Edgar Beach reads my take on Poznansky's Bio of Tchaikovsky:

>John Smyth replies to my suggested book on Tchaikovskys life:
>
>>I, too, read this book from cover to cover and found some of it, shall
>>we say, hilariously lurid.  (My friends and I, after a few drinks one
>>night, took turns seeing who could--reading out loud--get farthest
>>through the chapter on Russian Boarding Schools without laughing.) Mr.
>>Poznansky--whose inner man are you questing for?!?

and replies:

>This reply is just silly.  I found the book to be a serious new look at
>Tchaikovsky and I recommend it unreservedly I am not a frequent poster and
>am probably among many on the list who do not often contribute to this list
>because they may get sarcastic comments from such musical savvy persons as
>yourself.

I am sincerely sorry you misunderstood my posting.  I really enjoyed
Poznansky's book and would not have read it cover-to-cover had I thought
otherwise.  I am thrilled that someone else enjoyed it as well.  Is it
necessary, though, to get so upset just because I found *parts* of the bio
questionable? And if I were the kind of "savvy" guy that you derogatorily
refer to me as, would I be admitting that I liked Tchaikovsky in the first
place? (I assume your definition of "savvy" in this case is that of a
dismissive, know-it-all)

>Could you give me an example please of what in the book was "hilariously
>lurid"?

I will not.  For those who are curious, I am refering to the chapter
entitled, "Special Friendships." (Read it the next time you are in
Border's) While it *is* a biographer's responsibility to shed some light
upon the institutions and social mores that may have shaped the young
Tchaikovsky's psyche, Poznansky explores the goings on at the School
of Jurisprudence in such detail that enlightenment quickly turns to
embarrassment.  Some of the biographer's observations are supported, and
some are not.  (The observation that public flogging may eventually lead to
a morbid fixation on the male buttocks seems to be one of Poznansky's own)
A little overkill, don't you think?

What makes me laugh is Poznansky's unintentionally deadpan delivery of such
material--I imagine a stuffy old professor delivering this chapter as a
lecture.

>Is the response "Whose inner man are you questing for?" a reflection on
>Mr. Poznansky's sexuality preference?

Again, you're missing the humor.  The closest comedic cliche I can think
of is that of the retired, politically incorrect military general, (picture
Leslie Neilsen playing the part), who can't stand the idea of women in
the military and fondly remembers the days when it was an all male
institution--but his daydreams are just a little bit longer than they
should be.....

John Smyth