Mel recently asked if I had any good readings on death… what a question. Yes, i have too many good readings on death too count – but from what angle. We explored the usual suspects – Goulish’s 39 Microlectures which brought us to Kathy Acker, Peggy Phelan’s tribute to the dying student which begged me to ask why authors rely on stories of their students for such material?, then I remembered a terrific essay by Adriene Heathfield about the death of Tommy Cooper. Adriene’s amazing story about this very odd event invites me to think about the spectacle of living and the encumbrance of visuality. It is really worth it to see some other videos of Cooper’s performances, Heahtfield does a great job of contextualizing Cooper by way of his demise which was broader than his death.
