“Holy cow! A Dazibao!”: A Remembrance of Simon Loekle

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This is the last issue in which we will feature a dazibao by Simon Loekle, the long-time, deeply valued contributor to the JJQ. He died 28 November 2015 to the great sadness of everyone who knew him. He left behind his devoted companion Nina Levine, Clancy the cat (who appeared in various poses in Simon’s artwork), listeners to “As I Please,” his program on WBAI-FM, the New York City radio station where he was a commentator for over thirty years, and a host of Joycean friends and admirers all over the world.

Simon became a JJQ contributor in the summer of 1994 in Vol. 31.4. I recall that Bob Spoo had seen his distinctive and allusive cartoons in connection with the newsletters of the New York James Joyce Society and asked me to write to him to see if he would enjoy an association with this journal. He responded enthusiastically, and so began our great personal friendship along with a professional delight for everyone associated with the journal. Simon’s first JJQ presentation included a retrospective of previously published images with such titles as “Worstward Ho!” “Try Fast Acting Diogenes!” “Catscan!” (cats were a running motif), “Dublin Fumes!” and “A Bloomsday Broadside!” Other distinctive JJQ features over the years included “Chow Trieste!” “The Mighty Quinn!” “Biografiend!” “Livings in Hades!” “Plum Crazy!” “Protean Supplement!” “Poundwise!” and many other titles of equal humor and fun. The exclamation mark was a constant, and I thought of it as Simon’s last dashing addition to the cartoon’s content, reflecting his ebullient contributions to the most lively of Joyce studies.

An independent scholar, Simon knew more about literature and authors than many academics, and he was to a great degree self-taught. His insights were profound. He frequently assumed the persona of “Mr. Blind Boy Grunt” in the dazibaos with Clancy as his devoted, yet opinionated, Greek chorus. I think particularly of such commentaries as these: “We have been shaken and stirred by Joyce’s drinking habits. . . But a man must eat!” and “Occasionally, the fictionality of fiction needs to be reasserted! Mr. Blind Boy Grunt Seeks a Plutarch” and “Sam Beckett opined the most useful bio would be a strict chronology—coming from Beckett, that would be the dates of birth and death. No more!” He took his unusual title from the revolutionary Chinese public-poster art, which his detailed printing of the text and stick figures evoked.

It is a measure of the affection people felt for Simon that they continue to post tributes on his Facebook page to this day, and they refer to his unusually diverse interests, including Ezra Pound, James Joyce, Dante, “slow, fast, and weird” music, Ernest Shackleton, Homer, Frank Sinatra, Pindar, the New York Public Library, Marianne Moore, Billy Strayhorn, and the Duke. New York friends say they will long remember his live shows, including his Stand-Up Academy performances on the fourth Monday of every month in the back room of the Swift Hibernian Folkhouse near the Bowery. His preparation for these presentations was meticulous and detailed—yet what his audiences really remember was how much fun they were. He interspersed his talks with rare recordings and commentaries on jazz and bebop.

Although it is one of my great regrets that Simon and I never actually met, I will always think of him as a treasured friend, a generous and lively correspondent, and a valued colleague. The remembrances that have followed his passing show that everyone who knew him felt the same devotion and admiration. Surely the word protean was designed for him: he commentated, created, wrote, drew, featured, quoted, popularized, discussed, argued, and declaimed. Holy cow, Simon!: we rejoice that we knew you, and we celebrate your life.

Simon Loekle and Friend in Trieste.