Looking at Laughter by John. R. Clarke

http://www.unrv.com/book-review/looking-at-laughter.php

http://www.unrv.com/book-review/interview-clarke.php

I wish to thank Professor Clarke for the interview, as well as providing me a free copy of his book for review.

Ursus, you're a natural interviewer, as well as reviewer. I'd planned eventually on getting around to reading Professor Clarke's Looking at Laughter, but your interview especially has put me in the mood to delve into this book right away.

Where you mentioned to Professor Clarke about "the lamp with the liberated women swinging weights while she sexually dominates the passive male from above" -- I presume this is one of the "delightful feast of illustrations and colored plates" that you wrote of in your book review? I don't know about putting that picture up in the weight room of every woman's gym (your funny suggestion for "girl power" inspiration!), but I do know that I want to use it as wallpaper for my computer screen!

Since I previously had the pleasure of a private discussion with you regarding your book review, I'll just repeat here something I'd noticed that others might also take interest in. It pertains to the "Boy Toys" topic we'd had awhile back, in which UNRV member Lost Warrior had asked whether the Romans were in the habit of keeping attractive slaves for no other purpose than to show them off.

Ursus had written in his book review: "Amazingly, some slave owners made a point to own and showcase deformed slaves; as the author phrases it, such slaves were 'lightening rods' to attract humor, thus dispelling demons away from the slave owner!" The irony being that, rather than showing off pretty slaves (as had been the supposition that inspired the"boy toys" topic), it was the deformed and grotesque slaves who got showed off!

Thanks, Ursus, for the review and interview. And, thank you, Professor Clarke for participating! I do hope you've taken Ursus up on his invitation to join us here at UNRV -- what a treat that would be for all here!

-- Nephele

Whenever I read one of Clarke's books, I always think "this is the stuff they don't teach you in high school." I think even my dullest classmates would have been more interested in art and history if they could have seen some of the works Clarke studied.