Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke 1953 - 2012

 Sorry - but sometimes Esperaza Follies is just a platform for whatever I want to say. Today, I have been told that my tutor has died and I have nowhere else to pay tribute to a remarkable man.

 Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke was born January 15, 1953 and was the Professor of Western Esotericism at the University of Exeter. His first book was The Occult Roots of Nazism. It has remained in print since its publication in 1985 and has been translated into eight languages. He has also written on the occultist aspects of neo-Nazism in Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity. He edited a bunch else, with rigour and awesomely analytical clarity (if the subject is of interest to you, google his work)

On a personal note, he was terrifying. He didn't take prisoners. When I applied for my M.A. under him, he put me through my paces, introducing himself with the pleasantry that he was only spending time on me because I had a B.A. in Theology. As an artist, I was suspect; dippy, doolally. Fortunately he was persuaded that l was worth the investment and the two years I spent under his tutelage were revelatory. The sheer sharpness of his thought and the capacities of his dissective thinking were an instruction.

His impact on the wonderful world of Western Esotericism is immeasurable. He it was that arranged the collaboration with the Blavatsky organisation that funded his chair; that designed and described the roots of the course that has set the standard for academic esotericism.

Needing to marry my interest in esotericism with my life in art, I chose to write my dissertation on the work of David Jones. At first Nicholas tried to talk me out of it as there wasn't an established route between the visual artists and the academics on the course, but as David Jones has written a great deal it seemed that the problems could be circumvented. Once this was established, Nicholas was not only encouraging but amazingly knowledgeable. How on earth did he know all that he knew about Jones' background? I'd studied him and his friends on and off all my life and he had info I wasn't aware off. He was truly a well-rounded savant -

My thesis was marked at the Sorbonne and it did well. Nicholas was charming and fulsome in his praise, not mentioning once that it was actually all his and Clare, his wife's, work - they led me away from the obsessive cul-de-sac's and held my hand down the paths of clarity.

Oh la. He was too young to die. I'm particularly sad for Clare Goodrick-Clarke, of course, but also for this years intake of Exeter students who will not benefit form his charm, intelligence and care. If any of you such aspirants should read this, please get his course notes and read his work - you will get the flavour and the grace of the man you had the malchance to miss.