Paul Krassner, RIP
July 22, 2019 12:56 PM Subscribe
Radical, author and humorist Paul Krassner dead at 87
Charming, irrelevant, witty and warm, he named the Yippies, published The Realist, and made the world a better place. I was lucky enough to work with Paul on a short-lived TV series and he was by far the funniest person on the show.
NYT Obit
His website.
Charming, irrelevant, witty and warm, he named the Yippies, published The Realist, and made the world a better place. I was lucky enough to work with Paul on a short-lived TV series and he was by far the funniest person on the show.
NYT Obit
His website.
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posted by Token Meme at 1:10 PM on July 22, 2019
posted by Token Meme at 1:10 PM on July 22, 2019
Fuck Communism.
I owned that poster. I subscribed to The Realist. It twisted my mind at a time in life when I was ripe and ready for twisting.
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posted by Slithy_Tove at 1:23 PM on July 22, 2019 [3 favorites]
I owned that poster. I subscribed to The Realist. It twisted my mind at a time in life when I was ripe and ready for twisting.
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posted by Slithy_Tove at 1:23 PM on July 22, 2019 [3 favorites]
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posted by doctor_negative at 1:33 PM on July 22, 2019
posted by doctor_negative at 1:33 PM on July 22, 2019
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was able to find copies of The Realist when I was a teen and it twisted my black Catholic officers-brat self into a much better configuration.
thank you Sir.
posted by djrock3k at 1:37 PM on July 22, 2019 [5 favorites]
was able to find copies of The Realist when I was a teen and it twisted my black Catholic officers-brat self into a much better configuration.
thank you Sir.
posted by djrock3k at 1:37 PM on July 22, 2019 [5 favorites]
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posted by oneswellfoop at 1:56 PM on July 22, 2019
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:56 PM on July 22, 2019
For those who wish to view the genius of Mr. Krassner in its undiluted form, The Realist Archive Project is available.
posted by delfin at 2:03 PM on July 22, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by delfin at 2:03 PM on July 22, 2019 [6 favorites]
Satire is officially dead.
posted by srboisvert at 2:06 PM on July 22, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by srboisvert at 2:06 PM on July 22, 2019 [4 favorites]
Kurt Vonnegut, in 1996:
I told Krassner one time that his writings made me hopeful. He found this an odd compliment to offer a satirist. I explained that he made supposedly serious matters seem ridiculous, and that this inspired many of his readers to decide for themselves what was ridiculous and what was not. Knowing that there were people doing that, better late than never, made me optimistic.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:39 PM on July 22, 2019 [4 favorites]
I told Krassner one time that his writings made me hopeful. He found this an odd compliment to offer a satirist. I explained that he made supposedly serious matters seem ridiculous, and that this inspired many of his readers to decide for themselves what was ridiculous and what was not. Knowing that there were people doing that, better late than never, made me optimistic.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:39 PM on July 22, 2019 [4 favorites]
Ahh, memories come unbeckoned to a time when a young person needed only three cultural missives to negotiate an often recondite and difficult reality: The Realist, Crawdaddy magazine, and any and all of the various Whole Earth publications. Ave Atque Vale, Mr. Krassner.
posted by Chitownfats at 3:05 PM on July 22, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Chitownfats at 3:05 PM on July 22, 2019 [3 favorites]
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posted by Mental Wimp at 3:19 PM on July 22, 2019
posted by Mental Wimp at 3:19 PM on July 22, 2019
Iconic Counterculture Author and Activist Paul Krassner Dies at 87 (High Times)
posted by Little Dawn at 3:29 PM on July 22, 2019 [6 favorites]
“Reality keeps nipping at the heels of satire — and lately outdistancing it,” Krassner told a reporter in 2009. But he wasn’t saying that the time for satirical writing has passed. He continued:.
“The more repression there is, the more need there is for irreverence toward those who are responsible for that repression. But too often sarcasm passes for irony, name-calling passes for insight, bleeped-out four-letter words pass for wit, and lowest-common-denominator jokes pass for analysis. Satire should have a point of view. It doesn’t have to get a belly laugh. It does have to present criticism.”
posted by Little Dawn at 3:29 PM on July 22, 2019 [6 favorites]
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posted by dannyboybell at 3:40 PM on July 22, 2019
posted by dannyboybell at 3:40 PM on July 22, 2019
Charming, irrelevant, witty and warm
Surely you mean irreverent, not irrelevant! He was by no means irrelevant when alive, and hopefully he will remain relevant even when dead.
posted by tenderly at 3:57 PM on July 22, 2019 [1 favorite]
Surely you mean irreverent, not irrelevant! He was by no means irrelevant when alive, and hopefully he will remain relevant even when dead.
posted by tenderly at 3:57 PM on July 22, 2019 [1 favorite]
Surely the man who got Wally Wood of Mad Magazine to create a pornographic drawing featuring most of the Disney characters and who wrote of Lyndon Johnson desecrating the corpse of JFK on the plane back to DC will be missed. With Mad Magazine now fading out and the spirit of the Realist now passed on, in these sorely trying times, satire on the edge of a knife is needed even more. Back in the days of the Realist (for adults) and Mad (for everyone), there was hope or us all because someone was there to give us the tools to see through the bullshit thanks to satire. For me, I really miss wicked satire, jokes without fear, truth wearing Groucho glasses. I don't know where to find it anymore. He will be missed.
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posted by njohnson23 at 4:27 PM on July 22, 2019 [5 favorites]
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posted by njohnson23 at 4:27 PM on July 22, 2019 [5 favorites]
An interesting bit of history and a good read is Krassner's write up of his LSD trip with Groucho Marx.
posted by rmmcclay at 6:33 PM on July 22, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by rmmcclay at 6:33 PM on July 22, 2019 [3 favorites]
Paul might have appreciated my typo. Freudian slip?
posted by Ideefixe at 6:51 PM on July 22, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Ideefixe at 6:51 PM on July 22, 2019 [3 favorites]
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posted by doctornemo at 6:43 AM on July 23, 2019
posted by doctornemo at 6:43 AM on July 23, 2019
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posted by Philofacts at 7:02 AM on July 24, 2019
posted by Philofacts at 7:02 AM on July 24, 2019
Micro .
posted by Cookiebastard at 12:47 PM on July 24, 2019
posted by Cookiebastard at 12:47 PM on July 24, 2019
"Mr. Fish", an underemployed cartoonist (who carries on thanks to Truthdig) published a tribute to Krassner that includes much of a conversation they'd had in 2007.
posted by oneswellfoop at 6:09 PM on July 27, 2019
posted by oneswellfoop at 6:09 PM on July 27, 2019
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posted by Halloween Jack at 12:58 PM on July 22, 2019