News - Reviews - Interviews



Such an Honor - Quel Honneur

Uncle Mal is pleased to announce that Maledicta, Hillary Clinton's Pen Pal and Maledicta Monitor were exhibited at the Art Gallery of Ontario (Musée des Beaux-Arts) in Toronto, February 28 through May 25, 1997. The book covers and newsletter featuring Munch's "The Scream" (1895) are examples of its use in popular culture and relate to the exhibit of "The Symbolist Prints of Edvard Munch."



Such an Honor - Wat een Eer

Ewoud Sanders and Rob Tempelaars recently published their wonderful Krijg de vinkentering! 1001 Nederlandse en Vlaamse verwensingen, dedicated to "Reinhold Aman, koning van de vloek in het land der puriteinen" (King of the Curse in the Land of the Puritans). Published in late 1998 by Uitgeverij Contact in Amsterdam and Antwerp, the first 4,000 copies sold out in two weeks. It has a foreword by famous Gerrit Komrij, an excellent introduction, and then lists some 1,300 annotated Dutch and Flemish curses wishing sickness, death, and other harm and calamities on one's adversaries. A good bibliography and a complete index round out this Dutch best seller. Click here for extensive excerpts.

Interviews with and News Stories about Uncle Mal

Reviews of Maledicta Press Publications (1996 -- 2012)

Those available on the Internet are linked or archived below.
Articles in other languages are also listed here.
  • On 6 January 2010, Sven Broder, editor of Der Schweizerische Beobachter (Zürich), published a good article based on my contributions about insults in Switzerland and elsewhere. His article (pp. 20-21) "Malediktologie: Fluchen, aber bitte richtig" is archived here, and the original is here.
  • On 12 March 2009, Nina Shen Rastogi wrote an article for Slate.com about "motherfucker" and related terms in various cultures: "Global Motherf*ckers. Does every culture use the suggestion of maternal incest as an insult?" Her article is archived here, and the original (with readers' comments) is here. The French translation «Nique-ta-mère» is here.

  • On 5 January 2009, Joe Eskenazi of the SF Weekly (San Francisco) interviewed me about the currently popular term of abuse "douchebag." His article, "How 'douchebag' became everyone's favorite insult," is archived here, and the original is here.

  • On 4 November 2008, Dieter Voss of the Hessischer Rundfunk ("Welle hr4") interviewed me about the usual (insults and swearing): "Schimpfen ist gesund und wird sogar wissenschaftlich untersucht in der Malediktologie."

  • On September 14 and 16, 2007, the Danish journalist Jens Rebensdorff published three articles about Maledicta, maledicta, and me in Berlingske Tidende (Copenhagen):

(1) "Fuck dig, idiot!" This is a long article about my work, life and legal troubles. The original article is here: http://www.berlingske.dk/article/20070915/livsstil/109151234/
and is archived on this site here.

(2) "Skældsordshistorie - i korte træk" is a short survey of maledicta throughout history. The original article is here: http://www.berlingske.dk/article/20070914/livsstil/70914033/
and is archived here.

(3) "Skældsord fra hele Kloden" lists insults from around the world, the USA, and Yiddish. The original article is here: http://www.berlingske.dk/article/20070914/livsstil/70914032/
and is archived here.

  • Phil Kloer interviewed me about the recent brouhaha about "nigger" and "faggot." His article "Washington Incident Raises Debate on Power of Slurs" in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was published around 24 January 2007 and republished on 28 Jan. 2007 in The Austin American-Statesman (Austin, Texas) and elsewhere. The latter article is here and archived here.

  • On 14 November 2006, Eva Engels published her German-language article "Motherfucker, Djävels und Evolutionsbremsen: Die Welt der Malediktologen" in LEO: Lingua et Opinio (Studentische Zeitschrift zu Sprache und Kommunikation an der TU Chemnitz). The original article is here and archived here.

  • Vito Tartamella, the editor-in-chief of the Italian magazine Focus, in November 2006 (pp. 38-52) published a great article, "Il bello delle parolacce" (the beauty of bad words). Maledicta and yours truly are quoted, with photographs.

  • In September 2006, Vito Tartamella published his 378-page book, Parolacce: Perché le diciamo, che cosa significano, quali effetti hanno. (Bad words: why we say them, what they mean, and what effects they have). More info in the Bibliography. His interesting blog -- questions from his readers about any kind of maledicta and his detailed answers -- is here.

  • In July 2006, Ella Carina Werner published an intelligent article about curses in Balkan countries, with Albanian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Rumanian, Serbian, and Roma (Gypsy) curses, with information supplied by me. This article appeared in the German publication Die Flause and is entitled "Dzafti kurafti!" (Roma) which means, roughly, "Eat the hairs growing around my asshole!" A revised version of this article appeared in the German satirical magazine Titanic in February 2007, pp. 54-55.

  • Ingeborg Bördlein composed her article "Schimpfen ist gesund" from various previously published material. It appeared in Die Welt of 25 October 2005. The original article is here and is archived on this site here.

  • James Warren, a first-rate journalist at The Chicago Tribune, on 24 October 2005 wrote an excellent report about Maledicta 13 and welcomed us back.

  • Liesbeth Koenen wrote a brief -- but as always positive -- review of Maledicta in the Dutch magazine Quest (Oct. 2005, p. 116), archived here. Then click on "U volgde een link naar dit artikel."

  • David Hawley's excellent review of Maledicta 13 in the St. Paul Pioneer Press (St. Paul / Minneapolis, Minnesota) of 21 August 2005 was also distributed nationally on the Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Service wire and reprinted in The Contra Costa Times (Calif.), The Milwaukee Sun (Wisconsin), The Wichita Eagle (Kansas), and The Bradenton Herald (Florida) on or about 24 Aug. 2005. Mr. Hawley's review is archived here.
  • One of the most intelligent reviews of Maledicta I've seen appeared in The Orange County Weekly (Calif.) on 5 Aug. 2005. Unlike superficial journalists, the reviewer, perceptive Gustavo Arellano, recognizes the importance of Maledicta. His review is archived here.

  • "Tussen pestpokken en tyfuskankertering: Maledicta, jaarboek van internationale scheldwoorden, is weer uit" by Ed Schilders in the Dutch national daily de Volkskrant of 18 Aug. 2005 is a long and excellent essay about Maledicta and its editor's tribulations. It can be read at these two Dutch-language sites: http://www.cubra.nl/edschildersboekencolumn/200805maledicta13.htm
    http://let.kub.nl/literair/edschildersboekencolumn/200805maledicta13.htm

  • The Times Literary Supplement (London) of 29 July 2005 (p. 14) ran a good review of Maledicta 13, even though its anonymous writer didn't like my "Maledictorial" about cheap-ass American professors and other tightwads. My Letter to the Editor is archived here.
  • Harper's Magazine reprinted a lengthy selection from Ken Pontac's "'Please Delete the Following...' Censoring a Saturday Morning Cartoon Show" in Maledicta 13 in its October 2005 issue, pp. 23-25, under the heading "Drawing the Line."

  • Arthur Salm's "Ask him and he'll tell you: He's a man of his words," in The San Diego Union-Tribune of 14 Aug. 2005 alerts his readers to the return of Maledicta.

  • Michael Booth interviewed me for his movie review of "The Aristocrats" in The Denver Post of 12 Aug. 2005 (distributed nationally; republished in The Arizona Republic of 17 Aug. 2005 and elsewhere.

  • Radio Bremen (Germany) ran a series of short features about verbal aggression in various cultures, e.g., "Verdammte Flucherei! Wie Europa schimpft," quoting R. Aman. Other German-language audio files at its site include 3-to-5-minute reports about insults and swearing in Italian, Russian, Polish, and Turkish.

  • Jeffrey Weiss, reporter for the "Religion" section of The Dallas Morning News, interviewed me about blasphemies. His article "What the *^&%$#@!" appeared on 7 Jan 2005. It can be read at that newspaper's Web site (registration required). The same article is currently still available at the Web site of The Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City, Utah) and is archived here.

  • On 13 Dec 2004, Tom Scocca interviewed me about the meaning of "blow" for The New York Observer. An excerpt is here and the URL for the complete article is here.

  • Steve Anderson, a Los-Angeles-based producer, director, and filmmaker, is currently producing a full-length feature film about the F-word (called FUCK). On 13 Nov 2004, he and his crew visited me and filmed a two-hour interview about anything related to "fuck." Because many famous folks were interviewed for this documentary, all but five minutes of this filmed interview will end up on the cutting room floor. This movie may be released by Miramax in Fall 2005. More info about it here for fast DSL & Cable connections and here for slow dial-ups.

  • Vito Tartamella, editor-in-chief of the Italian magazine Focus, interviewed me for his long article on insults, curses, and other maledicta, which will appear shortly. I'll list here the link and excerpt once it's in print.

  • Journalist Esther Hecht (Jerusalem) interviewed me in January 2004 about the special characteristics of Yiddish curses for her book review/article (San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 April 2004) about Yosef Guri's multilingual Let's Hear Only Good News: Yiddish Blessings and Curses. More info about that book is here and her book review is archived here.

  • Rune Øgendahl interviewed me for his article about Maledicta, international insults, and me, "Doktor i fornærmelser" and "Han prutter i din faders skæg," Ekstra Bladet (Copenhagen, Denmark, 11 March 2004, sektion 1, pp. 22-23). An excerpt is archived here.

  • Knud Romer Jørgensen wrote a long essay about Maledicta and my turbulent life, "Verdens farligste postkortskribent....," in Weekendavisen (Copenhagen, Denmark, 27 February 2004, section 3, p. 8). His article in Danish is archived here.

  • Maledict and its editor are mentioned in the Preface (Voorwoord) of Justitiële verkenningen, vol. 29, no. 3, April 2003, "Vloeken, schelden en schimpen," published by the Dutch Department of Justice (Ministerie van Justitie). The eight articles about cursing, swearing and name-calling are in Dutch and .pdf format: http://www.wodc.nl/onderzoeken/onderzoek_jv200303.asp

  • Kerstin Friemel (Hamburg/New York) interviewed me for a long article in German, "Verdammt geschwätzig," about swearing and cursing in the business world, for Financial Times Deutschland (5 Sept. 2003). Her article is archived here.

  • Rik Smits (Amsterdam) visited me for our interview "Reinhold Aman: De VS worden steeds minder vrij," in Wordt Vervolgd: Maandblad van Amnesty International (The Netherlands, Sept. 2002), pp. 18-20. This interview is about post-Sept. 11 USA and the increasing loss of free speech due to political correctness.

  • Sally Jenkins interviewed me for her article "Tyson's Foul Mouth Is a Window to His Soul," in The Washington Post (12 May 2002), p. D06. Her article is archived here.

  • "Macht?" -- Liesbeth Koenen's column about the Dutch Anti-Cursing Society and Uncle Mal's current woes, in NRC Handelsblad (The Netherlands), 12 March 2001, back page.

  • Excerpts from Lori Robertson's article "Language Barriers: What guidelines do news organizations use when it comes to publishing or airing offensive language?" in American Journalism Review, vol. 22, no. 9 (Nov. 14-20, 2000), pp. 38-41. This deals with George W. Bush's comment about Adam Clymer, a New York Times reporter, whom he described to Dick Cheney as a "major-league asshole." The excerpts are here.

  • Spanish review of Maledicta 11 and 12 by Juan Gabriel López Guix in Vasos Comunicantes (Madrid, Spain), vol. 10, Winter 1997--1998, publ. Dec. 1999. (If the connection is slow, click here for review.)

  • Interview with Pat Mellon (New Orleans) about Hillary Clinton's Pen Pal and prison life, broadcast live on the Internet by GlobalCast, 17 Nov 1999. This outfit seems to be dead.

  • "Kubrick" (The article's author and friend of the late Stanley Kubrick mentions the filmmaker's love of Maledicta and cites a "Kakologia" riddle) by Michael Herr in Vanity Fair (USA), August 1999: 185.

  • "Runda ord i långa banor" (Mentions the importance of Maledicta in a survey of significant works on "dirty" and "ugly" words in the USA, England and Sweden) by Bengt Dagrin in Alla Tiders Böcker 21 (Sweden), Fall, 1998: 6-10.

  • "Devil of a Time" (Report on Uncle Mal's skirmishes with Satanists and mouth-breathing moron Mimi Cunt) by David Templeton in The Sonoma County Independent (USA), 12 March 98: 23.

  • "Vieze woorden in de ruimte" (Dirty Words in Cyberspace; an excellent report on Maledicta, the Links page, and this Web site) by Ewoud Sanders in NRC Handelsblad (The Netherlands), 13 Jan 98 and also archived here.

  • "Play's the Thing" (praise of Beelzebubian Maledicta) by William Irvine in The New York Times Magazine, 14 Sept 97: 46. -- Reprinted in The International Herald Tribune (Paris), 15 Sept 97: 9, Asahi Evening News (Japan), 21 Sept 97, and elsewhere.

  • "The Expletive Files" (review of Maledicta 12) by Michael Perkins in Screw, 9 June 97: 18.

  • Review of Maledicta 12 by Chris Becker in Factsheet 5, #61 (USA), 7 Apr 97: 24.

  • "Blanker Horror -- aber gut formuliert" (a short, positive review of Hillary Clinton's Pen Pal) by Ronald Rippchen in Hanf! magazine (Germany), Apr 97: 23. The excerpt is here.

  • "Mob Instinct: Reinhold Aman on the Slang-filled Gangster Flick 'Donnie Brasco'" by David Templeton in The Sonoma County Independent (USA), 6 March 97: 26. This interview is also archived here.

  • "Teaching the World to Cuss" by Cathy Alter in Generation Next (USA), Feb 97: 9.

  • Mention of How Do They Do It? by Prof. Rudolf Schmid in Taxon: Journal of the International Association for Plant Taxonomy 46 (USA), Feb 97: 168.

  • "Schelden is gezond" (about insults and an excellent review of Maledicta 11 and 12, esp. Aman's "J'accuse" article) by Marc Schoorl in De Groene Amsterdammer (The Netherlands), 29 Jan 97. This essay is also archived here.

  • "There are Six Million Ways to Dis. Choose One" by Cathy Alter in Might magazine (USA), Jan-Feb 97: 22-23. Read excerpt with juicy quote about Barbara Walters.

  • "Dubbelte Punt" (excerpts from Vrij Nederland) in Het Parool (The Netherlands), 6 Jan 97: 15.

  • "Extreem gevaarlijke woorden: Reinhold Aman weet álles van vloeken en schelden" by Drs. Liesbeth Koenen in Vrij Nederland (The Netherlands), 4 Jan 97: 32-34.

  • "Fluchen ja -- aber bitte kreativ." German essay and interview by Esther Kern in SonntagsZeitung (Switzerland), 1 Dec 96: 117.

  • "One for the Books!" (review of Hillary Clinton's Pen Pal) by Michael Dalton Johnson in Slick Times (USA), Nov-Dec. 96: 19.

  • "Affenarsch!" by Rolf Cavalli in Schweizer Woche (Switzerland), 20 Nov 96: 10-14.

  • "Mistdreck: Schimpfen kann zur Krankheit werden" (the stupid title of a summary by Deutsche Presse Agentur of the long article in Psychologie heute) in Berliner Morgenpost (Germany), 17 Nov 96.

  • "Die klügsten Beschimpfungen findet man im Jiddischen" by Andreas Huber in Psychologie heute (Germany), Nov 96: 32-35. Summary in Berliner Morgenpost.

  • "Verbale folklore zonder schaamte" by Ed Schilders in De Volkskrant (The Netherlands), 25 Oct 96: 35.

  • "Mozart flucht gemeinsam mit den Knastbrüdern" by Hans Daiber in Die Welt (Germany), 25 Oct 96: 10. Another stupid title for an excellent essay archived here.

  • "Zefix! Bayern fluchen am schönsten" by Anja Kaul in Abendzeitung (Germany), 24 Oct 96: 6.

  • "Wer flucht warum am schönsten?" by Dr. Joni Müller in Neue Zürcher Zeitung "Folio" (Switzerland), No. 10, Oct 96: 83-85. This excellent interview is archived here.

  • "Fluchbeladen" by Dr. Franziska Augstein in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Germany), 2 Oct 96: N-5.

  • "Load that Crust with Screamers and Squealers" (about pizza slang) by David Hawley in Saint Paul Pioneer Press (USA), 25 Sep 96: F1+6. This article is also archived here.

  • "Trading Obscenities: Brokers Are Told to Curb Gutter Talk" by Michael Siconolfi and Jonathan Auerbach in The Wall Street Journal (USA), 19 Sep 96: 1 + A-6.

  • Short Review of Maledicta 12 by David Templeton in The Sonoma County Independent (USA), 12 Sep 96: 16. This review is also archived here.

  • "Jail the Conquering Hero" by Michael Perkins in Screw (USA), 9 Sep 96: 18.

  • Short Review of Maledicta 12 by David Broome in The Grapevine News (USA), 4 Sep 96: 6.

  • Short Review of Maledicta 12 by Christopher Becker in Mundos em Colisão (USA), Sep 96: 3.

  • Short Review of Maledicta 12 by Nicholas Lezard in The Guardian (England), 30 Aug 96: 18.

  • Note on Maledicta 12 by J. C. in Times Literary Supplement (England), 30 Aug 96: 16.

  • Short Note on Maledicta in "Culture Magazine" by Rasselas in Sunday Times (England), 25 Aug 96.

  • Review of Hillary Clinton's Pen Pal by David Templeton in The Sonoma County Independent (USA), 22 Aug 96: 19.

  • Review of Maledicta 11 by Jerod Pore in Factsheet 5, #60 (USA), 19 Aug 96: 65.

  • Review of Hillary Clinton's Pen Pal by Chris Becker in Factsheet 5, #60 (USA), 19 Aug 96: 62.

  • "Foul Language Journal Reborn" by Lillian Mermin Feinsilver in Jewish Post and Opinion (USA), 7 Aug 96: 7+15.

  • "Krassner's Complaint: Whatever Happened to Obscenity?" by Paul Krassner in Utne Reader (USA), July-Aug 96: 105-107.

  • Review of Hillary Clinton's Pen Pal by Rob Anderson in Anderson Valley Advertiser (USA), 10 July 96: 7.

  • Review of Opus Maledictorum by Rob Anderson in Anderson Valley Advertiser (USA), July 96.

  • "Big Ex-Con" (short note on Maledicta 12) by Sam Pratt in Esquire (USA), July 96: 24.

  • Short Review of Opus Maledictorum in The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, USA), 30 June 96: G-4.

  • "Davis' Infamous Finger Salute Has Had a Big Hand in History" by Michael Oricchio in The San José Mercury News (USA), 20 June 96: 16-A.

  • "Talk Dirty to Me" by John Ryle in The Guardian (England), 14 June 96: 3.

  • "Book Tells First Lady All about Prison Life" by David Hawley in Saint Paul Pioneer Press (USA), 30 May 96: 1.-- Reprinted as "SR Writer's Sarcastic Prison Primer for Hillary Clinton" in The Press Democrat (USA), 7 July 96: G-4. Excerpted here (last paragraph).

  • "A Word to the Thighs" by Michael Perkins in Screw (USA), 27 May 96: 18.

  • Short Review of Opus Maledictorum by Ross Eckler in Word Ways (USA), May 96: 118.

  • "Word Play: The Making of Dictionaries" by Mary Blume in The International Herald Tribune (France), 13 Apr 96.

  • "Rude Words: Santa Rosa Professor is the 'Noah Webster of Verbal Aggression'" by David Templeton in The Sonoma County Independent (USA), 15 Feb 96: 15-16. This article is also archived here.

  • "When the Lit Hits the Fan" by Michael Perkins in Screw (USA), 5 Feb 96: 13.

  • Short Review of Opus Maledictorum by Robert Armstrong in The Minneapolis Star Tribune (USA), 4 Feb 96.

  • "Scatological Invective is Time-Honored Speech Form" by Howard Richler in the Montréal Gazette (Canada), Feb? 96.

  • "Making Book" (long review of Maledicta 11 and Opus Maledictorum) by John Strausbaugh in New York Press (USA), 31 Jan 96: 9-10.

  • "Kennedy's '63 'Doughnut' Remark Doesn't Hold Jelly" by Eric Zorn in Chicago Tribune (USA), 31 Jan 96.

  • "Torna 'Maledicta', oscena ma accademica" by Dr. Alessandro Barbero in La Stampa (Italy), 15 Jan 96, "Cultura e società": 1.

  • Review of Maledicta 11 (selected as "Paperback of the Week") by Nicholas Lezard in The Guardian (England), 12 Jan 96, sect. 2: 7.

  • "Maledicta" by Ed Schilders in De Volkskrant (The Netherlands), 6 Jan 96: 43. This and four other articles from the Dutch site The Reader's Museum - Het Leesmuseum by Mr. Schilders are archived here.

  • "To Swear is Human, by Jove" by Howard Richler in the Montréal Gazette (Canada), Jan? 96.

  • The first major interviews by Time magazine (1978) and Newsweek (1980) are archived here.

Clicky