The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

Flectere te nolim, sed nec turbare capillos; splendida sit nolo, sordida nolo cutis; nec tibi mitrarum nec sit tibi barba reorum: nolo virum nimium, Pannyche, nolo parum. Nunc sunt crura pilis et sunt tibi pectora saetis horrida, sed mens est, Pannyche, volsa tibi. Not Afro — not crewcut And no way out new cut But something betwixt and between. Please don’t look too hippy Or boondocks Mississippi And try if you can to keep clean. Shave so close but no closer, No eau-de-mimosa, Be macho, not mucho, enough. I’m a little bit wary Of hirsute and hairy And your sort of chestrug’s so rough — But one place they don’t sprout As all growth’s been plucked out Is, Mr. REDNECK, your mind!

Martial, Epigrams, Book 2, XXXVI
English translation by Tony Harrison

吕楠 (Lǚ Nán)’s new book “Trilogy” offers a seldom-seen glimpse at China and Tibet, through the eyes of psychiatric patients, as in the picture above, depicting a psychiatric hospital at 北京 (Běijīng), China in 1989. Very often 吕楠 (Lǚ Nán)’s photographs capture not just the anguish and adversity, but also the feelings and the fellowship experienced by groups of people who often feared and cast aside by mainstream society. Photo: 吕楠 (Lǚ Nán)/Magnum Photos.