Record of a Friendship

(Ben Green) #1

thank you most heartily for offering Summerhill for a conference. But I
am afraid much time will have to pass-according to a rough judgment
at least one to two years-before such a conference could be held. We
cannot have a conference without having prepared it properly together
with all concerned. I want you to accept my invitation to stay at our
home in Forest Hills while you are in New York. It won't be too com­
fortable because four-fifths of the house is full of instruments and
laboratory stuff, but it can be arranged, and will be more convenient. I
am sure that Hamilton will be only too glad to arrange all the lectures
you wish to give.
The letter I sent off yesterday confirmed in advance what you wrote
about organization and disciples. But it is not an easy matter to decide.
It works as badly with as without disciples, and we have to find our way.
I regret that I had to bother you with this Scandinavian affair, but I
could not do otherwise.
I have an important suggestion to make as to the support of your
school, but about that when you are here.


Summerhill School
Festiniog, North Wales


My dear Reich,


. ,.


August 6, 1945

Sorry for delay in answering you. In the middle of packing up
to move back to Suffolk, and working about 25 hours a day.
Don't know what to say about Philipson. His letter is most neurotic
and suggests to me the "beloved disciple of the Master" psychology ...
-"I, Dr P, am the one and only disciple who understands the New
Christ who is being betrayed by the other J udases." In any case his
letter is absolutely subjective and therefore unanswerable in logic and
reason.
A young man called Barbikan, or some name sounding like it, came
here for a week from London. He began at once to attack me. He
knows all your works and your work is the centre of his world. He
went away saying that he is to write you a full description of S'hill,
proving that it is not working according to Reich Sex Econ. I told him
the school isn't a Reich school. He is quite friendly and honest and
wants to show me any letter he writes to you. Faint resemblance to the
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