302 Derrida 1963–1983
Meanwhile, the publishing activities of Derrida and the three
co-directors of ‘La philosophie en eff et’ were being pursued at
Aubier-Flammarion in often diffi cult conditions. Sales of the
Greph’s collective work, Who’s Afraid of Philosophy?, published
in paperback, rapidly topped 10,000 copies, but the four people in
charge of the series found it extremely diffi cult to fi nd an audience
for some of the works that they thought of most importance. On 4
April 1978, Derrida complained bitterly about this in a long letter
that he sent to Mme Aubier-Gabail, the woman who ran the Aubier
publishing house in the impasse Conti, where the volumes of ‘La
philosophie en eff et’ were now published. He had just learned that
she was refusing to publish one of Walter Benjamin’s main works,
The Origins of German Baroque Drama, which mean that nobody
else could translate it either. In the view of the directors, however,
it had always been clear that certain foreign works, deemed to be
important and useful to their strategy and their research, would be
given a place in the series. ‘This is the case with Benjamin’s work. My
surprise – which is really quite unbounded – is all the more in this
case, as it is a “classic” work, quoted everywhere in the world, fun-
damental in many respects, scandalously poorly known in France.’^8
The publisher replied in some embarrassment, on this point as on
the other diffi culties raised by Derrida. A month later, as most of the
problems were still unresolved, he called into question the transfer
of ‘La philosophie en eff et’ to Aubier, and asked for the series to be
returned to the parent publisher, where logistical support should
be more easily assured. Henri Flammarion had already agreed in
principle and the transfer to the rue Racine was eff ected quickly.
But this change of address was far from solving all the problems.
Derrida, who remained the main link with the publisher, found the
work this involved him in very irksome, as he moved from depart-
ment to department. On 8 August 1978, he complained about this to
Sarah Kofman, whose book Aberrations: The Becoming-Woman of
Auguste Comte was due to be published shortly afterwards, as was
Derrida’s own work The Truth in Painting, due to come out directly
in paperback, in the ‘Champs’ series, though the many illustrations
were creating practical diffi culties. ‘I came out of it all exhausted,
but all the same reassured. Let’s hope that we won’t be disappointed
again. If we are [.. .], I’m throwing in the towel next year.’^9
‘There are defi nitely some good things about such a byzantine approach, which
produces unsuspected eff ects. Derrida’s solitary and obstinate labour is already
part and parcel of the great tradition of philosophies of the hammer. These harsh,
rough-edged, demanding philosophies are fi rst and foremost vast demystifi cations.
These redoubtable, glacial thoughts attack conformisms wherever they may be. In
the fairground of ideologies, the Derridean hammer is perhaps one of our criteria
of rigour.’