Letters from Hanusse

This volume is the third in The Structure of Destruction, Douglas Messerli's exploration of evil in 20th century; Letters from Hanusse was written by Joshua Haigh who sent the manuscript to Messerli because of the latter's writings based on French philosopher/fiction–writer Claude Ricochet, who ultimately plays a character within the work. Through a series of letters Haigh recounts his involvement in the early 1960s with a cult–like group of two married couples as they share a house (in Queens) and sexual favors, and later go underground in Paris. As the narrative progresses it becomes apparent that the writing is heading toward two terrible denouements, one in a Paris cemetery which results in the narrator and children escaping possible death to the contemplative landscape of Hanusse; and the other which may end in their possible destruction in a Hanusse carnival. The story intertwines the lives of figures, real and fictional, to explore the awful heritage and destructive actions of individuals and the culture as a whole in the late 20th century.

Douglas Messerli is the author of numerous works of poetry, fiction, drama and mixed genre and is the editor of several anthologies including "Language" Poetries ( New Directions, 1987), From the Other Side of the Century: A New American Poetry 1960–1990 (Sun & Moon Press, 1994), From the Other Side of the Century ÉÉ: A New American Drama 1960–1995 (with Mac Wellman) ( Sun & Moon Press, 1998), and the ongoing PIP Anthology of World Poetry of the 20th Century (volume 1, Green Integer, 2000). He is the publisher and founder of Sun & Moon Press and Green Integer.