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We are relieved to report that our quest to reemphasize the themes of ‘psychoanalysis of politics’ in tandem with the ‘politics of psychoanalysis’ turns out not to be so quixotic after all, though we hope to see more of the latter in future numbers. First, in honour of Joel Kovel, who shuffled off earlier this year, we offer an appreciation of him along with a reprint of his cri de coeur and, we think, still pertinent essay on psychoanalysis and radicalism from the launch issue of this journal in 1984. We also invite thoughtful responses of a thousand words or so as to whether Kovel's piece is a worthy relic or a timely resurrection, or both.
We also present intriguing, if not comforting, therapeutic takes on the contemporary British (Bob Hinshelwood) and American (Lauren Langman and George Lundskow) political crime scenes. By no means does our thematic shift exclude other psychoanalytic areas of interest; hence, the issue also features essays on spelunking into “symbols spoken for the deep” to assess their therapeutic power and pertinence, and a provocative Rankean view of the portrayal of teachers in Western cinema. Finally, Bob Young interviews the prolific and fascinating Lacanian maverick Ian Parker about all the interesting things that are on his mind.
The next issue in December will be a guest edited one that, apart from the cinema and review sections, focuses on “psychoanalysis and aesthetics.” We encourage proposals for future annual guest edited numbers.