Hey all, we often wait until a great talent is dead to stop and take a moment to appreciate their impact. I want to stop and talk about a great influence in my life and style while he is still here and making trouble. Hunter is still kicking. Y’all know he wrote Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but take some time to read his other work. He isn’t just the guy who gets wasted. He is an amazing writer and top notch social critic. Yeah, he is a crazed drunken monster… but so are you. You just aren’t famous for it, and no one can articulate it like Hunter. For Hunter's work, they had to invent a term - Gonzo. I’d recommend reading ‘Curse of Lono’ as a first stop after ‘Fear and Loathing’. He also writes semi- often for ESPN.com (page 2), and they have published a book of his rantings. Also, strangely, Hunter is doing a personal appearance at a voter rally show at Red Rocks (he lives in Aspen, Colorado) with Government Mule, Greg Allman, and most likely some of the biggest names in rock… not yet announced. Instead of tossing in a million hyperlinks above, I just listed some great resources below. As well, here is a great and thorough fan site out of Canada, go figure.
I feel he is in league with Jack Kerouac, Henry Miller, Charles Bukowski, William S Burroughs (you are catching a theme here, right?). So read Hunter now! He is still active, about as much as he ever was (a book every 10 years or so). Hunter got married last year, so we can assume he plans to live at least a few more years. Hunter is one of the big reasons I moved to Colorado. I still have the first atlas I bought when we were getting ready to move to Denver from AZ. There is only one circle on the whole map... Woody Creek.
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
i still have my original paperback copy of Fear & Loathing (which i recently loaned to one of my stepsons...so as to introduce him to this other, uh, world).
the book is all wrinkled because i let a guy at college borrow it for a weekend camping trip.
he came back on sunday evening and handed me my sopping wet book. apparently, somebody spilled a bunch of beer on it.
it seemed appropriate.
2 - Mark Edward Manning
Even more appropriate would be if it had burn marks from falling marijuana or cigarette sparks.
I'm no fan of Thompson's politics, but Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a great piece of writing and I do enjoy his take on drugs, especially his first-hand information from being a user.
3 - Mark Saleski
politics aside, i've always enjoyed his sort of hunkered down, 'wild animal' approach to stuff.
i think i read the Campaign Trail book a long time ago. when i read it wasn't really sure of what the heck he was talking about (politics-wise)...but it was sure lots of fun to read.
4 - Eric Olsen
his career arc is an explosive ascent and a long slow descent, but that isn't unusual. I loved him in my young adulthood but the schtick got old after a while, still love the classics, though, the energy is electric.
5 - Mark Edward Manning
His schtick does get tiresome, Eric, I'll agree. But Hell's Angels and Fear and Loathing in LV should both grace one's bookshelf.
6 - Mark Saleski
i've always been kind of interested in whether or not what he does actually is schtick.
i saw him interviewed once and hooboy, was he incoherent.
maybe he's just this side of nuts.
7 - Eric Olsen
how strange you wrote this last August Lono, and it just occurred to me where your pen name came from - sometimes I'm slow