The White Maiden Male

By Jeffrey W. Morin
Stevens Point, Wisconsin: sailorBOYpress, 2012. Edition of 50.

11 x 9"; 28 pages. Letterpress printed with Plantin type. Printed on Barcham Green and other handmade papers. Sewn binding with matching paper covers. In 11.75 x 9" lidded aluminum box with embossed titles. Signed and dated by artist.

This is the story of Rudolph Brazda, who when he died in 2011 was the last known survivor of the Nazi concentration camps who had been incarcerated because he was a homosexual. Forced wear a pink triangle, Brazda survived 3 years in Buchenwald. After his liberation, Brazda lived in Alsace until his death. Morin overlays Brazda's story with the German folktale of The White Maiden.

Jeff Morin, Colophon: "The White Maiden is the tale of a hunter who wishes for the ancient wines of the cellars at Thurnberg in a moment of great thirst. His wish is granted by the White Maiden but, as a result of drinking his wine, she forever plagues him with a sense of wanting, an inability to take satisfaction in anything. He sees her in everything and everyone. his life is spent in pursuit of her. Historically, the term 'maiden' is gender neutral and simply means one whose virginity is intact. Happiness becomes as elusive to Brazda, who finds his maiden and loses him. His life becomes an unending search for his maiden and his world unleashes a curse that attempts to rob him of any pleasure or sense of being quenched.

"Sitting in a hospital waiting room, I reached for a Time magazine, only to discover Rudolph Brazda through his obituary. I have chosen to weave the true-life story of Brazda with the German folktale of 'The White Maiden.' In a recorded interview, Brazda delivers a frank and rather clipped recounting of the horrific acts swirling around his early life. He makes simple, declarative statements that should boggle the soul and cause us to weep. He was perhaps the last person alive to have worn the pink triangle as a Nazi concentration camp detainee."