The Black Virgin by David Arthur Walters

 

Purchase The Black Virgin Here

Table of Contents

The Black Virgin Visits Brooklyn

The Black Virgin in Egypt

Primitive Vestiges and Anal Therapy

I Thought The Immortal Story Was About Me

If It's Brown Put It Down

Interesting Italian Americans I Have Met

I Was A Crack Adding Machine Operator Machines and Me

OMG-D I might be Moses!

On My One-Sided Conversations With Women

Loser

On The Urge To Gratuitous Violence

The Art Deco Man

I Confess To Being An Alien

Don't Quit Your Railroad Job

My Early Inheritance

I Shan't Forget The Holocaust

My Reconciliation of Accounts

I Was A Frustrated Newspaper Columnist

The Repetition Compulsion Of A Successful Loser

Metamorphosis of a Bookworm

God Playing Solitaire

Maya is Real

If I Were A Christian

The Little Hitler in Everyone

Ghoul News


Review


Rather than reacting with standard political or moral outrage, Walters completely subverts the discourse in this unusual book. He uses,  for example, chapters to trace the lineage of the Black Virgin prophecy, connecting it to concepts of feminine liberation, the goddess Isis in Egypt, and ancient fertility rituals. He brilliantly recontextualizes "dung" not as a profane insult, but as a historic symbol of renewal, agriculture, and psychological gold. He contrasts the modern "city fathers" and politicians who reviled the art with ancient cultures that viewed the dung-beetle form of the Sun-god (Khepri) as an emblem of resurrection and creation.

​2. Radical Psychoanalysis and Social Critique

​In "Primitive Vestiges and Anal Therapy," Walters shifts gears into biting social commentary mixed with high-level theory. Bringing in French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan's famous 1975 lecture equating civilization with excrement, Walters takes a surreal but logical path down the psychology of the "anal stage" of human development.

​He takes a deeply cynical look at modern consumerism, noting that the United States Government and modern institutions treat human worth strictly through the lens of maximizing production and consumption. His writing shines when he uses sharp irony, mapping how a child's psychological evolution from playing with mud to trading digital numbers on credit cards mirrors a society running on what he terms "massive pantheistic idolatry".

​3. The Scribe's Destiny: Bookkeeping vs. Book-Writing

​The tone shifts beautifully in "I Thought The Immortal Story Was About Me," where Walters introduces a poignant, self-deprecating autobiographical thread. Encountering Isak Dinesen’s Anecdotes of Destiny in a cheap book box in South Beach, he finds himself mirrored in the character of Elishama Levinsky, a lonely Jewish bookkeeper.

​Walters reflects candidly on his own career as a bookkeeper and accountant—a practical choice made simply to survive, but one that constantly frustrates his true calling as a writer. He writes:

​"I am a frustrated book writer inasmuch as bookkeeping frustrates my utter transition from king’s scribe to scribbling on my own account."

​By analyzing biblical lineages of names, the symbolic nature of clay, and the rigid world of double-entry bookkeeping, Walters transforms his own professional frustrations into an exploration of fate and personal destiny.

​Style and Takeaway

​Walters’ writing style is dense, highly cerebral, and unapologetically erudite. He moves effortlessly from quoting biblical prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah to analyzing modern political figures like Rudolph Giuliani, all while maintaining a wry, conversational undercurrent.

​Final Verdict: This volumn is a compelling read for anyone who enjoys philosophy, counter-cultural art history, and deeply honest personal memoirs. It rewards patient readers who are willing to follow the author down his many intricate, historical side alleys to uncover the larger truths about human nature, modern anxiety, and the quest for identity. 

GEMINI


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Scrawlings from Limbo

Image
Link to Book Comprehensive Review: Scrawlings from Limbo This collection presents a deeply intellectual, raw, and unsparingly cynical exploration of the human condition, viewed through a distinctly mid-to-late-20th-century existentialist lens. The text balances high-level philosophical interrogation with visceral, gritty autobiographical narratives, creating a friction between abstract thought and the cold realities of survival. Key Thematic Pillars The Absurd and Existential Defiance The overarching philosophical framework borrows heavily from Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre, focusing on the tension between a "deaf" universe and the human drive for meaning.  The Stone and Sisyphus  The essays repeatedly return to the concept of the Absurd—not as a reason for despair, but as a site of radical freedom and rebellion. Happiness is found in the *demolition* of false certainties rather than the construction of comforting illusions.   Virtual Suicide vs. Physical Reality ...
Read more

Miamizacion by David Arthur Walters

Image
  Miamizacion Miamizacion . by David Arthur Walters  is a sharp, biting piece of local commentary that functions as both a micro-history of South Beach and a macro-philosophical critique of modern hyper-development. For those familiar with Walters’ eclectic, fiercely independent body of work—which often cross-pollinates historical analysis with deep philosophical skepticism—this essay serves as an intellectual autopsy of a city losing its soul to corporate homogeneity. The text frames the regional concept of "Miamization" not merely as a local real estate trend, but as a distinct socio-economic phenomenon. ## Key Themes & Analytical Framework ### 1. The Erasure of Local Character Walters uses the transforming landscape of Miami Beach—specifically areas like Washington Avenue and Española Way—to illustrate how authentic, gritty, and historically rich urban spaces are systematically sanitized. He tracks the shift from a community driven by eccentric locals, artists, and ind...
Read more

KALI by David Arthur Walters

Image
Purchase KALI Here ​ Table of Contents Methodological Incantation Kali Yuga Metaphysical Rape Rudra, Siva, Sakti The Thugs of India O' Destructress! Kali's Headhunters The Good Old Days Kali Comes to America The Road To Hell And Beyond Overview of Theme and Voice ​David Arthur Walters" writing presents a highly provocative, sharply satirical, and dense critique of patriarchy, imperialism, and modern capitalism through the lens of Hindu mythology and philosophy. By framing his ideas around the "Alsharptonian Critical Methodology"—where "the facts are beside the point"—he establishes a self-aware, deliberately incendiary tone that anticipates and welcomes academic and political pushback. ​The work positions itself as a defense of the "Lost Mother" (symbolized by a pitch-black Kali) against what Walters terms the "white-hot light of Aryan Superconsciousness". It serves as a philosophical and socio-political criti...
Read more