I actually emailed the guy who wrote this article because I too tried desperately to find anything on our lovely Clung. He sounds like a really funny pessimist in the vein of Cioran. I'll reply here if the author ever replies with a source.
I couldn't find any candidate Clungs, so I started looking at as many 16th century Laurentiuses I could find. So far mostly Lutheran Swedes rather than renegade Calvinists. There is a Laurentius who's all over The Anatomy of Melancholy, but as a medical writer and not as a sickness-of-the-soul type of fellow.
Edit - If he did exist he really should have been mentioned in Cioran or as an obsession for one of Bernhard's narrators or a Lars Iyer character.
Edit edit - Damn it all:
"Edit: I tried searching for “Laurentius Clung” and I only found the article this was lifted from, so in my weakness and desire for this insane theological position to be real I just assumed the author had access to rare primary sources. I have since been informed that Clung is just a hilarious invention." https://trilobiter.tumblr.com/post/751561497005654016/edit-i-tried-searching-for-laurentius-clung-and
I actually emailed the guy who wrote this article because I too tried desperately to find anything on our lovely Clung. He sounds like a really funny pessimist in the vein of Cioran. I'll reply here if the author ever replies with a source.
I couldn't find any candidate Clungs, so I started looking at as many 16th century Laurentiuses I could find. So far mostly Lutheran Swedes rather than renegade Calvinists. There is a Laurentius who's all over The Anatomy of Melancholy, but as a medical writer and not as a sickness-of-the-soul type of fellow.
Edit - If he did exist he really should have been mentioned in Cioran or as an obsession for one of Bernhard's narrators or a Lars Iyer character.
Edit edit - Damn it all:
"Edit: I tried searching for “Laurentius Clung” and I only found the article this was lifted from, so in my weakness and desire for this insane theological position to be real I just assumed the author had access to rare primary sources. I have since been informed that Clung is just a hilarious invention." https://trilobiter.tumblr.com/post/751561497005654016/edit-i-tried-searching-for-laurentius-clung-and
Lmao incredible bit
If Laurentius Clung does not exist, it is necessary to create him.
"Something can be true without being real"
"unfortunately i made him up" is his emailed reply, so yeah this checks out
Thanks for the update. Tremendously unfortunate. I move that Sam Kriss start exclusively writing under his new heteronym.
Yeah I told him as much, I still expect to hear more from our beloved Clung.