Adam Parfrey

thumb|alt=Close up shot of Parfrey wearing a hat and smiling|Parfrey in 2011 Adam Parfrey (April 12, 1957 – May 10, 2018) was an American journalist, editor, and the publisher of Feral House books, whose work in all three capacities frequently centered on unusual, extreme, or "forbidden" topics. Quotes I want people to question things—that not everything is in The New York Times, which, as they say, is "All the news that's fit to print." I wanted to include the unfit. Interview with Seattle Weekly, 2010. I do not try and shock people. That's never been my intent, but rather to share aspects of culture that I find interesting. Interview with Seattle Weekly Upsetting people is a beautiful thing, because it gets people to think beyond their last visit to 7-Eleven. 2000 LA Times interview, quoted in NYT obit I realized that if I went the grant route, my interests would have to coincide with material that was less penetrating of people's emotions. I couldn't have people saying, "Oh, God, what's that horrible thing?" I'd rather have the bottom line question be, "Will enough people buy that book?" rather than, "Will a few people in the ascendancy of academic culture be offended by it?" Interview with Reason magazine, 2002, quoted in NYT obit God help me, I'm a pot-smoking libertarian. quoted in Mark Dery, I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts: Drive-by Essays on American Dread, American Dreams, p. 238, quoted in Sunshine 2024, p. 221 I get a thrill out of being a professional pariah. Knipfel, "The Other Nazis", p.26, quoted in Sunshine 2024, p. 209 How, why, did I sit with some of these characters long enough to not only obtain quotes, but glean their reptilian essence? Easy. My mind was on the payoff: thousands of people receiving an antidote to the Hallmark Card reality of America. Consider this book an emetic for the soul. Cult Rapture introduction, p. 9, quoted in Sunshine 2024, p. 222 I hear that politically correct forces are hounding Irving on all ends of the earth, making it very difficult for him to earn a living. You cannot express revisionist views in public, or else you're made a pariah. You’re going against very powerful interests with big museums, big money, and a very dependent Zionist state. Speaking about Holocaust denier David Irving, Fifth Path #4, p. 23 interview, quoted in Sunshine 2024, p. 209 Yeah, the Jews got pissed at that magazine I sent you. None of them want to see my friend Hitler get his due... [Hitler] lifted the pride of the white people up and tried to get rid of the commies and exile the Jews where they wouldn’t hassle anyone but themselves…But of course "society" is making an “example” of Charles Manson in the same way they made an example of the Germans at Nuremburg. letter to James Mason, quoted in Sunshine 2024, p. 212 Quotes about Parfrey In this environment, the intellectual with the greatest freak show wins. Think of Parfrey as equal parts P.T. Barnum, Rod Serling and Hegel. The man can’t be beat when it comes to collecting outré oddities. Stephen Lemons, September 20, 2000, Salon.com, quoted in NYT obit External links Category:1957 births Category:2018 deaths Category:Editors from the United States Category:Journalists from the United States Category:Publishers from the United States Category:People from New York City