I think one of the
characteristics of a "great writer" is their level of influence that
lives on long after they have passed on. I wrote this 10 years ago (2/21/2005)
and it seems as relevant today...
"Buy the ticket...take the ride."
So said self-styled
counter-culture journalist Hunter S. Thompson who ended his own weird and
strange trip with a self-inflicted shotgun wound at the age of 67. And like
Ernest Hemingway, one of his larger literary influences, Thompson built an
impressive reputation of his own while at the same time his real-life
adventures became legendary.
Few can deny that
Hemingway thoroughly lived out his stories – whether it involved covering the
war front or staring down the barrel at a charging lion on safari – and so did
Thompson in his own way. He not only wrote about but rode WITH the Hell's
Angels to gather material for his first book in the 1960s, and in the end he
found himself taking a savage beating from gang members. How's THAT for doing
your research? In the 70s he took a twisted trip out west with his attorney to
cover a road race and instead came back with "Fear & Loathing in Las
Vegas," a classic look at the decadent and depraved side of the American
Dream. He penned one of the best political books on national elections when he
covered the 1972 presidential campaign, giving us – among other things – an
insider's look at Nixon pre-Watergate. With the coming of the 80s and the rise
of Reagan and the new conservatism, Thompson continued to take a cynical look
at what he considered an increasingly soft and simpleminded society.
Those familiar with
Hunter Thompson's writings know that HE was as much the story as the story was
itself. As one of the originators of a new form of reporting labeled
"gonzo journalism," he not only covered the story – which he did
remarkably well considering his often altered state of mind – but he went one
step further by injecting himself into the action completely.
But his first-person
accounts never got in the way of the story; if anything, his
stream-of-conscious views only served to sharpen and enhance the reader's feel
for the facts, shaping the mood and reality in his own unique way. Thompson
knew exactly what he was doing. He was, after all, in his own words, a
professional. Fewer people could lash together words like Thompson and make a
typewriter sing so sweetly and clearly...especially after ingesting mass
quantities of alcohol and illegal drugs.
In the end, like
Hemingway, and for reasons known only to him, Hunter Thompson decided to leave
this world on his terms and timing. And, in an era when we learn that the White
House is now in the business of surreptitiously funding journalists to slant
reporting in favor of their policies, the world truly is at a loss with the
passing of someone like Thompson. He not only defined the "edge" but
he also defied it every day, both in his writing and his personal life.
Godspeed, Hunter.
May there be no more Fear or Loathing wherever you are.
(C) Martin Walsh 2015
