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Sontag, Susan : Susan Sontag: "debriefing" Short Story: The Recording On Vinyl

Tanam Press, New York City, NY, 1979

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in No Dust Jacket, As Issued. 1 pages. Rare Susan Sontag collectible item. A fine copy of her recording of "Debriefing". The vinyl (LP) commits for posterity Susan Sontag's authoritative reading of her second best short story (second only to "The Way We Live Now"). The vinyl comes in its original cardboard sleeve and publisher's shrinkwrap. There is no ISBN. The vinyl release is now rare. The cardboard sleeve features a frameable reproduction of dazzling original abstract art on the front and back covers. Presents Susan Sontag's "Debriefing". Her great short story, in a dramatic reading by the author. One of the expectations that contemporary readers have about writing is "the writer's voice". It is the direct result of the advent of mass book production, which rendered speech (and the pre-Gutenberg oral tradition) obsolete. Everyone now reads silently (rather than aloud), in either the privacy of the home or if in public, in one's private space. Nevertheless, the yearning for "reading aloud" persists among readers. Hence the enduring popularity of author readings and compact disc (CD) recordings of whole novels. By the same token, hearing the writer's voice through the written text remains the high standard by which we judge a work's literary merits, particularly its "authenticity". When we read a text, we do so not with our eyes but with our ears, paying close attention to the way a writer uses sound: Intonation, melodiousness, rhythm, and accent as well as the quality and authority of the voice itself. We call their sum total "the writer's voice", his or her distinctive personality as expressed and evident through perceived sound. We are also able to hear the writer's actual voice, through public appearances and readings, in person or through media, and through recordings. The only problem is that many writers' actual voices do not correspond to the sound-personality of their work. Many writers we love have terrible speaking voices (think of Simone De Beauvoir's and Truman Capote's jarringly high-pitched, shrill voices). Readers who were fortunate enough to have heard Susan Sontag in person will always remember what a beautiful voice she possessed: Deep, rich, grainy, sexy. As such, her recording of "Debriefing" is a landmark event, preserved for posterity. An absolute "must-have" collectible, not just memorabilia, item for Susan Sontag collectors. This vinyl recording of "Debriefing" is a classic. As far as we know, this is the only copy available online, is still in the publisher's original shrinkwrap, and despite its imperfection (creasing on the cardboard sleeve, visible through the shrinkwrap, issued as such, NOT affecting the vinyl within) is still in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. The vinyl itself has never been played or used. A rare copy thus. One of the most influential and important writer-intellectuals of the 20th century. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER SUSAN SONTAG TITLES IN OUR CATALOG).

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