Today is Hunter S Thompson’s birthday.
If he hadn’t taken the end of football season so hard back in 2005, he would have turned 76 today.
There are a thousand reasons why he was a great writer and a clear and original voice that helped blur the lines between journalism and literature, so I won’t dwell on those. I also won’t spend too much time singing his praises as probably the coolest writer ever or talk about how hard it is to find an image of him online in which he is not clutching a cigarette, a drink, or a gun. (Which just adds to his cool)
What I will do is put up a couple of my favorite HST quotes, and invite you to do the same.
“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!”
“Every now and then when your life gets complicated and the weasels start closing in, the only cure is to load up on heinous chemicals and then drive like a bastard from Hollywood to Las Vegas … with the music at top volume and at least a pint of ether.”
“I have no taste for either poverty or honest labor, so writing is the only recourse left for me.”
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Filed under: COMMENTARY Tagged: Gonzo journalism, Hollywood, Hunter Thompson, Journalism, Las Vegas, the poetry question, United States, writing
