Or, on a grittier note, Charles Bukowski's Barfly? Meg On Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 8:51 PM, Gretchen Pierce <[log in to unmask]>wrote: > That reminds me, what about Martha Grimes' crime series? Each one is named > after a pub in England, and the story, in part, revolves around interactions > in the pubs. > > Gretchen > > On Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 2:51 PM, Dubiel, Rich <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > >> All: >> >> Detective heroes who are recovering alcoholics (and members of AA): >> Lawrence Block has the main character Matt Scudder and James Lee Burke has >> Dave Robicheaux. Both are prolific authors. Block’s *When the Sacred Gin >> Mill Closes* sets the stage for Matt Scudder’s joining AA and getting >> sober. But before the end of the book he really hammers ‘em back. >> >> >> >> (I have a paper on these two characters on my UWSP Web page.) >> >> Univ. of Wisconsin –Stevens Point >> >> http://www.uwsp.edu/comm/faculty/rdubiel/index.shtm >> >> >> >> Rich Dubiel >> >> [log in to unmask] >> >> *From:* Alcohol and Drugs Historhttp:// >> www.uwsp.edu/comm/faculty/rdubiel/index.shtmy Society [mailto: >> [log in to unmask]] *On Behalf Of *Dan Malleck >> *Sent:* Tuesday, February 24, 2009 8:51 AM >> *To:* [log in to unmask] >> *Subject:* Re: Under the Literary Influence >> >> >> >> Being terribly neurotic, I try to steer clear of blatantly alcohol and >> drug related literature for my personal reading. >> >> Nevertheless, there is a section of Ann-Marie Macdonald's *Fall on your >> knees* (1997) that is particularly memorable for me. The book is an epic >> story about a poor family in Nova Scotia, beginning in the early part of the >> 20th century. For one section, a young girl in the family becomes an >> entertainer at a backwoods blind pig during prohibition. Macdonald's >> ability to describe what seemed to me to be a likely much more realistic >> impression of the rough backwoods illegal drinking space altered my >> perception of illegal drinking during prohibition. Later the story moves to >> Harlem during the 20s and 30s, but the blind pig is my favourite bit. >> >> She's a brilliant writer in any case, but this is especially evocative for >> those of us who are preoccupied, one way or another (or in many ways), with >> alcohol and drugs. >> >> Dan Malleck >> >> >> At 05:09 PM 2/21/2009, Bradley Kadel wrote: >> >> Given our round table last month on writers and alcohol, I thought the >> following from Brian McDonald<http://proof.blogs.nytimes.com/author/brian-mcdonald/>might be of particular interest. Be sure to look at the comments, for >> you'll find many more suggestions of titles wherein alcohol plays a >> prominent role, as the author's trusty muse or the subject for exploration >> through characters and places. >> >> http://proof.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/under-the-literary-influence/?emc=eta1http://proof.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/under-the-literary-influence/?emc=eta1 >> >> Would it be too much to ask list members for their own favorite authors >> and titles? >> >> For my part, I don't think anyone in the twentieth century described >> gritty barroom intoxication better than James Farrell, especially in the >> last volume of his Studs Lonnigan trilogy. Of course Farrell's writing is >> quite dark, and certainly the tone of most writers describing drunkenness >> shifts considerably by the early 1960s. Ideas? >> >> Brad Kadel >> Fayetteville State University >> >> ************************************************* >> >> A writer, I think, is someone who pays attention to the world. That means >> trying to understand, take in, connect with, what wickedness human beings >> are capable of; and not be corrupted - made cynical, superficial - by this >> understanding. >> >> Literature can tell us what the world is like. >> >> Literature can give us standards and pass on deep knowledge, incarnated in >> language, in narrative. >> >> Literature can train, and exercise, our ability to weep for those who are >> not us or ours. >> >> >> >From Susan Sontag's acceptance speech on the occasion of being awarded >> the Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels, >> the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. >> >> >> >> >> >> Dan Malleck, PhD >> Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. >> Editor-in-chief, *Social History of Alcohol and Drugs: An >> Interdisciplinary Journal* >> http://historyofalcoholanddrugs.typepad.com >> >> Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail, including any attachments, may >> contain confidential or privileged information. If you are not the intended >> recipient, please notify the sender by e-mail and immediately delete this >> message and its contents, and then find someone to blame. Thank you. >> > > > > -- > Gretchen Pierce, Ph.D. > Visiting Assistant Professor > Latin American History > Northern Illinois University > -- Margot Opdycke Lamme, PhD, APR, Fellow, The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations Associate Professor Department of Advertising & Public Relations College of Communication & Information Sciences The University of Alabama Box 870172 Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0172 phone: 205.348.5628 fax: 205.348.2401 [log in to unmask]