ARCADIE-In France!

by

Anton Lorenz

Last January a new review made its appearance in France, a review consecrated to the same point of view and attitude toward life that charcterizes ONE. This was ARCADIE-Revue Litteraire et Scientifique. The whirlwind enthusiasm of the editor, André Baudry, has produced in the past ten months a fine journal, filling

André Baudry, Ph.D. Director, Arcadie

a gap in the French literary press. Like the editors of ONE, M. Baudry has had his difficulties with the post office. Although the Civil Code does not condemn homosexual activities, the Ministry of the Interior has refused to permit ARCADIE to be sent through the mail save at first class. rates, thus increasing the cost and the difficulty of distribution, both in France and for subscribers abroad. Although the editor urges that readers not be impatient with the articles consecrated to the "scientific"-for by a judicious balancing of the literary and scientific it is hoped to obtain the right to a cheapter postal rate-it would seem that these articles are not the least interesting matter in the review.

M. Baudry does not confine his activities to his editorship. In April he engaged in debate, at the Club du Faubourg, Frédéric Hoffet, auther of Psychanalyse de Paris. M. Hoffet's book is a rather grandiose collection of observations on life in Paris, based on the thesis that the homosexual clique is too much in control-strangling French literature by denying it essential virility. From the report of this meeting published in the May issue of he Dutch magazine VRIENDSCHAP, it would appear that the able Baudry was more than able to hold his own.

But to examine the revue in more detail. First, there is poetry, including a French version of a Michaelangelo sonnet to Tommaso Cavalieri, in a more modern style Presto by Delacambre, and, perhaps most interesting for the English reader, the verse play by Lord Alfred Douglas, Quand Sa Majesté vient... In prose Marc Daniel revived a renaissance tragedy by retelling (Le Bucher) the story of Marc-Antoine de Muret, while Yves Cerny provided a most moving and tender short story, Un grand menuisier blond. On the scientific side are such contributions as Les tendances homosexuelles dans l'enfance (Jean Cambray), L'Homophilie en Angleterre (Peter Rayner) and Les Droits humains et le déni de liberté sexuelle (René Guyon). Each issue also includes reviews of current books of interest, a bibliograhy of books old and new which may have escaped the attention of the reader, and observations on the current scene. Each copy runs to fifty pages (octavo) and from time to time a photographic supplement is included. It is also the editor's practice to address his readers by means of a mimeographed letter inserted in each issue, and recently he has arranged to expand this letter so as to permit friends to find one another. (The September VRIENDSCHAP reports another activity of M. Baudry for the benefit of his "arcadiens", telling us that "the newest 'stunt' is, that an ARCADIE group this summer was organized for a two week vacation. An autobus was hired and the plan was to visit Brussels, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Stockholm.") Each subscriber receives a numbered membership card which M. Baudry suggests can be used to open doors. In spite of the rather high annual subscription (3.000 fr; $8.60) this is a revue which every reader of ONE who has any facility in French would quite enjoy.

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