250 Derrida 1963–1983
The book by Jean-Luc Nancy and Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe was
published at the beginning of 1973. The two authors sent it to Lacan
with a deferential dedication. He did not reply in person, but he
referred to their work at length in his seminar, at the session on 20
February:
Today, and in a way that will perhaps strike some people as
paradoxical, I’m going to recommend you to read a book of
which the least that can be said is that it concerns me. This
book is called The Title of the Letter and it has been published
by Galilée, in the series ‘À la lettre’. I won’t give you the names
of the authors, who seem to me on this occasion to be playing
the role of second fi ddles.
This is not to diminish their work, since I will say that, as
far as I am concerned, it was with the greatest satisfaction that
I read it. I wish to subject your audience to the ordeal of this
book, written with the worst of intentions, as you will fi nd
out in the last thirty or so pages. I cannot encourage it to be
broadcast enough. [.. .]
So let’s say that it’s a model of good reading, so much so that
I can say I regret never having obtained, from those close to
me, anything equivalent.^51As soon as they left the session, many members of the audience
rushed out to buy a copy. Rumour spread rapidly and Galilée had
to reprint the work quickly. ‘This success was very ambiguous for
us,’ Nancy remembers. ‘Our being treated as Derrida’s minions was
hurtful for us and annoying for Derrida. While we had explored
some of his intuitions in greater depth, we alone were responsible for
this text. But for a long time, forever perhaps, this book meant that
our two names were associated with his.’^52
Ever since the polemic with Michel Foucault, relations between
Derrida and Critique had not been simple. He continued to give his
opinion on the articles that Jean Piel submitted to him; now and
again, he would pass on a text from an author he thought highly
of, such as Luce Irigaray, Lucette Finas, or Jean-Michel Rey. But
Derrida found that Piel did not always share his enthusiasm as
much as he had hoped: this was the case with The Childhood of Art
by Sarah Kofman, which Piel refused to publish at Minuit, before
trying to publish a severe critique of it in the review.
On 4 August 1973, Derrida sent Piel a long typewritten letter:
‘after, as they say, mature refl ection’, he had decided to leave the
editorial board of Critique. He mentioned personal reasons, and
emphasized the interest that he had shown, for ten years, in the
review and later the series associated with it: ‘This collaboration