Popism manuscript

The Popism manuscript emerges as a collaborative work in progress: Pat Hackett supplied a first draft, Steve Aronson offered to edit it, and colleagues later read and praised the manuscript. Andy Warhol’s diary records not only its reception but also his own sustained work on it, including an afternoon spent reading it at home before calling Hackett to discuss it.

Draft and Editorial Intervention

On September 30, 1977, Warhol noted that Steve Aronson had read Hackett’s first draft and agreed to edit it after all. Aronson thought the manuscript needed work, but found it fascinating because it presented a scene that had not yet been shown. His response joined editorial criticism to an account of the project’s value: revision was needed, yet the material opened up something new.

Reading and Reception

By June 3, 1979, the manuscript had attracted favorable responses from Bob Colacello, Fred Hughes, and Rupert Smith, who were reading it in Paris. The diary records a small but telling change in its status: what had been a draft requiring editorial work was now circulating among Warhol’s colleagues and drawing broad approval. The entry does not specify what they liked or how they responded individually.

Warhol’s Work on the Manuscript

On August 12, 1979, Warhol took the manuscript home and spent the afternoon reading it. He then called Hackett and discussed it with her. This account places his involvement alongside the editorial and social circulation recorded earlier: the manuscript was not merely being reviewed by others, but remained an active subject of work and conversation between Warhol and Hackett. The diary’s entries document this process without describing the manuscript’s contents or establishing its final form.