OUT OF THE BAG

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

OF PAIN AND COURAGE

Thank you for publishing the wonderful articles by Francine du Plessix Gray about Klaus Barbie’s forthcoming trial [“When Memory Goes,” October and November]. It brought a flood of memories which time had covered but not erased: I am Frenchborn and grew up in Paris during the Nazi occupation, the daughter of resisters. Francine du Plessix Gray is to be commended for her moral courage and intellectual honesty; few among us are ready to face the truth. Yet the bitterness and the cowardice, the guilt and the pain do not preclude hope: the story had to be told and it was beautifully done.

Nelly Marans Brooklyn, New York

Your two articles on Klaus Barbie were a tour de force. Francine du Plessix Gray explained for all posterity one of the dark, evil periods of world society.

Abraham Ribicoff Cornwall Bridge, Connecticut

WHY JOHNNY CANT THINK

It is difficult to understand how a magazine that purports to be as sophisticated as Vanity Fair could publish an article as simplistic as Judith Martin’s “Putting on the Dogma” [October]. There is no necessary dichotomy between the rote-method discipline required to master the basics and the freedom required to think independently. However, the latter does require flexible, nurturing teachers. In great measure, this is exactly what we lack.

Winifred Bell Pittsfield, Massachusetts

PUN CONTROL

After pestering my friends to take your splendid new magazine, I opened the latest issue to find it awash in a sea of “cute” punning leaders. For the same reason I cannot bring myself to lunch at “Quel Fromage,” I cannot bring myself to buy another copy of Vanity Fair. I had so hoped the phoenix would fly.

Ray Leedy Seattle, Washington

POETIC LAURELS

Because of the pleasure I got from Joseph Brodsky’s tribute to W. H. Auden [“To Please a Shadow,” October], I read more of Auden’s works. Yes, the poetry is great, but just as great is this fresh account of one man’s appreciation of another.

Merike Lugus Toronto, Ontario

BLANK PAGES

I find Vanity Fair to be the epitome of pretension. Your writers are capable of filling pages and pages with little or nothing. In my opinion the magazine should once again be revamped: in no way can it compare with the original Vanity Fair.

James I. Meyer New York, New York

Isn’t it possible, in your classic and historic publication, to revive the declarative sentence? Sarcasm, highflown flippancy, and an editorial policy of “way-outness” are pitiful substitutes for on-the-mark copy.

James A. Leftwich La Jolla, California

FRENCH TOAST

“Clouk: Four Unexpected Stories” by Colette [October] was an absolute delight. Your selection of her writings rekindled my interest in Colette’s works to the extent that when I finished reading that issue, I immediately went to a bookstore and purchased a copy of The Vagabond.

It has been a joy to be reintroduced to Colette and even more of a joy to make the discovery of your superb publication.

Kathryn Kallvet Sacramento, California

PICTURE PERFECT

Take your art department out for dinner, and buy the woman in charge of photographs a corsage. The art direction alone is worth the price of Vanity Fair.

Roy Garrison Riviera, Arizona

CULTURAL EXCHANGE

It was a pleasure to read “High Noon in Latin America” by Carlos Fuentes [September], As our nation commits more in the way of military, money, and media to Latin America, we must be exposed to the varying and conflicting perspectives held by informed commentators.

Graham C. Grady Chicago, Illinois

MISTAKEN IDENTITY

I’m writing to compliment Bobbie Ann Mason for re-creating the fun of the Edgar Awards [“Art of Darkness,” October]. If I hadn’t been there, her account would make me regret having missed it.

I would like to make one point, however. My husband and I told the author that our involvement with the police department was strictly as auxiliaries, done on a weekly basis for no pay whatsoever. To describe us as “cops” suggests that we misrepresented ourselves, which was not the case.

Tiffany Holmes New York, New York