Paul Krassner - In Praise of Indecency: The Leading Investigative Satirist Sounds Off on Hypocrisy, Censorship and Free Expression

IN PRAISE OF

indecency

IN PRAISE OF

indecency

THE LEADING INVESTIGATIVE
SATIRIST SOUNDS OFF ON HYPOCRISY, CENSORSHIP
AND FREE EXPRESSION

BY PAUL KRASSNER

For Margo St. James,
who continues to serve on the front lines
of the Womens Liberation Movement

Copyright 2009 by Paul Krassner

All rights reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in newspaper, magazine, radio, television, or online reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in the United States by Cleis Press Inc.,

P.O. Box 14697, San Francisco, California 94114.

Printed in Canada.

Cover design: Scott Idleman

Cover photograph: Alfred Gescheidt/Getty Images

Text design: Frank Wiedemann

Cleis logo art: Juana Alicia

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Krassner, Paul.
In praise of indecency / Paul Krassner.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-57344-350-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Satire, American. I. Title.

PS3561.R286I5 2009

814.54--dc22

2009006703

SUSIE BRIGHT
INTERVIEWS PAUL KRASSNER

SUSIE BRIGHT INTERVIEWS PAUL KRASSNER

Susie: Paul, whats the story of the first dirty picture you ever saw?

Paul: When I was eleven or twelve, my older brother, George, had somehow obtained nude photos of movie stars, like Rita Hayworth and Burt Lancaster.

What are these for? I asked.

To give you a hard-on, he replied.

And so we started selling them for 75 cents each. Our parents never knew. In retrospect, it seems like destiny that I ended up writing a column, One Hand Jerking, for AVN (Adult Video News) Onlinea slick magazine that serves as a trade journal for the vast, lucrative Internet porn industrywhere the content of In Praise of Indecency originally appeared.

Also in junior high school, my classmates were passing around these little three inches high by four inches wide anonymous, underground, eight-page comics, known as fuck books, consisting of comic-strip characters, famous actors, sports heroes, political figures, traveling salesmen and notorious criminalsall having sex, accompanied by vulgar speech balloons.

In 1997, Simon & Schuster published Tijuana Bibles: Art and Wit in Americas Forbidden Funnies, 1930s-1950s. In an introductory essay, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Art Spiegelman wrote: "... This sort of psycho-sociological analysis is important, but inevitably sounds like a defensive ploy to inject Socially Redeeming Value into the concupiscent stew. Paul Krassner, editor of The Realist and, briefly, Hustler, aptly insisted that appealing to the prurient interest is a socially redeeming value.

Susie: You were a child prodigy at the violin... was there any erotic aspect to playing the strings, or learning that discipline, obvious or not so obvious?

Paul: I began playing the violin when I was three years old, practiced myself right out of my childhood, and didnt really wake up to my own existence until I was six, onstage, playing the Vivaldi Concerto in A Minor, in the process of becoming the youngest concert artist ever to perform at Carnegie Hall. There was nothing erotic about it.

However, the next year, I saw my first movie, Intermezzo. It was also Ingrid Bergmans first movie. She fell in love with her violin teacher, and I fell in love with the background-music theme, the song Intermezzo. I couldnt fathom why it just felt so good to hear this specific combination of notes in a certain order with a particular rhythm, but it gave me such pleasure to keep humming that sweet melody over and over to myself. It was like having a secret companion. Now that was an erotic experience, not to my genitals but to the depths of my soul. I couldnt wait to tell my violin teacher that I wanted to learn how to play Intermezzo. But he obviously didnt share my enthusiasm. Intermezzo? he sneered. Thats not right for you. His words reverberated in my heart. Thats not right for you! How could he know what was right for me? This wasnt merely a turndown of my request. It was a universal declaration of war upon the individual.

Susie: So many people have a Deep Throat or Linda Lovelace story. I washed her car, for a few bucks, parked up the street, when I was in high school. My first acid trip coincided with seeing her introduce Deep Purple at a monster rock fest on a desert racetrack.... Whats yours?

Paul:Deep Throat inspired me to write a little bookTales of Tongue Fu, a New Age media satire about a man with a 15-inch tonguewhich has just been republished. In this fable, Tongue Fu sees the movie and considers Linda Lovelace to be his soul mate because her clitoris is in her throat.

Susie: And really... have you ever been in a porn film?

Paul: No, not that I know of... unless, of course, there was a hidden camera in the room.

Susie: What is the best drug, in your experience, to accompany sex? The worst? I asked a group of older folks once, about their favorite combo, and they said: pot and espresso.

Paul: The best enhancer has always been marijuana, combined with LSD, and later on a terrific aphrodisiac called MDA which would have been distributed in America by one of Charles Mansons victimsand, more recently, good old Ecstasy. I was once going to be in a threesome with two ex-girlfriends, but we had all ingested Quaaludes and fell asleep. That turned out to be the worst.

Susie: Are you jealous, or have you been attracted to jealous lovers? What is your masochism tango on the monogamy question?

Paul: As for jealousy, I only experienced it when I felt insecure in a relationship. And I was distracted by jealous lovers who kept needing reassurance. As for masochism tango, well, thats a loaded question. Im totally pro-choice about abortion rights, drug use, ice-cream flavors and sexual practices. So, in my life, there have been times when Ive enjoyed promiscuity, other times when Ive enjoyed celibacy, and currently Im enjoying monogamy with my wife, Nancy, not because of any wedding vows we tookobviously, marital vow-taking has never prevented adulterybut rather because its my choice.

Susie: When you were a kid, who did you think were the sexiest stars?

Paul: Ann Sheridan was an actress who became my first fantasy babe.

Susie: How did that change, or not, as you grew up?

Paul: Later it was Brigitte Bardot. And the latest was Halle Berry.

Susie: Women often say, when asked why they were attracted to a man, that he was funny, he made me laugh. Not so many men would answer that way when asked about a womans appeal. What do you make of that?

Paul: Well, virtually every man I know is attracted by a womans sense of humor. Personally, I find it almost inextricable from physical attraction. Occasionally, in fact, when a woman has made me laugh, Ive actually gotten an erection.

Susie: Did you ever give your daughter sexual or romantic advice? What was the result?