Hunter S. Thompson was a genius and now he's dead - Writers Forum

kerpoe · 02-21-2005, 10:37 PM

Hunter S. Thompson (writer) killed himself the morning of February 21st...Just thought you should know

Kelvin07 · 02-21-2005, 11:06 PM

I never knew the writer or nothing about him.

Queasy Dillo · 02-21-2005, 11:10 PM

I know nothing about the man, but I'll disagree with the martyr bit.

Martyrs die for a cause - not from self-inflicted wound.

Queasy Dillo · 02-21-2005, 11:35 PM

Yes. Hemingway shot himself. But that still doesn't qualify him for martyrdom.

Queasy Dillo · 02-21-2005, 11:46 PM

Understood. I wasn't attacking you or trying to put words in your mouth. Just questioning the post title is all.

Drzava · 02-21-2005, 11:47 PM

Good riddance.

kerpoe · 02-22-2005, 12:40 AM

Thompson in my opinion killed himself with his drugs, not his gun. I say this because his prolong drug/alcohol abuse led him to the emotion that caused his death. Now, Thompson may not have been on drugs at the time of his death but his most famous work was written while he was using drugs and it was those pieces of work that subjected him to ridicule and ultimately depression. He states in Fear and Loathing on The Campaign Trail that he used drugs to detach himself fom the pain of living so strictly and his anti-America sentiment is what caused him to use drugs, and his beliefs in drugs led him to death, ultimately.

Queasy Dillo · 02-22-2005, 12:42 AM

Uh-huh. So he couldn't cope.

Still not convinced.

kerpoe · 02-22-2005, 02:03 AM

Alright I'll just take that out, but I still think his abusive lifestyle contributed to both his beliefs and death which is what defines him in my mind as a martyr.

kerpoe · 02-22-2005, 02:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drzava

Good riddance.

Why say that?

Strathen · 02-22-2005, 05:46 AM

I've always enjoyed Hunter but have to agree that he is not a martyr.

The book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was actually written by HST not during one of his drug binges but when he was reasonably straight. One of his editors actually made that comment and HST asked him to keep it quiet. I don't have the quote as my HST books are all in Australia at the moment and I won't be back there for 4 months.

The man was a legend in literary circles. My favourite books of his weren't his novels or the campaign trails but his letters. 'Fear and Loathing in America' and 'The Proud Highway' were fantastic. How he rants and raves yet still makes explicit sense is highly compendable. He was highly self educated but always had his wild streak after the FBI tried to arrest him when he was but a young boy for causing a bus to crash (from 'Kingdom of Fear' I think).

He seemed to be destined for greatness from the outset and it wasn't until he got his on/off again contracts with Rolling Stone and Jann Wenner (SP) that he rocketed in to the spotlight. 'Hell's Angels' was his first big article that lead on to a book and also a chain whipping from the gang as they turned on him. This is all explained in the book and was not to be held against Tiny or the other Angels that HST associated with.

A self Proclaimed Outlaw Journalist and known as the Good Doctor. I will miss waiting for new books, 'Hey Rube' columns and one of my life goals to perhaps meet him one day will no longer be met. I can only look forward to completing my HST collection and helping others get the enjoyment from his works as i have.

I know that he's not for everyone as he can be hard to handle. Unfortunately I cannot do HST justice as I do not have any of my books to quote him directly especially with his political commentaries which were superb. Following the Nixon era, even though I was not alive for it, through HST eyes was hysterical and gave me a lot of food for thought regarding politics and the political processes the world over.

An inspiration definitely. I think the most common book jacket blurb on his books that I've seen is byTom Wolfe and something about HST owning both the words Brilliant and Outrageous. I agree.

My vision of HST going out would be a mixture of some of his writings. I will wait till later before I post it though as it may be a bit close for some people to read right now if they were surfing the net and found this. I think he would enjoy it though.

God rest his soul and comiserations to his family.

kerpoe · 02-22-2005, 01:19 PM

Yeah well said

Cipher2 · 02-22-2005, 02:46 PM

It's tragic that he killed himself. I wouldn't class him as a Genius, or to be in the same League as Hemmingway. I don't see any merit in the idea of 'gonzo' journalism. But all that said, I still pay my respects to a skilled writer.

**Penelope** · 02-23-2005, 11:05 AM

I happened to read about him in the paper the other night. From what was reported I'd say it's a miracle he managed to survive so long. I wonder why we accept anti-social behavior from artists as if it's de rigeur for them to be maniacs.