He’s not holding back

Paul BROWNFIELD seems to share my opinion (though he never actually used the word) that Dave Chappelle is truly brilliant (“Raunch, Rage, With a Smile,” April 18), a word I do not use lightly. I consider brilliance in any artist that quality in which they are able to accurately reflect the confusion, contradictions and utter insanity of our culture back to us. It doesn’t always have to be in the form of comedy, although that is obviously a format well suited to take a lot of chances in, and chance taking is the other side of that brilliance. The courage to tell it like it is, pull no punches, let the audience see the naked undeniability of the truth, and then accept it. No small task, and Mr. Chappelle is emerging as a master of this.

Radames Pera

Ventura