the public lag

I just received via e-mail my recent installment of New York Times book reviews and glimpsed a new biography of Norman Mailer. It reminded me that fame brings the suppression of truths about someone that don't fit a neat marketable image: these only emerge over several decades, often postmortem. And even "reputable" sources like NPR, reporting testimonies, have a brand identity to protect. Maybe ethnography is the only ethical place for this endeavor. Ideally, and as far as I'm concerned, there is no "there" there in ethnography except for what emerges in conversation and interaction. But it takes also self-discipline for quelling ego-clinging to be open enough to what is being received and perceived. Meditative arts and fieldwork would make excellent bedfellows!