I recently wrote about renegade critic Dave Hickey (1940-2021) in my essay on beauty. That article was entitled “The Most Dangerous Thing in Culture Right Now is Beauty.”
Hickey was an appropriate influence for my essay. He wrote bravely on beauty at a time (like now) when few critics dare discuss the subject. And Hickey, of course, was quite the expert on dangerous things—which often served as subjects in his articles or objects in his life.
My timing, however, was especially good. That’s because the 30th anniversary edition of Hickey’s influential book The Invisible Dragon (1993) is coming out today. The new version, prepared lovingly by Hickey’s longtime editor Gary Kornblau, also includes additional essays—including the two articles quoted below on Dolly Parton and Richard Pryor.
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