Henri Lefebvre: A Critical Introduction - autonomous learning

F o r e w o r d
Merrifield’s vibrant writings on Guy Debord, Walter Benjamin,
David Harvey, and other students of the great human matrix. He
may tempt you to cross the threshold to pursue those authors at
closer range. If you’ve already read them, he will recast their
thoughts in the lively light of his own imagination.
Merrifield’s contribution to the literature on cities is substantial
in its own right. It reflects the transformation of the urban public
into a fluid and complex social arrangement of audiences: groups
of individuals organized for the purpose of obtaining information
to which they might be unable to gain access if they were acting
on their own. The information might take the form of a symphony
concert, a website, or simply the experience of rubbing shoulders
together in a crowded place; it might be found between the covers
of a book or on a computer screen, scrolling through reviews by a
book’s readers.
It takes a great audience to make a great performance: it takes
the multiple massing of curiosity, receptivity, and a strong desire
to share—qualities that vibrate throughout Merrifield’s literary
portraits. What we see through the lens of Merrifield’s writing is
the emergence of an audience for the city: people who are drawn
to it by the desire to share sidewalks and shop windows with others
similarly inclined. Like all great critics, Merrifield sharpens
the audience’s appreciation of the experience, as he also helps to
define who we are and to show, in the process, that we actually
do exist.
À nos amours.
Herbert Muschamp
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