Hermenaut #15

$6 paper

The Fake Authenticity issue of the pop journal Hermenaut begins with a thought-provoking and funny screed. Written by the publication’s chief cultural interpreter, Josh Glenn, the essay rails against The House of Blues, Abercrombie and Fitch, and the Spice Girls: “There is nothing [we] can do about … people who wear imitation leather jackets and ‘Kiss Me I’m Irish’ t-shirts like they mean it.” Summing up, the piece states that whenever and wherever “authenticity” is invoked, you know you’re already in the world of fake authenticity. Like the introduction, the contents of Hermenaut do not disappoint. In “The Green Hills of Elsewhere,” the diabolically intelligent Thomas Frank of The Baffler (think of an avenging Adbusters) touches on the positioning of authenticity and the inevitable proximity of fakery. Of course advertising is misleading, but Frank and The Baffler take it personally. (Ironically, the sometime Harper’s contributor and his scintillating journal get a lot of publicity.) Set outside a theater showing a revival of Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil, Clarke Cooper’s “The Will to Scorn” examines the fine line between good cynicism and scornful cluelessness. What if Samuel Beckett and Ernie “Nancy” Bushmiller had traded letters? A.S. Hamrah provides the witty answer. There’s also a nice piece by Ingrid Schorr, the Maryland-based inspiration for REM’s “Don’t Go Back to Rockville.” (During the early Eighties, she was bassist Mike Mills’ girlfriend.) There is nothing fake about Hermenaut. This is such a confident, well-executed twice-yearly zine it’s a shame it should be categorized as a well-kept secret. WIRED has described it as a scholarly journal minus the university, but it’s also (intentionally!) funny. Bottom line: Hermenaut delivers clever writings and writers who deserve your attention.

This article appears in October 8 • 1999.

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