University of Virginia Library

Current Editor's Final Issue

Rapier Scores Major Success

By Tom Adams

The February issue of Rapier is
the last one put out by David
Greer, who left the University in
December to return to his native
California. During his reign as
editor-in-chief of that publication,
he solved the problem of the
shortage of student writers by going
outside the University for many of
his major contributors, most of
whom were his friends.

John McVeigh, an associate
editor, will replace him. The future
success of the magazine depends on
whether his friends are as talented
as Mr. Greer's.

Beyond Charlottesville

None of the articles in the
February issue are related to the
University or Charlottesville. This is
fine for the magazine's national
distribution and, as it turns out,
good for the magazine's
Charlottesville readers.

T. Darrell Vaughn has, over the
past year, had interviews with Tom
Wolfe, Marc Chagall and Marianne
Moore. The results have appeared in
other publications as separate
interviews, but for this issue of
Rapier Mr. Vaughn presents a
condensed version of his interview
with each artist. All three of Mr.
Vaughn's subjects have of late been
the subjects of many articles in
various journals and it would seem
that no one could add any more to
what has already been said and
written about them. He doesn't try
to say more about his subjects
though, than has already been said.
He merely says it a little better and
does not try to delve too deeply
into their characters.

She Called Him "James"

Of the three interviews, his
treatment of Miss Moore is the
most complete. The Brooklyn
Dodgers' most celebrated fan and
one of America's greatest living
poets. She has something relevant
to say on almost any subject and
many of her more lively comments
are recorded in Mr. Vaughn's
interview. Miss Moore thinks
Miniskirts "look stingy," and that
her friends "treat her better than
she deserves." On the subject of
Jim Thorpe she says "I always
called him James."

She singles out Mount Vernon
and Monticello as places she would
especially like to visit.

It is perhaps remarkable that
Marc Chagall, modernist artist, is
still alive. At 81 he is not only alive,
but still hard at work, currently in
Washington, D.C.

February Cover Of Rapier Magazine Now On Sale

Issue Features Interviews; Fiction, And Topical Reviews

In response to a query from a
high school girl who asked Tom
Wolfe to give her a little
background on himself for a term
paper, Mr. Wolfe replied that "I was
born in 1900, and my most famous
novels were 'Look Homeward
Angel' and 'You Can't Go Home
Again.' Unfortunately, I died in
1938."

Fascinating Crimes

Cecil Benthonic is back in this
issue of Rapier, continuing a series
begun by the late Robert Benchley
on "Fascinating Crimes." "The
Strange Case of the Disappearing
Irishmen" is the subject Mr.
Benthonic analyzes with a great
deal of rationality and humor.

John McVeigh, who is Cecil
Benthonic, has contributed another
humorous article to this issue of
Rapier in the "Politics" section. So
many attempts at humor have been
made on the subject of our new
President that it is a wonder that
anyone can come up with a new
angle for making fun of a rather
simple college student on a Sunday
tour of the White House.

The Opera

Rapier is, undoubtedly, the only
college publication to review the
Opera. The performance of Don
Giovanni in Washington is the
subject of a boring review by
Michael Stratton.

"Spectator" is making a
comeback, it would appear, after
reading this month's offerings. The
past several issues of Rapier have
included the worst anecdotes in this
column but in the February issue
this has changed. There are a few
funny tales.

Greer Remnant

Though Mr. Greer has gone, one
of the few things he did not take
back to California was his short
story, "The Dinner Party at St.
Alban's Road." Some beautiful
descriptions of northern California
and its inhabitants make the story
well worth reading.

Timothy Evans has written a
joint review of latest releases from
the Beatles and the Rolling Stones
for this issue of Rapier. He knows
quite a bit about the music he
describes. His is not the "standard"
review of these albums, the
describing of the millions the
Beatles will make, or telling which
member of the Rolling Stones was
recently arrested on drug charges.

Beatles Under Fire

Instead, he deals with the music
of these two, and quite different
groups, in an unorthodox fashion.
He does not hesitate to attack the
Beatles. He writes "under certain
circumstances: the Beatles are
hopelessly irrelevant, and it is under
those circumstances especially, that
we need consolation." He supports
this and other similar observations
with clear arguments.

His review is occasionally hard
to follow because the reader is
probably not as deeply involved in
the interpretation of the songs or
the groups as is Mr. Evans. He has
taken on a mammoth assignment
and dealt with it quite successfully.

The Cinema

Victor Bernstein is perceptive
and interesting, as usual, in his
review of three films, "The Girl on
a Motorcycle," "Coogan's Bluff,"
and "Barbarella." Actually, he is
not rating the movies as much as he
is rating the new system of rating
them. He concludes, unsurprisingly,
that the new "G, R, and X" rating
system is absurd.

Besides his three interviews,
Teddy Vaughn has contributed
short reviews of six current novels.
Donald Giovanni has written "A
Dirty Story," which isn't what
most college students would
consider dirty, or even funny. It is
best to simply ignore Mr.
Giovanni's wasted effort.

Bad Pictures

All things considered, this issue
of Rapier may be the best to date.
Although the photography is poor
and Bruce Minton's art work is
nonexistent, except in the
advertisements, Messrs. Berstein,
Evans, McVeigh, and Vaughn have
once again contributed a variety of
well-written articles to keep it's
quality high. If Mr. McVeigh can
keep these fellow writers, Rapier
could still, in a few years, be
successful in its national sales. But
that is still a long way off. Rapier is
now a better publication than this
University has had in a great many
years. But in competition with
publications that have long
been excellent, well, Rapier must
be patient and its staff has to keep
trying.