the eld, tried to win with a eld goal, but the
wo days later, Grimes had an-
T other MRI, which showed what
he, his coaches, his family, and Ohio
State feared the most: a torn A.C.L.
His high-school career was over. He
needed surgery and months of rehab
if he was going to be ready for the start
of the college season. I will be back
and stronger than ever, he promised
on Twitter.
In November, Grimes visited Co-
lumbus; he toured the athletic facili-
ties and the dormitories, sat in on meet-
ings with the coaches and the players,
and had his knee examined by the
team doctor. He and Leah met with
a guidance counsellor to discuss his
plan to graduate in three years. I want
to be done with all my credits, just in
case I declare early for the draft, he
told me.
He insisted that his injury had not
made him consider seriously a life
without football. If youre thinking
Good news, your majesty. We may already be a winner. of a Plan B, youre distracted from a
Plan A, he said. Im going to the N.F.L. sion. His mother took him to the hos- advice. ESPN The Magazine called Bor-
Theres not a question about that. Im pital, where he was given an MRI. Doc- land The Most Dangerous Man in
just thinking about what I want to do tors know so little about concussions, Football.
after. I want to have a business or in- McCarty told me. On the Internet, he A few months ago, in Atlanta, Bor-
vent something. Like, you know those had seen all these tests that they do on land appeared on a panel about con-
little plastic pieces that you put in the N.F.L. players and, like, all of them cussions and the N.F.L. He was asked
wall that keeps you from putting metal showed something they nd on their how to make football safer. I dont
things into the thing? The guy who in- brainstau depositsthat triggered know how you do it, if its even possi-
vented that is a billionaire! them to commit suicide. ble, he said. Violence was central to
Ohio State played at home that McCarty was unsettled. All of this the sports appeal. Incredibly, football
weekend, against Nebraska. Grimes can heal, he said, running his seemed more popular the
and his mother had front-row seats on hands over his body. If you more people learned about
the forty-yard line. In the second quar- sprain an ankle and try to run the risks. Its like a reli-
ter, Nebraskas quarterback, Tommy before it has healed, you can gion in America, Borland
Armstrong, Jr., was tackled while scram- cause further damage, but pain said. Another analogy might
bling. His head bounced off the turf usually dissuades you from be climate change: we know
and, for several minutes, he lay lifeless pushing it. What can tell that it is happening, and
a few feet from where Grimes and his your brain that it hurts? Mc- we know that it is harm-
mother sat. Armstrong was strapped Carty said. Nothing. ful, but are we willing to
to a backboard and taken away. My McCarty did some re- sacrice the convenience of
heart skipped a beat, Leah said. He search. He was troubled to air-conditioning and jet
could have turned his neck the wrong learn about Tyler Varga, a Yale gradu- travel in order to combat the problem?
way and been paralyzed. (Armstrong ate who played in three games for the Changes could be made at the youth
has since returned to play.) For the rst Indianapolis Colts before suffering a level, Borland told the audience: No
time, Leah feared for her sons safety. concussion that lasted four months; way a child should be allowed to play
I had to take a deep breath and refo- Varga eventually quit the sport. Other tackle football before high school. In
cus, she said. These are ginormous, players were retiring early. Chris Bor- September, the parents of two former
mammoth men that are going to be land was the kind of football player Pop Warner players who died, and sub-
tackling my son. McCarty wanted to be: a linebacker sequently were given a diagnosis of
who relished a dirty jersey and the roar C.T.E., led a class-action suit against
t. Thomas crushed their next four of the crowd. In 2014, after graduat- the organization, contending that it
S opponents: 428, 427, 490, 4519. ing from the University of Wisconsin, had created a false impression of safety.
With Grimes out, other players stepped Borland secured a multimillion-dollar The case raised several questions: What
up. In one game, Kivon Bennett made contract to play for the San Francisco role should courts and lawmakers have
six tackles, and his general performance, 49ers. His rookie season was sensa- in making football safer? Should we
along with his classroom success and tional: he had two interceptions and a regulate activities that, if pursued for
locker-room leadership, led Harriott to sack, and in one game he made eigh- an extended period, might physically
name him a team captain. teen tackles. endanger the participants? When it
When the junior-varsity season But, in the pre-season, Borland had comes to, say, shooting heroin, the an-
ended, Harriott invited a few J.V. play- sustained a concussion, and it made him swer is simple. But football, which can
ers to attend varsity practices. One day, wonder what would happen to his brain create tremendous nancial and social
during punt-formation drills, an eager if he kept taking blows to the head. He opportunities for those who play it,
J.V. call-up collided helmet-to-helmet discreetly read League of Denial: The cannot be categorized as purely harm-
with Kaleb McCarty, a junior. McCar- NFL, Concussions and the Battle for ful. The Times has described the class-
ty shook it off, but he had a terrible Truth, by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve action suit as the next front in the legal
headache that night and couldnt sleep. Fainaru, hiding the paperback inside a battle over concussions.
He woke up feeling dizzy, nauseated, generic hardback. I was reading about On the panel, Borland said, We get
and a little scared. I knew something players who took their own lives, be- into informed consent with college and
was wrong, he said. cause they were demented and depressed pro players. Theres a huge reward if
The next day, McCarty went to see from C.T.E., and then I was going to they want to take the risk, and if all the
Dwayne Owens, the athletic trainer. watch game lm, he told me. It was right information is made available. Its
Owens told me that the researchers fucked up. a free country. But, he added, I think
from Miami had completed a trial of In March, 2015, Borland announced its wrong for children to hit their heads
the goggles that measured rapid eye his retirement, saying, I dont want to thousands of times.
movements, but had failed to provide have any neurological diseases, or die Kaleb McCarty told me that he once
St. Thomas with a pair to use. Owens, younger than I would otherwise. dreamed of going to the N.F.L., but
using a cell-phone ashlight and a se- He went on TV and attended con- now he just wanted to get into a good
ries of balance tests, determined that ferences on head trauma. Other pro- school. Football is a vehicle for me to
McCarty had likely suffered a concus- fessionals, like Varga, asked him for get an education, he said. I want to
THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 49
try to go to Penn or Duke or Syracuse. The Raiders started strong, with a
Theres no way Ill get into them with- rushing touchdown on their second
out football. play from scrimmage. By the end of
the rst quarter, they were ahead, 270.
eorge Smith, St. Thomass ath- After eight more points, the Mercy
G letic director, was furious when he Rulea constantly running clock
learned about McCartys concussion. would take effect.
Since Harriott had revised the practice At one point, Kivon Bennett hurt
regimen, there had been no serious in- his knee. He limped off the eld, but
juries outside of gamesa marked im- he didnt think the injury was serious.
provement. Why, Smith asked, werent Ice, rest, rehab. Ill be ne, he said.
the coaches using the robots more? Har- Back in a week or two.
riott told me that he considered the Trenell Troutman, a safety, scored
M.V.P.s a great tool and a welcome two of the rst-quarter touchdowns,
innovation with regards to safety and running in a fumble recovery and re-
injury prevention and concussion aware- turning an interception. This is my
ness. But they were glitchya work rst playoff game, he said, in a pre-
in progress, as he put it. For one thing, game speech to his teammates. Im
the robots had hard plastic bases that hungry. At one point, he hit a Palm
tended to bruise shins, so the players Beach Lakes running back so hard
didnt like tackling them. (They hurt, that the player stumbled grotesquely
Grimes said.) Ameer Riley, the defen- around the eld before collapsing. (He
sive cordinator, said that, starting in was assisted off the eld.) After the
the off-season, he hoped to incorporate play, a putrid smell on the St. Thomas
the robots in more realistic practice sideline made one player say of Trout-
scenarios. man, I think he hit the shit out of
Sometimes, Harriott said, you have that guy.
to go old-school and use bodies. He At halftime, the score was still 270.
said of McCarty, This was our rst Harriott felt pleased with the perfor-
concussion all year, adding, Were mance of Troutman and a few others,
doing something right. A school that but otherwise he was frustrated. Thats
used practice robots was at the cutting the rst time I saw you guys get off to
edge of conscientious football, but Har- a great start and then take your foot off
riott wasnt about to deny the brutal- the gas, he said. He expected clinical,
ity. He said, We havent had any con- disciplined play. Instead, he saw sense-
cussions in gamesthough weve given less penalties and mental mistakes. Two
plenty. coaches had been shouting at each other
McCarty expected to be out for three on the sidelines. St. Thomas would never
weeks while he completed a return to win the state championship if it per-
play concussion protocol, which meant formed this way. That was pathetic, he
missing St. Thomass rst playoff game, said. First time Ive ever been so em-
at home, against Palm Beach Lakes barrassed by you guys.
High School. Fortunately, the Raiders The team added to its total in the
were the heavy favorite. McCarty at- second halfa touchdown and a two-
tended the game in street clothes. When point conversion. After the game ended,
teammates asked him about the con- with a score of 350, one of the oppos-
cussion, he told them that he had ex- ing coaches called across the eld, You
perienced blurred vision and skewed guys are one helluva football team.
depth perception. One of them joked Harriotts team clustered around Trevon Grimes, the teams star wide receiver,
that it sounded like hed been smok- him. Weve got a lot of work to do,
ing weed. he said. Their next opponent, Dwyer pare to take out Dwyer, keep us safe.
Thirty minutes before the kickoff, High School, was more formidable. St. Thomas trounced the team, 370.
the players lined up in the tunnel lead- Heavenly Father, we didnt give our McCarty sat on the bench again, but
ing into the stadium. Grill smoke from best effort tonight. We did not repre- he said that his head now felt ne. Con-
the snack bar hung over the eld. Mi- sent You well, he said, over the sound cussions, he said, are just part of the
chael Harley, a team captain, reminded of the marching band. Were thank- game, adding, You just got to recover
them of the Bishop Gorman game: did ful, Heavenly Father, for the opportu- and learn from it. They are bound to
they remember how awful it felt to lose? nity to redeem ourselves, to make happen, just part of the sport.The Raid-
Lets ball out tonight! he said. amends. He added, And, as we pre- ers defeated their next two opponents
50 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017
is headed to Ohio State next year, but this fall he suffered a season-ending knee injury.

by a total of seventy-eight points, and on the eld, and so was McCarty. The N.F.L. is still a goal, he said.
secured a berth in the state-champion- St. Thomas dominated from the start, A few days after the game, Harri-
ship game. getting so far ahead that the Mercy ott said that the victory was the cul-
On December 9th, the Raiders trav- Rule went into effect. The nal score mination of an extraordinary season.
elled to Orlando, to face an undefeated was 456. McCarty was elated. He re- He paused. Whatever happened, we
team from Tampa. Grimes, no longer mained determined to get an excel- had each otherthe players had au-
on crutches and already pressing eighty lent college educationI wouldnt thentic love for each other, he said.
pounds with his bad leg, watched from go to Bama just to play football Thats the power of family, friendship,
the sidelines. Kivon Bennett was back but a pro career was back in his sights. and brotherhood.
THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 51
OUR LOCAL CORRESPONDENTS

HIGH-RISE GREENS
Growing crops in the city, without soil or natural light.
BY IAN FRAZIER

o. 212 Rome Street, in New- grees in labor studies and sociology the school in 2010. Harwood is a sixty-

N ark, New Jersey, used to be the


address of Grammer, Demp-
sey & Hudson, a steel-supply com-
from Rutgers, and she visited many of
the citys public-housing apartment
buildings in her previous job as a social-
six-year-old man of medium stature
who speaks with the kind of rural ac-
cent that sometimes drops the last let-
pany. It was like a lumberyard for steel, services cordinator. She is a slim, widely ters of words. He has been an associ-
which it bought in bulk from distant smiling woman with shoulder-length ate professor at Cornells famous school
mills and distributed in smaller amounts, dreads who dresses in Michelle Obama of agriculture, and he began his career
mostly to customers within a hundred- blues, blacks, and whites. For a while, as an inventor by coming up with rev-
mile radius of Newark. It sold off its she had her own show, The Wow Mom olutionary improvements in the com-
assets in 2008 and later shut down. In Show, on local-access TV. Through it puter management of dairy cows, an
2015, a new indoor-agriculture com- she met many people, including a woman animal he loves. His joyous enthusi-
pany called AeroFarms leased the prop- who is a nancial expert and helps local asm for what he does has an almost
erty. It had the rusting corrugated-steel residents with their budgets. The two messianic quality.
exterior torn down and a new build- became friends, and last year when this After spending part of his youth and
ing erected on the old frame. Then it woman was giving a speech at a New- young adulthood working on his uncles
lled nearly seventy thousand square ark nonprot Williams showed up to dairy farm, he got degrees in microbi-
feet of oor space with what is called support her. ology, animal science, dairy science, and
a vertical farm. The buildings ceiling One of the other speakers that day articial intelligence, and applied his
allowed for grow tables to be stacked was David Rosenberg, the C.E.O. and knowledge to the dairy industry. One
twelve layers tall, to a height of thirty- co-founder of AeroFarms. A light went of the rst inventions he worked on was
six feet, in rows eighty feet long. The on in my head when I heard AeroFarms, a method to determine when a cow is
vertical farm grows kale, bok choi, wa- Williams told me. Theres an Aero- in estrus. Research showed that cows
tercress, arugula, red-leaf lettuce, mizuna, Farms mini-farm growing salad greens move around more when theyre ready
and other baby salad greens. in the cafeteria of my daughters school, to breed. Harwood helped develop a
Grammer, Dempsey & Hudson was Philips Academy Charter School, on cow ankle bracelet that transmitted data
founded in 1929. Its workers were mem- Central Avenue. I volunteer there all on how active the cow was each day; the
bers of the Teamsters Union, whose the time as part of parents stewardship, farmer could then consult the data on
stance could be aggressive. Once, some- and I know the kids love growing their his computer and know when it was time
body red shots into the companys own lettuce for the salad bar. After the for the articial inseminator. To check
office, but didnt hit anyone. Despite speeches, she stayed to congratulate her the accuracy of the bracelet, Harwood
the union, the company and its em- friend and also introduced herself to spent days walking around the pasture
ployees got along amicably, and many Rosenberg. He asked her if she was beside a cow with his hand on her back
of them worked there all their lives. looking for a job. She started as H.R. while he counted her steps. He enjoyed
Men moved steel plate and I-beams director at AeroFarms nine days later. the companionship during this rather
with cranes that ran on tracks in the tedious exercise in ground-truthing and
oor. Trucks pulled up to the loading he mini-farm in the cafeteria at thinks the cow did, too.
bays and loaded or unloaded, coming T Philips Academy is a signicant He rst became interested in grow-
and going through the streets of New- piece of technology. In fact, it is a key ing crops indoors in the two-thousand-
ark, past the scrap-metal yards and to the story, and it gures in the larger aughts. Around 2003, his notebooks
chemical plants and breweries. In an picture of vertical farming worldwide and diaries began to converge on ideas
average year, Grammer, Dempsey & and of indoor agriculture in general. If about how he could raise crops with-
Hudson shipped about twenty thou- the current movement to grow more out soil, sunlight, or large amounts of
sand tons of steel. When the vertical food locally, in urban settings, and by water. That last goal pointed toward
farm is in full operation, as it expects high-tech indoor methods follows the aeroponic farming, which provides
to be soon, it hopes to ship, annually, path that some predict for it, the mini- water and nutrients to plants by the
more than a thousand tons of greens. farm in the school cafeteria may one spraying of a mist, like the freshening
Ingrid Williams, AeroFarms direc- day have its own historical plaque. automatic sprays over the vegetables
tor of human resources, lives in Orange The mini-farms inventor, Ed Har- in a grocerys produce department.
but knows Newark well. She has de- wood, of Ithaca, New York, sold it to Aeroponic farming uses about seventy
52 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017
Vertical farming can allow former cropland to go back to nature and reverse the plundering of the earth.
ILLUSTRATION BY BRUCE MCCALL THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 53
Ithaca, he said. My engineer, Travis
Martin, and I looked at the greens for
sale and saw that a pound of lettuce cost
one dollar, while a pound of baby greens
cost eight dollars. That was enough of
a premium that we gured I could make
my system protable with baby greens,
so I started a company I called Great-
Veggies, and soon I was selling baby
greens in several supermarkets in Ithaca.
When that didnt bring in enough
money, he shut the company down. His
nancial situation, never robust, then
took an upturn when an investor offered
funding on the condition that he con-
centrate on selling the grow towers them-
selves, rather than the greens. Switch-
ing to that business model, Harwood
formed a new company called Aero
Farm Systems. He leased a number of
his grow towers and sold a few. One of
them went to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and
he has no idea what happened to it. An-
other went to Philips Academy, where
its the mini-farm in the cafeteria. The
new company did not earn much, ei-
ther, but he kept it going in a smaller
part of the canoe factory.

he term vertical farming has


T not been around long. It refers to
a method of growing crops, usually
There are scones in the oven, too, in case youre peckish. without soil or natural light, in beds
stacked vertically inside a controlled-
environment building. The credit for
coining the term seems to belong to
Dickson D. Despommier, Ph.D., a pro-
per cent less water than hydroponic able to the water-and-nutrients spray. fessor (now emeritus) of parasitology
farming, which grows plants in water; Devising a nozzle for the aeroponic and environmental science at Colum-
hydroponic farming uses seventy per sprayer proved a tougher problem. The bia University Medical School and the
cent less water than regular farming. knock on aeroponics had always been author of The Vertical Farm: Feed-
If crops can be raised without soil and that the nozzles clogged. How he solved ing the World in the 21st Century.
with a much reduced weight of water, this Harwood wont say. He has no pat- Hearing that Despommier would
you can move their beds more easily ent for his new nozzle. Its more of a be addressing an audience of high-
and stack them high. stream than a spray, he said, but were school science teachers at Columbia
Harwood solved the problem of keeping the design proprietary. I have on a recent morning, I arranged to sit
the crop-growing medium by substi- no fear of anyone copying it. You could in. During the question period, one of
tuting cloth for soil. He tried every look at it all day and never gure out the teachers asked a basic question that
type of cloth he could think ofThey how it works. had also been puzzling me: What are
got to know me well at the Jo-Ann He rented an empty canoe factory the plants in a soil-free farm made of ?
Fabric store in Ithaca, he said. Finally, in Ithaca and set up a two-level grow Arent plants mostly the soil that they
he settled on an articial fabric that he tower a hundred feet long and ve feet grew in? Despommier explained that
created himself out of bres from re- wide to employ his new discoveries, plants consist of water, mineral nutri-
cycled plastic water bottles, and he along with a light system that eventu- ents like potassium and magnesium
patented it. The fabric is a thin white ally consisted of L.E.D. lights modied taken from the soil (or, in the case of
eece that holds the seeds as they to his needs. He had decided to grow a vertical farm, from the nutrients added
germinate, then keeps the plants up- commercial crops and chose baby salad to the water their roots are sprayed
right as they mature. The roots extend greens. My Aha moment came when with), and carbon, an element plants
below the cloth, where they are avail- I was in the Wegmans supermarket in get from the CO2 in the air and then
54 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017
convert by photosynthesis into sucrose, thinking about the thousands of aban- who will be living in New York City
which feeds the plant, and cellulose, doned buildings throughout the city. in the year 2050. These vertical farms
which provides its structure. He began to wonder why plants couldnt could also provide medicinal plants,
In other words, plants create them- live on multiple levels, as human be- and all the herbs and spices required
selves partly out of thin air. Salad greens ings do. For his next years class he car- for ve different traditional cuisines.
are about ninety per cent water. About ried over the previous years project, The possibilities that opened up put
half of the remaining ten per cent is car- and this time had the students calcu- stars in his eyes. Agricultural runoff is
bon. If AeroFarms vertical farm grows late what kind of structure a multilevel the main cause of pollution in the
a thousand tons of greens a year, about urban farm would need and how many oceans; vertical farms produce no runoff.
fty tons of that will be carbon taken people you could feed that way. Outdoor farming consumes seventy
from the air. Despommier taught the class for per cent of the planets freshwater; a
Despommier lives in Fort Lee, New nine more years, always asking his stu- vertical farm uses only a small amount
Jersey, and not long after his lecture I dents to build on what previous classes of water compared with a regular farm.
visited him at his apartment, in a high- had done. He began using the term All over the world, croplands have been
rise with a skyline view of New York. vertical farming in the second year. degraded or are disappearing. Vertical
He is a cheerful, demonstrative man, For methods of indoor agriculture, he farming can allow former cropland to
seventy-six years old, with a short gray referred to technology pioneered by go back to nature and reverse the plun-
beard and a mobile face. The concept NASA and to the work that a scientist dering of the earth. Despommier began
of vertical farming came from a class named Richard Stoner did decades to give talks and get noticed. He be-
he taught in medical ecology, he said. ago on how to grow crops in non-Earth came the original vertical-farming pros-
It was in 2000, and the students that environments. By the classs nal year, elytizer. Maybe the worlds mood was
year were bored with what I was teach- Despommier and his students had de- somehow moving in that direction, be-
ing, so I asked them a question: What termined that a complex of two hun- cause ideas that he suggested other
will the world be like in 2050? and a dred buildings, each twenty stories high people soon created in reality.
followup, What would you like the and measuring eighty feet by fty feet When my book came out, in 2010,
world to be like in 2050? They thought at its base, situated in some wide-open there were no functioning vertical farms
about this and decided that by 2050 outlying spotsay, Floyd Bennett Field, that I was aware of, Despommier said.
the planet will be really crowded, with the airport-turned-park on Jamaica By the time I published a revised edi-
eight or nine billion people, and they Bay in Brooklyncould grow enough tion, in 2011, vertical farms had been
wanted New York City to be able to vegetables and rice to feed everybody built in England, Holland, Japan, and
feed its population entirely on crops
grown within its own geographic limit.
So they turned to the idea of roof-
top gardening, he continued. They
measured every square foot of rooftop
space in the cityI admired how they
went to the map room of the public li-
brary on Forty-second Street and found
aerial surveys and got their rulers out
and then they calculated what the citys
population will be in 2050, and the
amount of calories that many people
will need, and what kind of crops can
best provide those calories, and how
much space will be necessary to grow
those crops. Finally, they determined
that by farming every square foot of
rooftop space in the city you could pro-
vide enough calories to feed only about
two per cent of the 2050 population of
New York. They were terribly disap-
pointed by this result.
At the time, Despommiers wife,
Marlene, who is a hospital administra-
tor, was working in midtown Manhat-
tan. As the couple drove back and forth
along the West Side Highway, Despom-
mier considered the light-lled glass-
and-steel structures, and that got him
Korea. Two more were in the planning recent previous use was as a paintball and fast-food impedimenta. David Rosen-
stages in the U.S. I gave a talk in Korea and laser-tag entertainment center berg, the C.E.O., who hired Ingrid Wil-
in 2009, and they invited me back two called Inferno Limits. The graffiti-type liams last year, is the boss. This distinc-
years later. Fifty reporters were wait- spray-painted murals and stylized tion is hard to notice, because he looks
ing for me. My hosts led me to a new paintball splatters of that incarnation more or less like anybody else.
building, where they had Welcome Dr. still cover the walls. AeroFarms head- I rst met Rosenberg at an interna-
Despommier in neon lights. I saw that, quarterssometimes referred to as its tional conference on indoor agriculture
and I cried! The ideas that I had de- world headquartersare in this build- held at a theatre in Manhattan. He wore
scribed in my 09 talk they had used as ing, some of which is taken up by a dark jeans, a blue-and-white plaid shirt
the basis for building a prototype ver- multiple-row, eight-level vertical farm with the AeroFarms logo on the breast
tical farm, and here it was. When Im that glows and hums. Technicians in pocket, and running shoes. In past years,
lying in my coffin and they pull back white coats who wear white sanitary he used to fence competitively and win
the lid, the smile on my face will be mobcaps on their heads walk around championships. He is forty-four, tall,
from that day in Korea. quietly. Some of these workers are and still t, with close-shaved black hair
Today in the U.S., vertical farms of young guys who also have mobcaps on and dark, soulful eyes. The quietness
various designs and sizes exist in Seat- their beards. The salad greens, when and patience with which he speaks can
tle, Detroit, Houston, Brooklyn, Queens, you put on coat and mobcap yourself be disconcerting. He grew up in the
and near Chicago, among other places. and get close enough to peer into the Bronx, went to U.N.C. at Chapel Hill,
AeroFarms is one of the largest. Usu- trays, stand in orderly ranks by the thou- and got an M.B.A. from Columbia in
ally the main crop is baby salad greens, sands, whole vast armies of little wa- 2002. AeroFarms is not his rst com-
whose premium price, as Ed Harwood tercresses, arugulas, and kales waiting pany. When his grandfather Michael
realized, makes the enterprise attrac- to be harvested and sold. For more than Rhodes, a chemist, died, in 2002, a rel-
tive. The willingness of a certain kind a year, all the companys commercial ative told Rosenberg about a molecule
of customer to pay a lot for salad justies greens came from this vertical farm. that his grandfather had created that
the investment, and after the greens get Nobody in the building appears to could be used to make a weatherizing
the business up and running its tech- have an actual office. Employees are dis- treatment for concrete. Rosenberg used
nology will be adapted for other crops, tributed in more or less open spaces here his grandfathers invention to start a
eventually feeding the world or a major and there. In a dim corner of the area business called Hycrete, which he later
fraction of it. That is the vision. with the vertical farm, where the fresh, sold, though not for a sum so great that
orist-shop aroma of chlorophyll is he has chosen to fund AeroFarms him-
eroFarms occupies three other strong, young graduates of prestigious self. In recent years, his new start-up
A buildings in Newark aside from colleges confab around laptop screens has raised more than fty million dol-
the main vertical farm, on Rome Street. that show photos of currently germinat- lars in investment, about twice as much
At 400 Ferry Street, it has a thirty- ing seeds and growing leaves. Folding as has any other vertical farm, or indoor
thousand-square-foot space whose most tables burgeon with cables, clipboards, farm of any kind, in the U.S.
After Hycrete, he wanted to create
a for-prot company that would do
good for the environment and for soci-
ety. With his fellow business-school alum-
nus and fellow-fencer Marc Oshima, he
set about researching the latest indoor
agricultural technology. When they
learned about the work of Ed Har-
wood, they immediately got in touch
with him. David and Marc called me,
and they kept calling back and asking
better and better questions, Harwood
remembered. They said they wanted
their rst farm and their world head-
quarters to be in Newark, and I told
them, Ive got a grow tower in a school
cafeteria in Newark! Thats when I
knew this was going to work out.
Rosenberg and Oshima had set up an
indoor-agriculture company called Just
Greens, which existed primarily in name.
Harwood had the trademark on the
Ive written my diagnosis on this piece of paper. Im going to slide it name Aero Farm Systems. They pro-
over to you, and I want you to tell me if youre interested. posed to him that the two companies
merge and do business under the name
of AeroFarms. Rosenberg would be the
chief executive officer, Oshima the chief
marketing officer, and Harwood the
chief science officer. Like the original
Aero Farms Systems, this company
would base itself on Harwoods pat-
ented cloth for growing the plants and
on his nozzle for watering and feed-
ing them. It would build the vertical-
farm systems but not sell them, grow
baby greens commercially, and scale
the operation up gigantically. This
change in fortunes left Harwood thun-
derstruck. I couldnt believe it, he said.
How many inventors have inventions
sitting around, waiting for a break, and
then something like this happens?

ost of Americas baby greens


M are grown in irrigated elds in
the Salinas Valley, in California. During
the winter months, some production
moves to similar elds in Arizona or
goes even farther south, into Mexico.
If you look at the shelves of baby greens Tell the truth, Ezra. Does it look like hes being
in a store, you may nd plastic clam- a more effective parent than me?
shells holding ve ounces of greens for
$3.99 (organicgirl, from Salinas), or for
$3.29 (Earthbound Farm, from near

Salinas), or for $2.99 (Fresh Attitude,
from Quebec and Florida). Harwoods ally around the world, so that its dis- of Superfund toxic-waste sites contam-
magic number of eight dollars a pound tribution will always be local, thereby inated by dioxins and pesticides. Thats
would be on the cheap side today. Four saving transportation costs and fuel not the aura you want for a healthy-
dollars for ve ounces comes to about and riding the enthusiasm for the lo- greens company. AeroFarms chose
thirteen dollars a pound. cally grown. Newark because of its convenient lo-
AeroFarms supplies greens to the At the Bloomeld ShopRite, I cation and the relative cheapness of its
dining rooms at the Times, Goldman watched a woman pick up a clamshell real estate. City and state development
Sachs, and several other corporate ac- of AeroFarms arugula, look at it, and agencies encouraged the decision, and
counts in New York. At the moment, put it back. Then she picked up a clam- the company has hired about sixty
the greens can be purchased retail only shell of Fresh Attitude arugula and blue-collar workers from Newark, some
at two ShopRite supermarkets, one on dropped it in her cart. I asked her if of them from a program for past
Springeld Avenue in Newark and the she knew that AeroFarms was grown offenders. At least geographically, the
other on Broad Street in Bloomeld. in Newark. She said, I thought it was company so far is exclusively a New-
The AeroFarms clamshell package only distributed from Newark. I told ark production.
(clear plastic, No. 1 recyclable) appears her the arugula was indeed Newark- But in another sense it could be any-
to be the same size as its competitions grown and explained about the verti- where. The technology it uses derives
but it holds slightly less4.5 ounces cal farm. She put the out-of-state aru- partly from systems designed to grow
instead of ve. It is priced at the high- gula back, picked up the Newark crops on the moon. The interior space
est end, at $3.99. The company plans arugula, and thanked me for telling her. is its own sealed-off world; nothing in-
to have its greens on the shelves soon I think AeroFarms does not play up side the vertical-farm buildings is un-
at Whole Foods stores and Kings, also Newark enough on the packaging. controlled. Countless algorithm-driven
in the local area. Greens that come They should call their product New- computer commands combine to in-
from California ride in trucks for days. ark Greens. duce the greens to grow, night and day,
The driving time from AeroFarms farm The reason they dont is probably so that a crop can go from seed to shoot
to the Newark ShopRite is about eleven the obvious onethe negative ideas to harvest in eighteen days. Every
minutes. The companys bigger plan is that salad buyers may have about New- known inuence on the plants well-
to put similar vertical farms in metro ark, its poverty and history of environ- being is measured, adjusted, remea-
areas all over the country and eventu- mental disaster, including the presence sured. Tens of thousands of sensing
THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 57
devices monitor whats going on. The
ambient air is Newarks, but ltered,
ventilated, heated, and cooled. Like all MILKING THE TIGER SNAKE
air today, it has an average CO2 con-
tent of about four hundred parts per Fangs through a balloon, an orange balloon
million (we exceeded the three-fty- stretched over a jam-jar mouth scrubbed-up
p.p.m. threshold a while ago), but an bush standardfangs dripping what looks
even higher content is better for the like semen, which is venom, one of the most
plants, so tanks of CO 2 enrich the deadly, down grooves and splish splash
concentration inside the building to a onto the lens of the distorting glass-bottom
thousand p.p.m. boat we look up into, head of tiger
The L.E.D. grow lights are in plas- snake pressed flat with the bushmans
tic tubing above each level of the grow thumbhis scungy hat that did Vietnam,
tower. Their radiance has been stripped a bandolier across his matted chest
of the heat-producing part of the spec- chocked with cartridgespistoleer
trum, the most expensive part of it who takes out ferals with secretive
from an energy point of view. The patriotic agendas. And we kids watch
plants dont need it, preferring cooler him draw the head of the fierce snake,
reds and blues. In row after row, the its black body striped yellow. It will rear
L.E.D.s shining these colors call to up like a cobra if cornered, and attack,
mind strings of Christmas lights. At attack! he stresses as another couple
different growth stages, the plants re- of droplets form and plummet. And when
quire light in different intensities, and we say, Mum joked leave them alone
algorithms controlling the L.E.D. ar- and theyll go home, he retorts, Typical
rays adjust for that. bloody woman, first to moan if shes bit,
In short, each plant grows at the first to want a taste of the anti-venom
pinnacle of a trembling heap of tightly that comes of my rooting these black
focussed and hypersensitive data. The bastards out, milking them dry, down
temperature, humidity, and CO2 con- to the last drop. Tiger snakes eyes
tent of the air; the nutrient solution, peer out crazily targeting the neck
pH, and electro-conductivity of the of the old coot with his dirty mouth,
water; the plant growth rate, the shape its nicotine garland. He from whom
and size and complexion of the leaves we learn, who shows us porno
all these factors and many others are and tells us whats what. Or tiger snake
tracked on a second-by-second basis. out of the wetlands, whip-cracked
AeroFarms micro-, macro-, and mo- by the whip of itself until its back is broke.
lecular biologists and other plant sci-
entists overseeing the operation receive John Kinsella
alerts on their phones if anything goes
awry. A few even have phone apps
through which they can adjust the func- is not current and completely reliable, brothers rst biplane, the Flyer, now
tioning of the vertical farm remotely. we will fail. We must always keep pay- on display in the National Air and
Though many of the hundred-plus ing close attention to the data. Space Museum, in Washington. Like
employees seem to be diffused through- the Flyer, and like many other great
out the enterprise and most vividly d Harwoods original prototype inventions, Harwoods prototype is also
present in cyberspace, everybody gath- E mini-farm, the one he sold to Phil- an objet dart.
ers sometimes in the headquarters ips Academy in 2010, still produces Its dimensions are ve feet wide by
building for a buffet-style lunch, at crops six or seven times every school twelve feet long by six and a half feet
which Rosenberg makes a short speech. year. The invention sits in a corner of high. Essentially, it consists of two hor-
Talking quietly, he repeats a theme: the cafeteria by the round lunch tables izontal trays of thick plastic, both about
To succeed, we need to be the best at and the molded black plastic cafeteria ten inches deep, one above the other,
four things. We need to be the best at chairs, an improbable-looking teach- suspended in a strong but minimal
plant biology, the best at maintaining ing tool. Examining it, you feel a mys- framework of aluminum. Below the
our plants environment, the best at tied wonder, and perhaps a slight mis- trays, at oor level, a plastic tank holds
running our operational system, and giving about the inventors soundness two hundred and fty gallons of water.
the best at getting the farm to func- of mind, remembering what happened Frames like those used for window
tion well mechanically. We have to be to Wile E. Coyote. For concentrated screens t on top of the plastic trays.
the best total farmers. And to do all ingenuity and handcrafted uniqueness, Each frame holds a rectangle of Har-
this we need the best data. If the data its closest simile, I think, is the Wright woods grow cloth, about two and a
58 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017
half feet by ve feet in size. The cloth Kids love to grow things, Flowers by our table. Her mother is Ingrid Wil-
is attached to the frame by snaps. On said. It teaches them about nutrients, liams, the H.R. director at AeroFarms.
small pipes running along the inside the minerals we put in the water, and Zara has a quiet manner, and she some-
bottom of the tray, Harwoods special why the waters pH affects how the times looks thoughtfully into the near
nozzles emit a constant, sputtering spray plants absorb them, and about the light distance as she talks. She noted the
of water at a downward angle. The spectrum, and how photosynthesis greens wed just been served, supplied
spray hits the bottom of the tray and works. The kids monitor the same kind by AeroFarms. We eat a lot of this salad
bounces up, and some of it becomes of data as AeroFarms does, but less of at home, she said. My mom brings the
the mist that nourishes the roots grow- it, of course. bags of lettuce from work. I didnt use
ing through the cloths. Eventually, most Ed Harwood is still a huge help, to like it, but now I do. I have the baby
of the water drains down and returns Mentesana said. If we have a problem kales in omelettes, with cheese. You can
to the tank to be reused. with the farm that we cant solve, Ed also put them in smoothies. They are
Seeds speckle the white surface of will make time to stop by and x it. O.K. In fact, they can be pretty good.
the cloth. The L.E.D. lights above the When were ready to harvest, the Wallauer got up and brought us back
trays shine on the seeds. They germi- kids cant wait to eat what theyve glasses of a kale-pineapple-and-yogurt
nate, and soon the roots descend. Seed- grown, Flowers said. Theyll start eat- smoothie whose color had the bright
lings grow. In about three weeks, the ing the plants while theyre harvesting, seaside green of a lime treat. It takes
plants are ready for harvesting. The trays and we actually have to tell them to a while for kids to start eating certain
are taken out and the leaves are cut off wait because these are for the salad bar. foods if theyre not used to them, Wal-
and given to the cafeteria staff, who put They want to nd out how they taste. lauer said. We made some of these
them in the salad bar. The cloths are And theyre excited when the plants smoothies yesterday, and we handed
scraped of residues, which are composted theyve grown become part of a meal them out as dessert. One little girl took
for the schools rooftop garden, and then for the whole school. Because of this a sip and said it was pretty good. Then
the cloths go into the washing machine farm, our schools consumption of leafy she took another and looked at me sus-
to be laundered for reseeding. greens is probably not met by any other piciously and said, Did you put salad
Throughout the mini-farm, PVC school in the country. in this?
pipes and wires run here and there, On another morning, I stayed for
connecting to clamps and switches. lunch. First, Mentesana took me, along few weeks before the vertical
The pumps hum, the water gurgles, with Marion Nestle (not Nestl; shes A farm at 212 Rome Street was to
and the whole thing makes the sound no relation), the nutrition expert and harvest its rst official crop, I walked
of a courtyard fountain. N.Y.U. professor, on a tour of the school. through the building with David
The teacher who keeps all this ma- A Clinton campaign e-mail released Rosenberg. After the usual handwash-
chinery in good order is Catkin Flow- by WikiLeaks the day before had re- ing, putting on of mobcaps and coats,
ers. That is her real given name. A tall ferred to harassment of Nestle by the and wiping our feet on mats for disin-
auburn-haired woman in her forties, beverage industry because of her book fecting, we stepped into the high-
she starts her science students work- Big Soda: Taking on the Soda Indus- ceilinged room where the vertical farm
ing with the farm when theyre in kin- try (and Winning), and she was in a was humming away. If Harwoods pro-
dergarten. We use the farm to teach totype at the school was the Wright
chemistry, math, biology, she explained brothers rst biplane, this immense
to me one morning between classes. scaled-up elaboration of it was a space-
The students learn with it all the way ship in drydock.
through eighth grade. I think the farm I thought of the tenderness of the
is the reason our science scores are so greens this device producesa natu-
competitive in the state. We get the ral simplicity elicited mainly from water
kids involved in running the grow cy- and air by high-tech artice of the most
cles and then solving the problems that complicated and concentrated kind. It
inevitably come up. Thats how kids seemed a long way to go for salad. But
really learn, not from sitting back and great mood, proud to have been men- if it works, as it indeed appears to, who
watching the grownups do everything. tioned. Robert Wallauer, the schools knows what might come of it when
Were also teaching food literacy, young chef, introduced himself. He has were nine billion humans on a baking,
put in Frank Mentesana, the director of worked for famous restaurants, but de- thirsting globe? Rosenberg and I stood
EcoSpaces, the schools environmental- cided he could contribute more to the looking at the vertical farm in silence.
science program, who joined us. Some public good by running school kitch- On his face was a mixture of pride and
of our kids have never seen vegetables ens. The entre was a Chinese-style love; he might have been seven years
growing. They may live in a part of the dish of pasta with chopped vegetables. old. We are so far above everybody
city thats a food desert, and their fam- I told him it was so delicious that if else in this technology, he said, after
ilies get food at McDonalds or at bo- this were a restaurant I would come a minute or two. It will take years for
degas. They may never have seen fresh back and bring my friends. the rest of the world to catch up to
greens in a store. Zara Hawkins, a fth grader, stopped where we already are now.
THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 59
FICTION

60 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 PHOTO-ILLUSTRATION BY HANNAH WHITAKER


ad she been born in a differ- scratched her car while backing it into ing. Seeing a painting in a museum and

H ent era, Becky thought, and with-


out the education to qualify as
a governess, she might have become a wet
the garage.
Beckys hope was that someday Jude
would read her journal and recognize
making an effort to understand it was
enough of a responsibility. Owning it
would be too much. Owning it would be
nurse, offering nourishment in the most what he would miss if he didnt pay at- like inheriting a tree, being accountable
mindless form to an infant from a wealthy tention to people. She tried to make for its existence even after the person who
family. But the idea, explored in detail those appearing in her journal interest- planted it had vanished. Yet a tree you can
what, who, when, where, why, how, those inginteresting enough, but not too cut down with a permit and a reliable crew.
questions Becky had obediently followed much. She did not want Jude to think A piece of art is like a child: you cant use
in grade school without recognizing the the world was an exciting party and he your mediocre imagination to change any-
terror of such scrutinywas disturbing, was born to be left out, nor did she want thing about it. On the other hand, you
not even a legitimate secret. him to be disappointed by its predict- cant put a price tag on a child; you cant
You know, I hate museums. The ability and decide to stay in his cocoon. put him up for auction. Perhaps the
man next to Becky leaned over so that Not entering Beckys journal were fam- SpongeBob man was talking about ones
she alone could hear this confession. ily members and friendsthe journal was progeny. You cant share with others who
She nodded. To be a wet nurse one had not kept as a secret from Max, and even your child truly is ( Jude who talked about
to be a mother rst. What was the point the most innocuous words about her hus- semidemisemiquavers and semihemide-
of wishing for that profession, then? band or others close to her could be read misemiquavers at breakfast as though they
It makes me angry, the man said the wrong way. She did not record any- were oating in his cereal bowl), and you
as he and Becky joined the others in one she met in the therapists waiting hate to see him through their eyes ( Jude
clapping. The woman who was taking rooms, either. The parents there were con- who had made himself a sign in kinder-
the podium was the director of this fronted by their own anxieties in others gartenIm Not taLKING because I
freshly remodelled San Francisco mu- faces, as if peering into mirrors. The chil- DONt WaNT TO!and had been mute
seum. It makes me angry that I dont dren, too, were mirrors for one another, at school ever since).
own the art work. Id hate to share with though they, inward-looking, did not seek The woman nished her speech, and
others. Theyd never see what I see. solace from those caught in the same sit- people milled about with a purposeful-
He wore a bright-red necktie, which uation. And then there were people for ness that felt amiss to Becky. Maxs boss,
reminded Becky of SpongeBob Square- whom the waiting rooms were only an the chief of cardiology at the hospital
Pants, but nothing about the man him- extension of the world at large: a grand- and a longtime friend of the woman on
self, who was tall and had to stoop a lit- father who insisted on talking with his the stage, had purchased two tables. Becky
tle to talk to her, resembled SpongeBob. wife on speakerphone for half an hour; watched Max talk with a colleague, each
It was terrible of her to seek connections the Guatemalan nanny who often stopped taking turns laughing at the others joke.
that allowed her to feel closer to her son. in the middle of her crossword puzzles She raised her champagne ute to look
Jude was six, and was being seen by two and frowned at him, gesturing at his back at them through the bubbles, and their
specialists four afternoons a week. He with a thumb-to-ear, pinkie-to-mouth perfect social demeanor became less im-
had no interest in making friends be- sign; the au pairs accompanying a skinny pressive. Perhaps that was how the world
cause he already had what he wanted: a boy whose parents had never been seen appeared to Jude, none of its inhabitants
SpongeBob pillow, and himself. at the therapistsa Polish girl, followed as engaging as a cluster of rising bub-
The man in the red tie said some- by an Austrian who stayed for only a short bles. But Jude might never nd himself
thing, and Becky, not catching the words, time before being replaced by another girl at an event like this. He might never
nodded in conrmation. So you like from Poland. Theyre going to Tahoe for drink champagne or taste caviar; he might
museums? he said with disapproval, Christmas, the one who had not lasted never hold a womans hands in candle-
and then, forgivingly, Most people do. had told Becky; they said to me, Isnt it light; he might never backpack through
Becky could see herself transcribing nice youll have the whole house to your- Peru or Scotland. Oh, the places hell
this conversation in her journal later that self for a week? My mother said, Oh, no, not go, and the things hell miss in life!
night. She would note that the man had you cant spend your rst Christmas in But how do you know Id miss them?
reminded her of SpongeBob. Soon his America all alone, thats just too sad. Becky asked Jude, who was not mute at home
face and his voice would fade from her had thought about inviting the girl over and was especially articulate when he was
memory; only the red tie and his words for Christmas Eve. They hosted a dinner alone with Becky. She had been talking
would remain. Becky had started to keep every year, joined by Maxs parents and about soccer club and Little League and
a journal when Judes condition was di- siblings and their families. But it might the birthday parties to which he was in-
agnosed. There was nothing private in have looked as though she were solicit- vited, because everyone was invited at that
it, just descriptions of strangers: a man ing the girls help with Jude, taking ad- age. If you dont miss them now, you may
brushing his teeth on a bench at a bus vantage of her loneliness. Becky was good someday, she said. But how do you know?
stop; a woman in Busy Mart calling a at uncovering nonexistent motivations in he said. These are the things people usu-
boy strapped in a stroller a two-headed her actions. ally enjoy, she said, and you may feel sad
moron; a handyman setting up beehives She looked past the SpongeBob man if you miss them. I shant, he said. I nd
in the yard of the neighbor, who had at the nearest painting, a splash of colors little amusement in them. I shant: no one
given Becky a jar of honey when she that she found both familiar and exhaust- around Jude spoke like that, but he kept
THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 61
the Random House Websters Unabridged Its not for sale. Georgia OKeeffe is here, but Im afraid
Dictionary by his bedside. What amuses Things can always be arranged, her beauty is too malleable to make a
you? she asked. Dots and squiggly lines, wouldnt you agree? lasting impression.
he said. What? she said. You dont get it, But what would I want to do? Who are you?
he said, sighing. You cant see them. Might it be that you perceive imper- I believe you know the answer.
fection in the painting and want to add What I mean is, who are you re-
nother man approached Becky. your own touch? Or even destroy it? ally? I dont believe you unless you point
A Even a banal conversation was a re- Jude could have been a suitable con- out someone. Show me OKeeffe.
lief from a masterpiece staring back in si- versation partner for this man. Profes- Im not supposed to do that. We leave
lence, and she was ready to be saved. The sorial and stilted, the neuropsychologist our clients to form their own conclusion
man, wearing a plaid hat and had said of Judes speech. She as to whether we do a good job or not.
a plaid jacket, appeared out of was the second one they had Then why didnt you follow the
place among the dark suits and consulted; the rst had been rules? And why are you here? Youre not
festive dresses. He asked Becky unable to get Jude to speak. even an artist.
if she liked the painter, and I concur, Becky had wanted Well, Im their boss, the man said,
she shook her head noncom- to reply to the neuropsychol- and handed her a business card. Ossie
mittally. What about you? ogist, using Judes phrase. Per- Gulliver. Heres my agencys information.
I cant say I like him. Too haps there was hope still. This OG Talent & Model, the card said.
febrile for my taste. man in front of her, after all, When Becky looked up, Ossie Gulliver
Becky noticed his accent, with his odd demeanor that was sidling up to another guest, to reveal
the kind its owner would not might appear as affectation his secret and perhaps to nd the right
hide, each word hanging on to the lips to unsympathetic eyes, had been invited person who would become a future client.
with a demure graciousness. Years ago, to the gala.
when Becky had been a work-study stu- He asked her if she was an artist. No, ater that night, Becky wrote the
dent in a research lab, she had overheard she said. A patron of the arts? he said. L man with the red tie into her jour-
her manager tell a visiting foreign scholar Not at all, she said, and you? He took nal but not the man in the Sherlock
that people in the Midwest did not have a pipe out of his pocket and said he had Holmes costume. Why? she asked her-
any accent. Mainstream American En- dallied in a few things here and there self, as though she were hiding an affair.
glish, she said, which made Becky feel but nothing too special. Becky was about She suspected that Ossie Gulliver was a
bland and transparent. Recently, while to point out that smoking was not al- made-up name. Still, a named man would
Becky was waiting for jury duty, a woman lowed when he put the pipe back. Dr. claim more personal space than a man
had told her that she was originally from Watson, he said, would disapprove. in a red tie. It could become an affair.
Spain and was a linguistics professor but Oh, Becky thought. Perhaps others Becky still had his business card, and
that at a summer party she had gone to would have recognized him right away with the pretense of hiring him for an
with her sister and brother-in-law no one from his outt. Is Dr. Watson here, too? event she could make a call. In movies,
would talk to her: she had walked in with she said, feeling apologetic that he had a romance could start that way, but even
a nephew in her arms and a niece clutch- been forced to drop the most obvious hint. the most clichd affair required a kind
ing her sleeve. They thought I was the Hes tied up at the moment. Another of talent she did not possess.
nanny, the woman said. My sister, of engagement. Not as engaging as this Becky was a good woman, and it re-
course, my gorgeous sister with her hand- one, Im afraid. quired little talent to be good. Before she
some husband, she was in no hurry to What kind of engagement? and Max moved to California, she had
correct the misunderstanding.The woman The man smiled. As a matter of worked in a hospital in Sioux City as a
and her sister had entered Beckys jour- facthe lowered his voicethey didnt oat-pool nurse, a well-liked colleague.
nal that night. have a budget for Dr. Watson. She was close to her three brothers, who
I wonder what would happen if They what? still lived in Correctionville. Becky, the
someone splashed more colors onto that A good sidekick is still a sidekick, only one who had left, returned twice a
painting, Becky said when the man did no? the man said. He took the pipe out year, for a family reunion in the rst week
not contribute a new question. again and toyed with it. But look around. of August and at Thanksgiving. She was
I believe thats called vandalism, and There are a few other people like me friendly with her neighbors and the other
its against the law. out there. mothers in the therapists waiting rooms,
I mean, if someone owned it. Would Becky could not see anyone else who and she stayed in touch with people, some
that still be illegal? stood out. of whom she had known since her time
The man looked at Becky. Please Naturally, they wouldnt want some- at the Country Kidds preschool. Make
allow me to sayand this is from my thing as unimaginative as Vincent, the new friends, but keep the old; one is silver,
study of human motivationsthere man said, caressing his ear. Or, for that and the other gold. Becky thought of her-
must be a reason you ask the question. matter, Frida. But give it a tryyou may self as one of those folktale misers, never
Whats the reason? be able to spot de Kooning or Joseph letting a person slip out of her life. Jude,
Might it be that you want to purchase Cornell. Matisse is under the weather, spinning in the schoolyard during recess
the painting so you can do something to it? so he may not look himself tonight. or rocking himself back and forth, was a
62 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017
penniless pauper boyhe couldnt even to put in her journal, stayed on in her ing the Bay, would nd Correctionville
inherit her silver and gold. memory. People around her were like strange, too. Whats in Iowa? people in
They couldnt live for him forever, lights in a house: the more, the merrier; California asked her every so often. Whats
Becky said sometimes, as though in de- the more, the less space left unlit. Ossie on any street, in any town, in America?
spair, but the truth was that she felt Gulliver was a street lamp, a reminder An old woman opened the door be-
soothed by the statement; exonerated, re- that one house, however well lit, was the fore Becky rang the bell. She was Vivi-
ally. No parent could do that for a child, same as any other house, all of them liv- ens mother, she whispered, and said that
Max reminded her. He believed in sci- ing in the indifferent darkness. the previous lesson was running a few
ence, intervention, and his will power as minutes long. The living room was small,
a father. He treated Jude not as the boy ave you guys considered music with two armchairs and a sofa around a
facing the social challenges spelled out Hlessons? a mother asked, and then coffee table. A picture window showed
in the neuropsychologists report but as recommended a musician whod been a patch of front yard large enough to ac-
the man who would one day overcome working with her son. Another way to commodate a single agave plant. Another
all those hurdles. Max did not ask, as fail, Becky thought, while taking down woman was sitting on the sofa, so Becky
Becky did, what had gone wrong with the information. took an armchair. Viviens mother picked
her pregnancy; nor did he waste his en- Vivien, the musician, had been trained up a basket of plums from the coffee table
ergy, whenever there was a mass shoot- as a pianist and vocalist; she did not have and said they were from her back yard.
ing, worrying that it would be linked to any background working with spe- Becky was going to decline, but the old
a young man on the autism spectrum. cial-needs children but had discovered woman said that they were sweet, and
But how could he be so certain that they her gift while teaching an autistic child she and Vivien had more than they could
had not failed Jude by simply giving him all this she explained to Becky on the eat. The thought of letting the plums rot
a life? Max was the brave one, and brav- phone, and the fact that she would be made Becky feel guilty. She chose a me-
ery made questioning unnecessary. on tour at times and could not guaran- dium-sized one. Viviens mother mo-
Perhaps that was the talent Becky was tee regular lessons year-round. Becky de- tioned for Becky to take more and fetched
missing: she wanted a comprehensible cided to visit Vivien by herself rst. She an old scarf, making a bundle of the plums.
life, but she did not comprehend her life. needed all the evidence to show that they The other mother, an Asian woman,
She could not begin an affair because it did what they could for Jude. People in didnt seem eager to talk at rst, unlike
required imagination. She could not un- the same boat, she noticed, often found most mothers in waiting rooms. She had
derstand Jude because her mind was too more reasons to judge and to denounce. a lunch pail of dollar bills next to her.
commonplace. Who knows bettern I do Vivien lived on a street lined with one- Becky watched her fold the bills into in-
what normal is? Hazel, Harrisons mother story, boxy houses, battered pickup trucks, tricate patterns. Money leis, she said when
in Harrison Bergeron, asks. Becky had older-model cars, and several dogs that she noticed Becky watching, and explained
to Google to get the sentence right. She barked from behind metal fences. Becky that she sold them at graduations. Becky
remembered Mr. Hagen, her English was not familiar with this part of Oak- had never seen a money lei and did not
teacher, talking at length about that Von- land, and she felt that she should reproach know if this was a California tradition.
negut line in high school. Read it ten, herself for noticing these things. Roads Are you visiting Vivien for your son?
twenty years from now, he had told the in Correctionville were wider, houses the woman asked. How old is he?
class. Becky was sketching Lance Elliots larger, but people in her current neigh- Becky said yes, and that Jude was six.
back when Mr. Hagen said that. Lance borhood, a picturesque suburb overlook- Potty-trained? the woman asked,
was the tallest boy in her junior year, and
she imagined that Harrison Bergeron
would look like Lance. Becky wished she
had been a ballerina.
Reading the sentence now, she had an
odd feeling that the line should have be-
longed to her, and that Harrisons mother
had plagiarized her. It was not fair that
Jude would never become a child who
played goalie for a soccer team or pulled
pranks on his friendsbut, no, that was
the wrong way to think. What was not fair
was that Jude had Becky, who was so nor-
mal, as his mother. A woman capable of
having an affair with Ossie Gulliver would
be a better choice, a mother who would
rearrange the world for Jude. Becky would
be better off being a wet nurse: providing
was enough, understanding uncalled for.
Ossie Gulliver, a stranger she refused
strangers? A month earlier, Jude and his
classmates had been asked to write about
their fears. Becky wished that Jude had
put down spiders or darkness or Tele-
tubbies, like his classmates, but he had
spelled out his fear neatly: I still suffer
from monophobia. Monophobia
Becky had to look up the wordan ab-
normal fear of being alone. It was not
fair that her son did not live with only
some minor fears. Still, always, forever.
That a person who expressed no inter-
est in people could live with such a yearn-
ing for them; that a paramount fear of
being alone could drive him away from
the world. Becky could have empathized
if this fear came from traumas, the kinds
that she read about in magazines and
saw on movie screens. But Jude had
been born to a pair of dedicated par-
ents. Neither Becky nor Max had any
hidden history of unspeakable suffer-
ing; neither harbored darkness in their
Not guilty? soul or inicted pain on others.
William, nishing one song, moved
on to the next: Is this the little girl I car-
ried? Is this the little boy at play? I dont
remember growing older . . . when did they?
and when Becky said yes she felt shamed loud and perfectly in tune, its articula- Becky felt furiousat Vivien, who
by the questioning. tion to be envied by any mother in the used Williams voice to make some-
Lucky you, the woman said. Wil- speech therapists office: I have often thing beautiful, when this beauty was
liam is seven. He was almost potty-trained walked down the street before. But the pave- of no use to the boy; at Viviens mother,
last year, but something at school upset ment always stayed beneath my feet before. for wiping away her tears because she,
hima kid or a teacher, who knows He has a heavenly voice, no? the who must have suffered plenty, had the
and now hes in diapers again. What do old woman said. Williams mother went luxury of being moved by this unnat-
I do? I asked the doctor, and she said per- on folding the dollar bills, her expres- ural beauty; and at herself, too, for being
haps I should let him run bare-bottom in sion at, as though she alone were deaf there, a witness to a crime, an accom-
the house so he can feel it when he goes. to her sons singing. plice, really. They had all made this
These things take time, Becky said, William sings so beautifully, the moment into a memory for themselves
comforting the woman automatically. old woman said. This is my favorite without Williams permission; they gave
Viviens mother sat with an erect back time of the week. meaning to something he would not
in another armchair, her creased face And, oh, the towering feeling just to attach meaning to. Of course, children
showing little acknowledgment of the know somehow you are near. The over- like William and Jude were the lone-
conversation. Becky could not tell if powering feeling that any second you may liest people in the world. They had no
she was black or Native American or suddenly appear. People stop and stare. one to rely on but the cocoon woven
Latinaperhaps she was all three. There They dont bother me. For theres nowhere out of a wish to be unobtrusive, yet it
was no photograph in the living room else on earth that I would rather be. was their parents job to rob them of
that Becky could use to make out the Had Becky been a sentimental woman that cocoon. Parents like Becky and
familys story. All she knew was that the she would have wept. But love songs Max visited therapists, discussed treat-
old woman had raised a musician. Per- were written to sugarcoat lifes plain- ments, formed support groups, but
haps she would not question herself all ness, to exaggerate the pain of living they did this only because they could
the time about failing at motherhood. with or without love, and they were not understand. They, with their lim-
Suddenly, piano music came from meant to be sung only by ordinary peo- ited imaginations, wanted to change
speakers, which Becky only then noticed. ple. For Jude and William and children their children. Vandalism, Ossie Gul-
They were set in the corners of the liv- like them, love songs were another mea- liver had said in front of the Jackson
ing room. Vivien lets the parents listen sure of their apartness from the world. Pollock painting. Parents like them
to the last ve minutes, the old woman How could William understand the committed vandalism out of love and
explained, her eyes more lively now. After dignity of his voice when his mother despair.
the opening bars, a boys voice came in, discussed his bodily functions freely with When William walked out of the
64 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017
studio, his moon-shaped face expres- attention once, often made her think must have been an accident. She wanted
sionless, his mother put a newly made how curious other people were. It was to be among a crowd, to be a gawker,
lei around his neck. Ta-da, she said, ready silly to risk her life for the journal, any- to be occupied by others misfortunes.
for college. one would say. No one would know that Perhaps what made most people differ-
she was risking her life for this belief: ent from Jude was their cowardice. They,
ecky was in a ruminative mood Who knows bettern I do what normal is? too, suffered from a monophobia so un-
Bwhen she exited Viviens house. She The thief was out of sight. Becky bearable that they needed to witness a
was about to get into her car when a thought of calling Max and asking him street accident with strangers.
man, who seemed to have come from to cancel the credit cards, and realized The freewayall four eastbound
nowhere, grabbed her purse. Hey, she that the man had got away with her phone, laneswas closed. On the next overpass,
said, still half lost in her mood. Hey! too. That evening they would nd out a similar crowd had gathered: a man was
she shouted, and the man started to run. that he charged more than two thousand standing outside the railing, on the edge.
Becky ran after him, a stupid thing dollars, buying gift cards and a can of Fire engines, ambulances, and police cars
to do. She had been one of the top cross- soda in a nearby drugstore. You were lucky blinked below. A giant ladder had been
country runners at her high school. She he didnt hurt you, Max said. You were set up, and two police officers were climb-
used to chant under her breath when she lucky he didnt take the car. But lets not ing it. People on both overpasses raised
ran, No halftimes, no time-outs; no half- go to this Vivien person for music les- their cell phones. Good thing they caught
times, no time-outs. The man turned the sons. Its not a safe neighborhood. There him before he jumped, someone said.
corner, his dark pants too loose for him are other things we can do to help Jude. What if he jumped now? someone else
to run efficiently. She did, too, looking But, whatever they did, they could asked. He cant, another person said. The
up at the street names to make sure she never free Jude from his fear of being cops cuffed him to the railing.
remembered the wayGarden, Grande alone. This Max did not understand. A moment of crisis, a moment of
Vista, Highland. In no time she would There were other things that he did not near-catastrophe. But when the man
overtake him, and she could sense the understand. Would it even occur to him was subdued and moved into the am-
exhilaration she used to feel, making the to question them? Max could have mar- bulance the excitement quickly zzled
nal sprint toward the nish line. Becky ried June Landry, another oat-pool out. People dispersed. It was then that
had a mind that was neither too large nurse, who would be tending to their Becky noticed the man who had robbed
nor too small for her body; how could dinner now. Becky could have married her. He was whistling while taking pic-
she have given birth to a child fated to Brandon Rogers, who had taken over tures of the empty freeway, and when
endure disproportions all his life? the nursery in Correctionville from his their eyes met he grinned and she could
The man stopped suddenly at the fatherboth Beckys and Brandons par- see the gap between his front teeth.
next corner. Maam, stop chasing me, ents had thought that they would make Becky returned to her car. It occurred
he said, panting a little. I have a gun. a good couple. But Becky had not hes- to her that she could ag down a police-
Oh, Becky said. He was her height, itated to say yes when Max proposed. man, but she was exhausted, and saw lit-
with a round face that seemed to wear a They had dated long enough to think of tle point in prolonging the day. The thief
perpetual smilethe kind of man who themselves as being in love. She could had made material gain, she had lost re-
would crack an easy joke with anyone wait- be contentedly married to any reason- placeable items, but what they had each
ing in line at Trader Joes. His courteous- able man: that had been a comforting gained or lost was nothing compared with
ness reminded Becky of the nurse sent by thought during their engagement. He a mans near-death. People would tell him
A.I.G. to take her blood samplesboth could be happily married to any capable that he had many reasons to live; they
Max and Becky had purchased life insur- woman: that was a comforting thought would not accept it if he said that he had
ance within six months of Judes birth. The in their marriage. For these comforts, many reasons for wanting to die. Any-
nurse had told Becky that he was a sin- Jude must have been given to her as a thing that could go wronga marriage,
gle father, and he left his baby girl at his punishment. No, no, Becky told herself, a child, a medical treatment, a painting,
neighbors when he was working. Dont shuddering violently. That wasnt true. an affair, a treestarted with hope. The
you worry about the needle, Maam, he Things that could not be scientically only option was to blunder on through
had said, and Becky had thanked him, explained could not be prevented, either. hoping. For that reason, Becky would keep
not revealing that she had been a nurse. telling Jude that it was good to make eye
The man did not look menacing, yet ecky noticed the shaking of her contact, to engage in conversation, to talk
she had to believe him. O.K., O.K. But Bhands as she drove away. Her purse about his feelings, to make connections
can you give me one thing? Theres a was gone, along with Ossie Gullivers with the world. For that reason, too, she
notebook in that purse. Can you throw card. An affair with Ossie Gulliver, like would refuse to accept Judes argument
it to me? I promise thats the only thing being a wet nurse, was only a fantasy of ifwhenone day he told her that none
I want back. indelity. Becky did not have the talent of these things would alleviate his mono-
He put the Moleskine on the curb to betray anyone. phobia, and that he did not have the tal-
next to him and backed away. Dont you The next street she turned onto, an ent to be anyone other than himself.
move until I tell you to, he said. overpass above the freeway, was blocked
Jude would never read the journal. by traffic. Many people had got out of NEWYORKER.COM
The people in it, having caught Beckys their vehicles. Becky did, too. There Yiyun Li on her story from this weeks issue.

THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 65


THE CRITICS

BOOKS

ASHES TO ASHES
A life in cigarettes.

BY JOAN ACOCELLA

he German writer Gregor Hens leys Doors of Perception, and Im sure them, and smoked heavily. When she
T smoked his rst cigarette when he Hens had that volume in mind, but if was better, she smoked less and read loft-
was ve. His mother gave it to him. It Nicotine has a literary progenitor I ier literature: Musil, Mann, Joseph Roth.
was New Years Eve, and the Hens fam- would say that it is In Search of Lost Gregor grieves for her, but this does not
ily, like many Germans, were out in the Time, in which Proust made the mate- prevent him from letting us know, in
snow setting up reworks. But they rial of seven volumes bloom out of one small ways, the difficulties her illness cre-
couldnt light the fuses, because Gregors French cookie dunked in a cup of tea. ated for her sons. She didnt really cook.
two older brothers were ghting over Nicotine is much shorter, only a hun- Also, is it customary for German moth-
the lighter. Frau Hens nally lost pa- dred and fty-seven pages, but Hens uses ers to teach their ve-year-old children
tience: She pulled out a cigarette, lit it a similar alchemy to transform the things to smoke? At the age of ten, Gregor was
and held it out to me. Little Gregor of his worldthe family in which he dispatched to a boarding school of truly
took this wonderful thing and held it to grew up, in Cologne; his former home Dickensian awfulness. (If you commit-
the fuse of one of the rockets, which shot in Columbus, where he taught German ted a misdeed, you had to ask for pun-
into the sky. Then he saw that the ciga- literature at Ohio State; his apartment ishment. Then you were locked in a
rettes ember had ceased to glow. You in Berlin, where he lives with his wife, closet.) He says that he never knew why
have to take a drag on it, my mother said and produces novels and translations he was sent away from home, but his
out of the half-darkness. He took a drag, into whole relay stations of poetic force, brothers were shipped off, too. It seems
the ember glowed again, and the child humming and sparking and chugging. probable that the mother was getting
suffered a near-collapse from coughing worse. By the time Gregor was eighteen,
and joy. he mother first. Hens had to she was dead. He never tells us what she
As Hens tells us in his memoir, Nic- T work on her for months to get per- died of, though there are hints that she
otine (Other; translated from the Ger- mission to stay up for the New Years committed suicide: She succumbed to
man by Jen Calleja), this experience even- Eve festivities. She insisted that he take her own melancholy. From page to page,
tually landed him with a decades-long a nap before the reworks. He agreed, this beloved woman is glimpsed only
addiction to nicotine. It also, he believes, and from nine to eleven-thirty he lay in partially. All around her there are silences,
gave him the beginnings of a personal- bed wide awake, rigid with excitement: empty places, held breathsan extraor-
ity: I became myself for the rst time. dinary act of literary nesse.
He means this literally. In his mind, the When my mother came to wake me I was Hens recalls ruefully that she did not
already standing in the middle of the room
entire episodethe coughing t, his putting my trousers on in the dark. She turned try to shield her sons from their brutal
mothers blue hat, his almost uncontain- on the light, got me the checked shirt Id been father. Once, when the oldest boy, Ste-
able pride in the fact that he, not his wearing during the day, went to the wardrobe fanthe troublemaker and, it seems,
brothers, detonated the rst rocket smiling silently to herself and pulled out the Gregors favoritedid something bad,
comes together into a story, the rst mem- thickest jumper [sweater] she could find. I the entire family was imprisoned, for
stretched my arms up into the air, she pulled
ory he has that is a story rather than just the jumper over my head, then stroked the hair days, in the fathers wrath: We sat in si-
an image or a sensation. And, because from my forehead. lence in the dining nook spooning our
he is a writer, he sees this birth of a story soup with heads bent, profoundly fright-
as the birth of his personality. How nice: This is a tender scenehe allows him- ened, avoiding eye contact. My mother
ABOVE: LUCI GUTIRREZ

to have the emergence of ones self self to cherish the little boy as she did gave not a word of defence for her el-
marked by a rocket exploding! (I stretched my arms up into the air) dest son, who cowered beside me crying
In any case, it is by association with but as the book progresses the mother with quivering legs, not trusting himself
nicotine that Hens shows us what he turns out to be a mixed business. She to wipe his fogged-up glasses, while my
wants us to know about his life. People had a cycling depression. When she was father talked himself into a rage for the
will connect his book with Aldous Hux- doing badly, she read romances, lots of hundredth time. What must it have
66 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017
In a memoir by the German writer Gregor Hens, smoking provides a vehicle for a story of domestic and national trauma.
PHOTOGRAPH BY HORACIO SALINAS THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 67
been like for Gregor, four years younger Its true, he seemed to say, that most peo- buy a pack of cigarettes, rams into a Toy-
than Stefan, to see the older boy, whom ple dont manage it, because its actually ota Land Cruiser and crashes onto its
he loved and respected, weeping so hard a perilous addiction. But I can do it. Its hoodturns into a comedy. An ambu-
that his legs were shaking? damn hard, but if you have a strong will lance arrives, but, as it rushes to the hos-
On another occasion, the family was like mine its actually no problem at all. pital, it runs over an old lady, so it stops
headed home after a purgatorial vaca- If you cant do it with the power of your and picks her up, too. Welcome aboard,
tionStefan had recently been caught own will you are simply a weak person. I called out to her, Hens writes. But,
smoking on the roof of his schoolwhen All this is fun. Its nice to see that instead of returning his greeting, she
the father pulled the car over to the side bully ridiculed. But later Hens describes screams abuse at him all the way to the
of the road and switched off the engine: how his father, while wooing the woman hospital. Only there does he discover
He swiveled round and screamed at who became his second wife, used to that his face is caked with blood and that
my brother, who had dissolved into tears urge her two beautiful teen-age daugh- there is a long, gaping laceration on his
long before this: If I ever catch you ters to give up smoking: It doesnt suit right temple.The story is funnyI think
smoking up there again Ill bring you you, my father would say. Women who even I sprang backwards when I saw my-
down from the roof with a pickaxe, smoke dont make suitable Aryan wives self in the bathroom mirrorbut its
Ill ram a pickaxe into your arsehole and mothers, I added in my head. Hens subject is the same deep-lying terror that
and pull you down, Ill rip you open may have been traumatized by his fa- is the main concern of most of the book.
and kill you. The tirade went on for thers talk of enlarging Stefans asshole, Not all of it. In some scenes, Hens
twenty minutes, Hens says. Though it but I think that almost all Germans, achieves a kind of middle tone, where,
wasnt directed at me, I have never en- even those born some time after 1945 while still producing little horrors, he re-
dured such physical fear in my life. (Hens was born in 1965), still bear the mains stoic, or reticent. In an early chap-
I believe him, but just as Frau Henss mark of their countrys role in the Sec- ter, he and Stefan, grown men now, drive
image is shaded, and thereby rescued ond World War. Hens, to judge from to the house of their great-aunt Anna,
from sentimentality, by suggestions of his book, truly hated his father. So do in Bremen. She has just died, and they
her shortcomings as a mother, so the fa- many people, but his story becomes cap- are going to collect her keys. The house,
ther is spared a horror-movie monstrous- tivatinglaced with a saving ironyby of course, lls Gregor with memories.
ness by whatyou cant believe it at being told through the medium of some- The peat in the garden reminds him of
rstare tinkling little notes of comedy. thing as humble as tobacco. the time his aunt told him about a peat
Herr Hens made his living as an inspec- bog that lay just outside the town: Out
tor of damage from industrial explosions. verything is told through that there, my young brain imagined, it was
Because of this, and because a blaze once E medium. Disgust is a parking-lot at- teeming with the eternally restless un-
broke out in his home office, he was very tendant who, in fetching Henss car, has dead, ditch wardens, feral spirits and dop-
strict about re safety. After the office lled it with smoke particles . . . pumped pelgngers. Out there beyond the town
re, he bought a hundred and twenty out of his moist, mucus-lled lungs. the peat diggers uncover the skeletons
Gloria-brand re extinguishers to send Something that was deep within his body of entire chain gangs, the tiny bodies of
out as Christmas gifts. He had to order is now in mine. (The sexual note makes unwanted children, the corpses of abor-
that many in order to get a discount, but, this moment particularly unsettling.) tions, bastards.
as it turned out, he didnt know a hun- Fear is a colony of red ants that, living The vast armchairs in Aunt Annas
dred and twenty people, so there were a in Henss front garden in Columbus, re- living room make him think of Deng
lot of leftovers, and every room in the minds him that his smoking habit, once Xiaoping. Why? We dont know, but
Hens house, even Gregors tiny bedroom, broken, might return: printed on the page where he tells us this
was outtted with a bright-red re ex- The entire parcel of land was infiltrated. A
there is a photograph of Deng, in a mam-
tinguisher. (The boy used to lie in bed passer-by, throwing only a fleeting look over moth armchair, with antimacassars, such
and gaze at it, longing to pull the silver the place, would have been completely unaware as Aunt Anna had, contentedly having
pin.) After Stefans disgrace for smok- of it. Maybe they would have delighted in see- a smoke. The book is full of these muddy
ing on the school roof, the brothers con- ing the freshly painted, light blue wooden faade, little snapshots, showing thingsa rac-
the glorious irises. But the moment I stuck a
cluded that their fathers vehemence may spade into it, the moment I pulled up just a
ing bike, a lighter, a Gloria re extin-
have had less to do with school rules single patch of weeds or disturbed a mossy slab guisher, Aunt Annathat seem surprised
being broken than with re safety. with my foot, whole armies of combat-ready that someone is bothering to photograph
Surely it also had to do with Herr army ants gazed up at me; powerful, shimmer- them. They call to mind W. G. Sebalds
Henss attitude toward smoking. He, too, ing red specimens evidently waiting only for novels, in which, with a similarly muffled
me. They streamed into the daylight in their
had once been a smokerindeed, a four- thousands, the earth would appear to be in mo-
emotion, photographs like these often
pack-a-day manbut he had decided tion, and Id be seized by vertigo. document the lives of people who ed
that his habit had got out of control. the Nazis.
That was the end of that. Overnight, Shimmering red specimens, stream- Aunt Anna ed no Nazis, but much
without the help of books or pills or hyp- ing into the light: this is beautiful in an of her story, as Hens tells it, seems to be
notherapy, he had quit smoking. He loved appalling way. Elsewhere, an episode that about love that wasnt properly returned.
to tell the story, as proof of the enor- should have been frighteningHens, She never married. She devoted herself
mous willpower of its heroic storyteller. on his bike, speeding down the road to to her job at the Brinkmann cigarette
68 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017
factory. It was said that she was in love
with the companys president, a married
man whom she would visit at his lake- BRIEFLY NOTED
side property on her vacations. They
were the Romeo and Juliet of the Ger- Toussaint Louverture, by Philippe Girard (Basic). After lead-
man cigarette industry, Hens writes. ing a slave revolt in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) in 1791
And that may have had something to do the only successful such revolt in historyLouverture became
with the fact that when Aunt Anna re- an anti-colonial icon. He emerges in this excellent biography
tired she was given, along with her pen- as a man more complex than the myth of him would have it.
sion, a hundred-year supply of the fac- His military and political stratagems coincided with a recep-
torys product. Once a month, a courier tive mood in revolutionary France, which abolished slavery in
from Brinkmann would arrive at her 1794. In the restive period that followed, Louverture consoli-
front door with two cartons of cigarettes. dated power, ultimately enforcing a labor code no less repres-
Now she was dead, but the stipend was sive than slavery. Girard writes thoughtfully about the various
to continue until 2071, so that, like the contradictions of Louvertures life, which ended in a prison
house, it passed to her great-nephews. cell in France. While there, he wrote a memoir addressed to
As the chapter ends, Stefan pours shots Napoleon, expecting to be acknowledged by him as an equal.
of schnapps for himself and Gregor: To
Aunt Anna, Stefan says, raising his glass. Am I Alone Here?, by Peter Orner (Catapult). Stories say what
To her love, I say. And Gregor lights up I cant, the author writes in this memoir in which short c-
one of her cigarettes. tion becomes a form of vicarious living. Following the death
The book, too, ends with love and of his father, Orner is left with a blank grief that he can quell
cigarettes. Gregor is eighteen. He is in only through reading. He proceeds, chapter by chapter, through
love for the rst time, with the beauti- what hes learned from authors from Chekhov to Welty. Kafka
ful Eliana. He has been to a party at her captures the struggle between the craving for loneliness and
house, where, feeling outclassed by the a terror of it; Herbert Morris gives the miracle of people in
other boys, he got terribly drunk and had their most intimate, unguarded moments; Virginia Woolf
to sleep over. In the morning, Eliana ap- retrieves irretrievable time. The underlying force of the book
pears in his room in a gray robe and sits is the desire to recover the weight of whats vanished and
on the edge of the bed. He wants to pull ctions alchemical ability to do so.
her into the bedhes sure that she is
naked under the robebut he has too The Gardens of Consolation, by Parisa Reza, translated from
horrible a taste in his mouth (beer, cig- the French by Adriana Hunter (Europa). This condent dbut
arettes) to dare to kiss her. She senses begins some decades into the twentieth century, but its char-
his discomfort, takes a cigarette out of acters live on terms closer to the thirteenth. Talla, aged twelve,
his pack, lights it, and holds it to his lips. is walking with her husband from a small Iranian village to-
He doesnt remove his hands from under ward a new life in the city. He is old enough to be afraid of
the covers. He just lies back: bandits, she young enough to be afraid of ogres tucked among
It was quite possibly the most wonderful the dunes. We follow the couple through parenthood and three
drag of my life. And then Eliana led the cig- decades of alternating regimes. Occasionally, historical expo-
arette to her own full, slightly parted lips and sitionan account of Irans burgeoning civil service, sayin-
took a deep, sensual drag. She bent over me trudes baldly. The novel is at its best when it evokes the fam-
and released the smoke, and the shimmering ilys comfort, despite the upheavals, in sensual, timeless pleasures:
blue veil that caught the first autumnal sun-
shine sank over my face and caressed me. A vats hot with rose petals and lamb, the smell of jasmine and
kiss, better than a kiss . . . her lips, where my damp soil.
lips had been. Her breath and the smoke that
we shared . . . I closed my eyes and sucked it The Revolutionaries Try Again, by Mauro Javier Cardenas
in to the tips of my lungs. My first true loves (Coffee House). Depicting the morass of contemporary Ecua-
kiss was smoke, nothing but smoke.
dorean politics in high modernist style, this dbut focusses on
It is a strange combination, love and the efforts of two old friendsthe Presidents chief of staff and
smoke, but there is a long streak of an economist who has been living in San Franciscoto mount
strangeness in German artcolors you an insurgent political campaign. Cardenas hopscotches across
didnt expect (Caspar David Friedrich, time, shedding forms from section to section, and extending a
Max Beckmann), Venuses who arent single sentence over twenty pages. Theres an infectious warmth
pretty (Cranach, Altdorfer)which in the recollections of the friends school days, and the prose
nevertheless feels like life. I dont know often draws blood: describing protests in San Francisco, a char-
what Aunt Anna got in place of con- acter says that he had often seen American crowds waving
summation, but Hens got this dark, their ags of self-importance and gorging themselves with or-
lovely, funny book. ganic cucumbers before returning to their placid homes.
THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 69
ther: its an essential part of the way we
BOOKS think. Others experience auditory hallu-
cinations, verbal promptings from voices

THE VOICES IN OUR HEADS


that are not theirs but those of loved ones,
long-departed mentors, unidentied in-
uencers, their conscience, or even God.
Why do people talk to themselves? Charles Fernyhough, a British pro-
fessor of psychology at Durham Uni-
BY JEROME GROOPMAN versity, in England, studies such inner
speech. At the start of The Voices
Within (Basic), he also identies him-
self as a voluble self-speaker, relating
an incident where, in a crowded train
on the London Underground, he sud-
denly became self-conscious at having
just laughed out loud at a nonsensical
sentence that was playing in his mind.
He goes through life hearing a wide
variety of voices: My voices often have
accent and pitch; they are private and
only audible to me, and yet they fre-
quently sound like real people.
Fernyhough has based his research
on the hunch that talking to ourselves
and hearing voicesphenomena that
he sees as relatedare not mere quirks,
and that they have a deeper function.
His book offers a chatty, somewhat
inconclusive tour of the subject, mak-
ing a case for the role of inner speech
in memory, sports performance, reli-
gious revelation, psychotherapy, and
literary ction. He even coins a term,
dialogic thinking, to describe his be-
lief that thought itself may be consid-
ered a voice, or voices, in the head.

iscussing experimental work


D on voice-hearing, Fernyhough de-
scribes a protocol devised by Russell
alking to your yogurt again, about my work. I converse with friends Hurlburt, a psychologist at the Uni-
T my wife, Pam, said. And what and family members, tell myself jokes, versity of Nevada, Las Vegas. A sub-
does the yogurt say? replay dialogue from the past. Ive never ject wears an earpiece and a beeper
She had caught me silently talking considered why I talk to myself, and Ive sounds at random intervals. As soon
to myself as we ate breakfast. A con- never mentioned it to anyone, except as the person hears the beep, she jots
versation was playing in my mind, with Pam. She very rarely has inner conver- notes about what was in her mind at
a research colleague who questioned sations; the one instance is when she that moment. People in a variety of
whether we had sufficient data to go reminds herself to do something, like studies have reported a range of per-
ahead and publish. Did the experi- change her e-mail password. She delib- ceptions: many have experienced inner
ments in the second graph need to be erately translates the thought into an speech, though Fernyhough doesnt
repeated? The results were already external command, saying out loud, Re- specify what proportion. For some, it
solid, I answered. But then, on reec- member, change your password today. was a full back-and-forth conversa-
tion, I agreed that repetition could Verbal rehearsal of materialthe tion, for others a more condensed script
make the statistics more compelling. shopping list you recite as you walk the of short phrases or keywords. The re-
I often have discussions with my- aisles of a supermarketis part of our sults of another study suggest that, on
selftilting my head, raising my eye- working memory system. But for some average, about twenty to twenty-ve
brows, pursing my lipsand not only of us talking to ourselves goes much fur- per cent of the waking day is spent in
self-talk. But some people never ex-
Hearing voices can be a sign of a malady, but for many its just part of thought. perienced inner speech at all.
70 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 ILLUSTRATION BY LEO ESPINOSA
In his work at Durham, Fernyhough Nonetheless, Fernyhough has built and decreased anxiety, whereas no
participated in an experiment in which up an interesting picture of inner signicant improvements were seen in
he had an inner conversation with an speech and its functions. It certainly the other group.
old teacher of his while his brain was seems to be important in memory, and
imaged by fMRI scanning. Naturally, not merely the mnemonic recitation ometimes the voices people hear
the scan showed activity in parts of the of lists, to which my wife and many S are not their own, and instead are
left hemisphere associated with lan- others resort. I sometimes replay child- attributed to a celestial source. Gods
guage. Among the other brain regions hood conversations with my father, voice gures prominently early in the
that were activated, however, were some long deceased. I conjure his voice and Hebrew Bible. He speaks individually
associated with our interactions with respond to it, preserving his presence to Adam, Eve, Cain, Noah, and Abra-
other people. Fernyhough concludes in my life. Inner speech may partici- ham. At Mt. Sinai, Gods voice, in mid-
that dialogic inner speech must there- pate in reasoning about right and rash, was heard communally, but was so
fore involve some capacity to represent wrong by constructing point-counter- overwhelming that only the rst letter,
the thoughts, feelings, and attitudes of point situations in our minds. Ferny- aleph, was sounded. But in later pro-
the people with whom we share our hough writes that his most elaborate phetic books the divine voice grows qui-
world. This raises the fascinating pos- inner conversations occur when he is eter. Elijah, on Mt. Horeb, is addressed
sibility that when we talk to ourselves dealing with an ethical dilemma. by God (after a whirlwind, a re, and
a kind of split takes place, and we be- Inner speech could also serve as a an earthquake) in what the King James
come in some sense multiple: its not safety mechanism. Negative emotions Bible called a still small voice, and
a monologue but a real dialogue. may be easier to cope with when chan- which, in the original Hebrew (kol
Early in Fernyhoughs career, his nelled into words spoken to ourselves. demamah dakah), is even more sugges-
mentors told him that studying inner In the case of people who hear alien tiveliterally, the sound of a slender
speech would be fruitless. Experimen- voices, Fernyhough links the phenom- silence. By the time we reach the Book
tal psychology focusses on things that enon to past trauma; people who live of Esther, Gods voice is absent.
can be studied in laboratory situations through horric events often describe In Christianity, however, divine
and can yield clear, reproducible re- themselves dissociating during the speech continues through the Gos-
sults. Our perceptions of what goes on episodes. Splitting itself into separate pelsthe apostle Paul converts after
in our heads are too subjective to quan- parts is one of the most powerful of hearing Jesus admonish him. Espe-
tify, and experimental psychologists the minds defense mechanisms, he cially in evangelical traditions, it has
tend to steer clear of the area. writes. Given that his fMRI study sug- persisted. Martin Luther King, Jr., re-
Fernyhoughs protocols go some way gested that some kind of split occurred counted an experience of it in the early
toward working around this difficulty, during self-speech, the idea of a con- days of the bus boycott in Montgom-
though the results cant be considered nection between these two mental ery, in 1956. After receiving a threat-
dispositive. Being prompted to enter processes doesnt seem implausible. ening anonymous phone call, he went
into an inner dialogue in an fMRI ma- Indeed, a mainstream strategy in cog- in despair into his kitchen and prayed.
chine is not the same as spontaneously nitive behavioral therapy involves pur- He became aware of the quiet assur-
debating with oneself at the kitchen posefully articulating thoughts to ance of an inner voice and heard the
table. And, given that subjects in the oneself in order to diminish pernicious voice of Jesus saying still to ght on.
beeper protocol could express their habits of mind. There is robust scien- Fernyhough relates some arresting
experience only in words, its not sur- tic evidence demonstrating the value instances of conversations with God
prising that many of them ascribed a of the method in coping with O.C.D., and other celestial powers that occurred
linguistic quality to their thinking. phobias, and other anxiety disorders. during the Middle Ages. In fteenth-
Fernyhough acknowledges this; in a Cognitive behavioral therapy also century France, Joan of Arc testied to
paper published last year in Psychologi- harnesses the effectiveness of verbal- hearing angels and saints tell her to lead
cal Bulletin, he wrote that the interview izing positive thoughts. Many athletes the French Army in rescuing her coun-
process may both shape and change talk to themselves as a way of enhanc- try from English domination. A more
the experiences participants report. ing performance; Andy Murray yells intimate example is that of the famous
More fundamentally, neither ex- at himself during tennis matches. The mystic Margery Kempe, a well-to-do
periment can do more than provide potential benets of this have some Englishwoman with a husband and
a rough phenomenology of inner experimental support. In 2008, Greek family, who, in the early fteenth cen-
speecha sense of where we experi- researchers randomly assigned tennis tury, reported that Christ spoke to her
ence inner speech neurologically and players to one of two groups. The rst from a short distance, in a sweet and
how it may operate. The experiments was trained in motivational and in- gentle voice. In The Book of Margery
dont tell us what it is. This hard truth structional self-talk (for instance, Go, Kempe, a narrative she dictated, which
harks back to William James, who I can, Shoulder, low). The second is often considered the rst autobiog-
concluded that such introspective group got a tactical lecture on the use raphy in English, she relates how a se-
analysis was like trying to turn up of particular shots. The group trained ries of domestic crises, including an ep-
the gas quickly enough to see how the to use self-talk showed improved play isode of what she describes as madness,
darkness looks. and reported increased self-condence led her to embark on a life of pilgrimage,
THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 71
celibacy, and extreme fasting. The voice seus cunning starts to seem like the cel- delusions, Fernyhough follows ideas
of Jesus gave her advice for negotiating ebration of the emergence of a new kind popularized by a range of groups that
a deal with her frustrated and worried of consciousness. For Jaynes, hearing the have emerged in the past three decades
husband. (She agreed to eat; he accepted voice of God was a vestige of our past known as the Hearing Voices Move-
her chastity.) Fernyhough writes imag- neuroanatomy. ment. In 1987, a Dutch psychiatrist, Mar-
inatively about the various registers of ius Romme, was treating a patient named
voice she hears. One kind of sound she ayness book was hugely inuential Patsy Hage, who heard malign voices.
hears is like a pair of bellows blowing J in its day, one of those rare specialist Rommes initial diagnosis was that the
in her ear: it is the susurrus of the Holy works whose ideas enter the culture at voices were symptoms of a biomedical
Spirit. When He chooses, our Lord large. (Bicamerality is an important plot illness. But Hage insisted that her voice-
changes that sound into the voice of a point in HBOs Westworld: Dolores, hearing was a valid mode of thought.
dove, and then into a robin redbreast, an android played by Evan Rachel Wood, Not coincidentally, she was familiar with
tweeting merrily in her ear. is led to understand that a voice she hears, the work of Julian Jaynes. Im not a
Forty years ago, Julian Jaynes, a psy- which has urged her to kill other android schizophrenic, she told Romme. Im
chologist at Princeton, published a land- hosts at the park, comes from her own an ancient Greek!
mark book, The Origin of Conscious- head.) But Jayness thesis does not stand Romme came to sympathize with her
ness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral up to what we now know about the de- point of view, and decided that it was vital
Mind, in which he proposed a biologi- velopment of our species. In evolution- to engage seriously with the actual con-
cal basis for the hearing of divine voices. ary time, the few thousand years that tent of what patients voices said. The pair
He argued that several thousand years separate us from Achilles are a blink of started to publicize the condition, asking
ago, at the time the Iliad was written, our an eye, far too short to allow for such other voice-hearers to be in touch. The
brains were bicameral, composed of two radical structural changes in the brain. movement grew from there. It currently
distinct chambers. The left hemisphere Contemporary neurologists offer alter- has networks in twenty-four countries,
contained language areas, just as it does native explanations for hearing celestial with more than a hundred and eighty
now, but the right hemisphere contrib- speech. Some speculate that it represents groups in the United Kingdom alone, and
uted a unique function, recruiting lan- temporal-lobe epilepsy, others schizo- its membership is growing in the United
guage-making structures that spoke in phrenia; auditory hallucinations are com- States. It holds meetings and conferences
times of stress. People perceived the ut- mon in both conditions. They are also a in which voice-hearers discuss their ex-
terances of the right hemisphere as being feature of degenerative neurological dis- periences, and it campaigns to increase
external to them and attributed them to eases. An elderly relative with Alzhei- public awareness of the phenomenon.
gods. In the tumult of attacking Troy, mers recently told me that God talks to The movements followers reject the
Jaynes believed, Achilles would have heard her. Do you actually hear His voice? I idea that hearing voices is a sign of men-
speech from his right hemisphere and at- asked. She said that she does, and knows tal illness. They want it to be seen as a
tributed it to voices from Mt. Olympus: it is God because He said so. normal variation in human nature. Their
Remarkably, Fernyhough is reluctant arguments are in part about who con-
The characters of the Iliad do not sit down to call such voices hallucinations. He trols the interpretation of such experi-
and think out what to do. They have no conscious
minds such as we say we have, and certainly no views the term as pejorative, and he is ences. Fernyhough quotes an advocate
introspections. When Agamemnon, king of men, notably skeptical about the value of psy- who says, It is about power, and its about
robs Achilles of his mistress, it is a god that grabs chiatric diagnosis in voice-hearing cases: whos got the expertise, and the author-
Achilles by his yellow hair and warns him not to ity. The advocate characterizes cogni-
strike Agamemnon. It is a god who then rises It is no more meaningful to attempt to diag-
nose . . . English mystics (nor others, like Joan, tive behavioral therapy as an expert do-
out of the gray sea and consoles him in his tears
of wrath on the beach by his black ships. . . . It from the tradition to which they belong) than it ing something to a patient, whereas the
is one god who makes Achilles promise not to is to call Socrates a schizophrenic. . . . If Joan movements approach disrupts that hi-
go into battle, another who urges him to go, and wasnt schizophrenic, she had idiopathic partial erarchy. People with lived experience
another who then clothes him in a golden fire epilepsy with auditory features. Margerys com- have a lot to say about it, know a lot
reaching up to heaven and screams through his pulsive weeping and roaring, combined with her
voice-hearing, might also have been signs of tem- about what its like to experience it, to
throat across the bloodied trench at the Trojans,
rousing in them ungovernable panic. In fact, the poral lobe epilepsy. The white spots that flew live with it, to cope with it, she says. If
gods take the place of consciousness. around her vision (and were interpreted by her we want to learn anything about extreme
as sightings of angels) could have been symptoms human experience, we have to listen to
Jaynes believed that the development of migraine. . . . The medieval literary scholar the people who experience it.
Corinne Saunders points out that Margerys ex-
of nerve bres connecting the two hemi- periences were strange then, in the early fifteenth Like other movements that seek to
spheres gradually integrated brain func- century, and they seem even stranger now, when challenge the authority of psychiatrys
tion. Following a theory of Homeric au- we are so distant from the interpretive framework diagnostic categories, the Hearing Voices
thorship that assumed the Odyssey to in which Margery received them. That doesnt Movement is controversial. Critics point
have been composed at least a century make them signs of madness or neurological dis- out that, while depathologizing voice-
ease any more than similar experiences in the
after the Iliad, he pointed out that Odys- modern era should be automatically pathologized. hearing may feel liberating for some, it
seus, who is constantly reecting and entails a risk that people with serious
planning, manifests a self-consciousness In his unwillingness to draw a clear mental illnesses will not receive appro-
of mind. The poems emphasis on Odys- line between normal perceptions and priate care. Fernyhough does not spend
72 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017
much time on these criticisms, though her in the crazy category, and the idea about his stay, Phillips House Revis-
in a footnote he does concede the scant has a long history: Platos mad poet, ited, in which he overlays impressions
evidentiary basis of the movements Aristotles melancholic genius, and of the medical crisis I had witnessed (I
claims. He mentions a psychotherapist John Drydens dictum that great wits cannot entirely get my breath, / as if I
sympathetic to the Hearing Voices Move- are sure to madness near allied. But, in were muffled in snow) with memories
ment who says that, in contrast to the cases where talent is accompanied by of his grandfather, who had died in the
ample experimental evidence for the effi- real psychological disturbance, do the same hospital, forty years earlier.
cacy of cognitive behavioral therapy, the creative benets really outweigh the costs There was a long history of men-
organic nature of hearing voices groups to the individual? tal illness in Lowells family. Jamison
makes it hard to conduct randomized digs up the records of his great-great-
controlled trials. n a frigid night in January, 1977, grandmother, who was admitted to Mc-
O while working as a young resident Lean in 1845, and who, doctors noted,
ernyhough is not only a psychol- at Massachusetts General Hospital, I was afflicted with false hearing. Low-
F ogist; he also writes ction, and in was paged to the emergency room. A ell, too, suffered from auditory halluci-
describing this work he emphasizes the patient had arrived by ambulance from nations. Sometimes, before sleep, he would
role of hearing voices. I never mistake McLean Hospital, a famous psychiatric talk to the heroes from Hawthornes
these ctional characters for real people, institution in nearby Belmont. Sitting Greek Myths. During a hospitalization
but I do hear them speaking, he writes bolt upright, laboring to breathe, was the in 1954, he often chatted to Ezra Pound,
in The Voices Within. I have to get poet Robert Lowell. I introduced my- who was a friendbut not actually there.
their voices righttranscribe them ac- self and performed a physical examina- Among his contemporaries, recognition
curatelyor they will not seem real to tion. Lowell was in congestive heart fail- of Lowells mental instability was inex-
the people who are reading their stories. ure, his lungs lling with uid. I admin- tricably bound up with awe of his talent.
He notes that this kind of conjuring is istered diuretics and tted an oxygen The intertwining of madness and genius
widespread among novelists, and cites tube to his nostrils. Soon he was breath- remains an essential part of his posthu-
examples including Charles Dickens, ing comfortably. He seemed sullen and, mous legend, and Lowell himself saw the
Joseph Conrad, Virginia Woolf, and to distract him from his predicament, I two as related. Jamison quotes a report
Hilary Mantel. asked about a medallion that hung from by one of his doctors:
Fernyhough and his colleagues have a chain around his neck. Achilles, he Patients strong emotional ties with his
tried to quantify this phenomenon. Ninety- replied, with a eeting smile. manic phase were very evident. Besides the
one writers attending the 2014 Edin- Ive no idea if Lowell knew of Jayness feeling of well-being which was present at that
burgh International Book Festival re- book, which had come out the year be- time, patient felt that, my senses were more
sponded to a questionnaire; seventy per fore, but Achilles was a gure of lifelong keen than they had ever been before, and thats
what a writer needs.
cent said that they heard characters speak. importance to him, one of many histor-
Several writers linked the speech of their ical and mythical guresAlexander the But Jamison also shows that Lowell
characters to inner dialogues even when Great, Dante, T. S. Eliot, Christwith sometimes saw his episodes of manic
they are not actively writing. As for plot, whom he identied in moments of de- inspiration in a more coldly medical
some writers asserted that their charac- lusional grandiosity. In Achilles, Lowell light. After a period of intense religious
ters dont agree with me, sometimes de- seemed to nd a heroic reec- revelation, he wrote, The
mand that I change things in the story tion of his own mental vola- mystical experiences and ex-
arc of whatever Im writing. tility. Achilles dening attri- plosions turned out to be
The importance of voice-hearing to buteits the rst word of pathological. Splitting the
many writers might seem to validate the the Iliadis mnin, usually difference, Jamison suggests
Hearing Voices Movements approach. translated as wrath or rage. that his mania and his imag-
If the result is great literature, it would But in a forthcoming book, ination were welded into
be perverse to judge hearing voices an Robert Lowell, Setting the great art by the discipline he
aberration requiring treatment rather River on Fire: A Study of Ge- exerted between his manic
than a precious gift. Its not that sim- nius, Mania, and Character, episodes.
ple, however. As Fernyhough writes, the psychiatry professor Kay Lowell was discharged
Studies have shown a particularly high Redeld Jamison points out that Low- from Mass General on February 9th.
prevalence of psychiatric disorders (par- ells translation of the passage renders Jamison quotes a note that one of my
ticularly mood disorders) in those of mnin as mania. As it happens, mania colleagues wrote to the doctors at Mc-
proven creativity. Even leaving aside was Lowells most enduring diagnosis in Lean: Thank you for referring Mr. Low-
the fact that most people with mood his many years as a psychiatric patient. ell to me. He proved to be just as inter-
disorders are not creative geniuses, many In her account of Lowells hospital- esting a person and a patient as you
writers nd their creative talent psycho- ization, Jamison cites my case notes and suggested he might be. Later that month,
logically troublesome, and even prize an those of his cardiologist in the Phillips Lowell had recovered sufficiently to travel
idea of themselves as, in some sense, ab- House, a wing of Mass General where to New York and do a reading with Allen
normal. The novelist Jeanette Winter- wealthy Boston Brahmin patients were Ginsberg. He read Phillips House
son has heard voices that she says put typically housed. Lowell wrote a poem Revisited. That September, he died.
THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 73
but it failed to prepare New York au-
MUSICAL EVENTS diences for the impact of Trifonovs
rst solo recitals, in 2013 and 2014. I

SLEIGHT OF HAND
caught the second, which included
works by Stravinsky, Debussy, Ravel,
and Schumannthe kind of serious-
The Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov, at Carnegie Hall and Disney Hall. minded program that Radu Lupu or
Mitsuko Uchida might offer. Not ev-
BY ALEX ROSS erything cohered, yet the playing had
beauty and power to spare. A scurry-
ing encore left even the most obscu-
rantist pianophiles mystied. As it hap-
pened, it was the scherzo of a piano
sonata that Trifonov had written.
What sets Trifonov apart is a pair
of attributes that are seldom found in
one pianist: monstrous technique and
lustrous tone. The characteristic Tri-
fonov effect is a rapid, glistening urry
of notes that hardly seems to involve
the mechanical action of hammers and
strings. Its more like the immaterial
swirl of veils in the dances of Loie
Fuller. Such wizardry makes even Tri-
fonovs celebrated colleagues stop in
wonder. In 2011, Argerich said of him,
What he does with his hands is tech-
nically incredible. Its also his touch
he has tenderness and also the demonic
element. I never heard anything like
that. The elemental thrill is to see
him lunge from one extreme to an-
other. When he does, demonic is not
too strong a word.
So far, Trifonov has done best in
the high-virtuoso territory of Liszt,
Scriabin, and Rachmaninoff. His lat-
est recording, on Deutsche Grammo-
phon, is of Liszts Transcendental
tudes, Concert tudes, and Paganini
he Russian pianist Daniil Tri- pretive choices that cause head-shaking tudes. The Transcendental tudes
T fonov creates a furor. The term is at intermission. They give a hint of the contain some of the most taxing piano
a familiar one in the annals of super- unearthly, the diabolical. They tend to writing ever put on paper: jagged
virtuosity. pianist creates furor walk onstage hurriedly and bashfully, chords strewn all over the keyboard,
was a headline in the Times when Vla- with little ceremony, and usher in bed- everywhere-leaping arpeggiated gures,
dimir Horowitz rst played at Carne- lam from unseen regions. pages of double octaves. Trifonov dis-
gie Hall, in 1928. Paderewski left furor Trifonov was born in Nizhny Nov- patches all of it with stupefying effort-
in his wake, as did Sviatoslav Richter, gorod in 1991, and now lives in New lessness, in the process transforming
the young Martha Argerich, and the York. He achieved international fame this ostensibly bravura music into
young Evgeny Kissin. Americans usu- in 2011, when he won rst prize in the something elegant and rareed, al-
ally dont create a furor, at least on Tchaikovsky Competition. He made most French. He suggests how much
American soil. Russians are more prone his professional Carnegie Hall dbut Debussy and Ravel owed to Liszt. This
to do so. It should be noted that a furor later that year, performing Tchaikov- is not the nal word on the tudes:
is not the same as a sensation. (Lang skys First Piano Concerto with Valery on the Myrios label you can nd a re-
Lang creates a sensation.) Furor pia- Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orches- cording by Kirill Gerstein, another
nists exhibit intelligence as well as dex- tra. That outing had more nesse than major, younger Russian-born pianist,
terity; they often make curious inter- the average slam-bang run-through, which has a stronger sense of musical
architecture. Still, Trifonovs entry will
Trifonov has a rare combination of monstrous technique and lustrous tone. long be a benchmark.
74 THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 ILLUSTRATION BY ROMAN MURADOV
His explorations of Germanic rep- D-minor pair; and Stravinskys Three an imperious elaboration of the suave,
ertory have yielded murkier results. Movements from Petrushka. The sauntering theme with which the con-
Earlier this year, I watched him be- Shostakovich was monumental, unsen- certo begins. Although it is marked
come nearly lost in Schuberts other- timental, altogether formidablewor- Allegro molto, it requires a Lisztian
worldly Sonata in G, D. 894not in thy of comparison to Richter. The Stra- barrage of fortissimo chords in vari-
the sense of forgetting where he was vinsky tended to skim the surface, but ous registers. Trifonov could have
in the score but in the sense of letting it blazed with energy and color. Tri- knocked it off at high speed; instead,
go of the narrative line. He lavished fonov even allowed himself a bit of he took a deliberate, almost labored
such affection on each hovering chord showmanship: at the beginning of the approach, slowing to a crawl in the
and quiver of melody that the music second movement, in honor of the tit- turn to G minor. The sound was im-
was repeatedly in danger of gliding to ular puppet, he let his right arm dan- mense, seeming to ventriloquize the
a halt. Richter, through the force of his gle limply for a moment. In all, though, orchestra sitting silently by. There was
personality, could get away with such this was the most wayward of the Tri- a palpable sense of strugglenot tech-
mystical prolongations of Schubert. fonov recitals Ive attended: the man- nical but emotional, a battle of the
Trifonov lacks, as yet, Richters mag- nerisms obscured the mastery. heart. The passage assumed a tragic
isterial control. heft that changed the meaning of the
At his most recent Carnegie appear- hree days earlier, at Disney concerto around it. Whether Trifonov
ance, on December 7th, Trifonov de- T Hall, in Los Angeles, I had en- had some reason to play it this way in
voted the rst half of the program to countered a different Trifonovan the nal weeks of 2016 I cannot say,
Schumann. Reaffirming his range, he artist both daring and disciplined, who but that minute of music hit me as
rst oated the fragile, translucent lines ventured into remote territory and strongly as anything Ive heard this
of Kinderszenen and then stormed found his way back. With Gustavo season.
through the dense, bristling Toccata. Dudamel and the Los Angeles Phil- Is it possible to offer criticism with-
Both were deftly done. Kreisleriana, harmonic, he performed the Rach- out complaint? When a performer is
which followed, was befuddling. The maninoff Third Concerto, a work that astounding on one occasion and exas-
opening piece was hectic and clangor- always gives pleasure but seldom sur- perating on another, you want him to
ous; after that, torpor set in. The slow prises. For most of the rst movement, continue on his chosen path, however
pieces were languid to the point of sta- Trifonov played with unaffected bril- circuitous it may appear. Perhaps Tri-
sis. Phrases dissolved into a lovely mi- liance; after initial tensions over tempo, fonovs eccentricities will subside with
asma of disconnected notes. The prayer- he and Dudamel settled into a vibrant time, or perhaps they will take on in-
ful melody of the fourth piece shed its groove. The revelation occurred in the terpretive weight. His compositions are
songlike character; even the longest- cadenza. Rachmaninoff s score gives a imitativeon YouTube, you can nd
breathed singer would have had a hard choice of two cadenzas: one is daz- his Piano Concerto in E-Flat Minor,
time sustaining the line at this tempo. zling and scherzolike, while the other which mashes together Rachmaninoff,
A minute here or there in Neverland marked ossia, or alternatively Scriabin, Prokoev, and a few others
would have been compelling, but fully waxes grand and dark. The composer but they give evidence of a restless, cre-
half the work fell into that zone. The employed the rst in his famous re- ative mind. He still has not touched
general impression was of a gorgeous cording with the Philadelphia Orches- much of the twentieth-century reper-
miscellany. tra, and most pianists have followed suit. tory; he will enrich it when he does.
After intermission, Trifonov turned A signicant minority, however, favor Once he settles into his maturity, he
to post-Romantic Russian repertory: the ossia. Yem Bronfman is in this may have no equal. For now, furor fol-
ve of Shostakovichs Preludes and camp; so is Trifonov. lows him, because he has yet to com-
Fugues, culminating in the colossal The heart of the second cadenza is mit the sin of routine.

THE NEW YORKER IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ADVANCE MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS INC. COPYRIGHT 2017 COND NAST. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

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THE NEW YORKER, JANUARY 9, 2017 75


CARTOON CAPTION CONTEST

Each week, we provide a cartoon in need of a caption. You, the reader, submit a caption, we choose
three finalists, and you vote for your favorite. Caption submissions for this weeks cartoon, by Robert Leighton,
must be received by Sunday, January 8th. The finalists in the December 19th & 26th contest appear below. We will
announce the winner, and the finalists in this weeks contest, in the January 23rd issue. Anyone age thirteen or older
can enter or vote. To do so, and to read the complete rules, visit contest.newyorker.com.

THIS WEEKS CONTEST


..........................................................................................................................

THE FINALISTS THE WINNING CAPTION

What makes you think you were not our first choice?
Jim Johnson, New York City

You will have one more try when the music starts. Sir, I just need you to take one small step out of the vehicle.
Susan Adams, Chicago, Ill. Andrew Hawkins, Sudbury, Ont.

Where do you see yourself five chairs from now?


Paul Angiolillo, Watertown, Mass.
THE ROAD LESS TR AVELED WAS MADE FOR A CAR LESS ORDINARY.
T H AT S C O N T I N E N TA L

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