>From: Louis Proyect <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Like many other conveyors of conventional liberal thought, >Thompson felt compelled to denounce Ralph Nader last year <<<<<>>>>>
did not receive above post for some reason, saw carl remick's comment, read louis' complete post at pen-l archive... louis suggests that thompson's end evokes image of spalding gray jumping from ferry, nah to that, while not sure how useful (even as literary allusions) such comparisons are, similarity to hemingway's end is kinda macabre given that one of first articles thompson had published was on hemingway's suicide, description of hemingway at end of piece could have been written about thompson (hell, he articulated rationale - sick, washed up, blah, blah, blah - for doing himself in 40 years in advance of the act)... in any event, beyond their demise and some other possible parallels, thompson dug hemingway, can imagine that he thought - quite correctly in my opinion - that spalding gray was yuppie whiner in time when mediocrity is celebrated (think tarantino in film)... hadn't kept up with thompson for years, although old friend of mine had, he would periodically send me snippets, best thing about thompson (in manner similar to charles bukowski) was that you didn't have to read his pieces from the beginning nor did you have to read entire pieces, start anywhere, his acerbic prose was good for a laugh... while thompson always seemed to have soft spot for certain dems (his gushing over jimmy carter in early 76 was most egregious example of which i'm aware), i don't think 'conventional liberal' tag fit him, he was anti-authoritarian - akin to libertarian in number of ways - who in 'early days' occasionally came across as left-winger *and* contrarian who understood need to 'fight the power' even if he didn't do much of it himself (may, however, partially explain his 2000 vote for nader)... not sure examining thompson's 'politics' would be worth time but have hunch that one would find little beyond the obvious that would hold together... on other hand, consideration of thompson as 'self-promoter' might be quite fruitful in these days of surly reaction... michael hoover -------------------------------------------------------------- Please Note: Due to Florida's very broad public records law, most written communications to or from College employees regarding College business are public records, available to the public and media upon request. Therefore, this e-mail communication may be subject to public disclosure.
