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The Silence of Chung Ling Soo Preface |
- "Now that man has the power of speech, it is not easy for him to express himself without it, but that is what the silent magician has to try to do." — William E. Robinson
Silence surrounded William E. Robinson. As Chung Ling Soo, Robinson remained quiet onstage as well as in public, hiding the truth of his American nationality behind his Asian persona. His sad death brought final silence to this master magician.
He was “the man reputed to know more about magic than any other living person,” said an awed Thurston in My Life of Magic (1929).
But when the magician dies, his magic vanishes, too. The old props might come alive in the hands of another performer, the antique posters may still proclaim his miracles, but never again can an audience directly experience the man himself creating his magic for them.
This book is my attempt to hear the words of Robinson’s silence, if only faintly.
And now...
Listen.
— From Todd Karr's preface to The Silence of Chung Ling Soo