This morning in a coffee shop, I glance over next to me where an older gentleman is seated and notice the book he is reading: The Art of Life by Havelock Ellis. It is very old, a 1929 Houghton Mifflin edition. It seems to be excerpts and appears philosophical in nature. As events progress, a friend of mine, Tom Holtz (guitar player extraordinaire), walks in a greets me and this fellow seated next to me. Turns out the gentleman had booked Tom's band as an opener for national acts in big concert halls in the past. After Tom leaves, I strike up a conversation about the book. The gentleman told me he got it for a dollar at Hospice. "May I examine it?" I asked. "Sure." The pages are yellowed and have that quality of historic significance that contemporary lack, as the art of bookmaking has become more machine-shop in nature. The first section I.) "Love".
Who IS this guy? I wondered before my almighty computer, and then I inquired to the oracle (Google) and found the story of Havelock Ellis. From his Wikipedia page: "He [Havelock Ellis] was co-author of the first medical textbook in English on homosexuality in 1897, and also published works on a variety of sexual practices and inclinations, including transgender psychology. He is credited with introducing the notions of narcissism and autoeroticism, later adopted by psychoanalysis."
"Ellis wrote the first objective study of homosexuality, as he did not characterize it as a disease, immoral, or a crime. The work assumes that same-sex love transcended age taboos as well as gender taboos. Seven of his twenty-one case studies are of inter-generational relationships."
He also wrote poetry. What are the cosmic chances everything in the universe produced an alignment in which something like this could happen? This is a very important man. His poems can not be found on the Internet. That is how I know.
"All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on."
~ Havelock Ellis
Who IS this guy? I wondered before my almighty computer, and then I inquired to the oracle (Google) and found the story of Havelock Ellis. From his Wikipedia page: "He [Havelock Ellis] was co-author of the first medical textbook in English on homosexuality in 1897, and also published works on a variety of sexual practices and inclinations, including transgender psychology. He is credited with introducing the notions of narcissism and autoeroticism, later adopted by psychoanalysis."
"Ellis wrote the first objective study of homosexuality, as he did not characterize it as a disease, immoral, or a crime. The work assumes that same-sex love transcended age taboos as well as gender taboos. Seven of his twenty-one case studies are of inter-generational relationships."
He also wrote poetry. What are the cosmic chances everything in the universe produced an alignment in which something like this could happen? This is a very important man. His poems can not be found on the Internet. That is how I know.
"All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on."
~ Havelock Ellis
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