A Memory of Simon Clarke

With Simon at the University of the West of England and me at the University of Essex, we were, in everyday life, about 200 miles from each other – an easy train journey. It was a proximity that we often remarked upon during our brief annual meetings at the University Inn at Rutgers, when we converged from 3,500 miles away. We often remarked upon the serious discussions that we might have had at a hypothetical meeting in the UK, and sometimes did have during a session at Rutgers, as we sat outside the University Inn. Such was the currency of our relationship.

But outside these meetings, both actual and hypothetical, I valued our relationship very much. I admired Simon’s serious intent to make a difference with his knowledge and research, and I admired the seriousness of his scholarship. His writings are gems of lucidity and accessibility, and I often made use of them as teaching texts. At the same time, they are trustworthy, because they are based on a thorough knowledge of the fields he has addressed. His Social Theory, Psychoanalysis and Racism is a model of clarity and depth, in which psychoanalysis has a secure place within social theory, and in which its unique contribution is demonstrated. It is very difficult to carry readers through the complex thinking of a single field: Simon takes the reader – whether an established scholar or a student – through social theory and psychoanalysis. He surveys the literature, highlights specific issues, offers vivid examples of the main themes.

There are two Simons in my account: the Simon whose work I have valued and used in seminars to encourage students to take on difficult topics in relating psychoanalysis to social issues; and the Simon outside the University Inn, who, while intent on making a difference through his work, seemed

distant from and bemused by both his own achievement and his importance as a friend and colleague. I often wished I could have gotten to know this man better.

Karl Figlio is Emeri