In Memorium: A Great Man Meets His Death. Reflections On The Life of Hunter S. Thompson
© Robert Edward Bell
And so it is July, and I sit pondering on the death of Hunter S. Thompson. Even though it has been several months, I have felt at a loss on the appropriate words to convey on the passing of such a great writer. His words moved us all into the realms of the highest of poetic aspirations. At first, I was going to write a summary of some of his popular books, novels, or poetry, but soon realized that this had already been done by the news media. Rolling Stone seemed to have captured some of the best moments of his life, including aspects of his colorful personality that are often forgotten by the biographies, the mainstream media, or the classes taught at universities on the works and life of Thompson. Soon after his death, articles on Thompson were bombarding the internet, newspapers, and magazines across the country. Bookstore owners reported that sales of some of the works of Thompson had surpassed those of previous quarters, almost tripling sales of the year before his death, proving true the old adage that a great artist is only remembered until he dies. It is sad that the public does not honor these great and talented individuals when they are alive, but it seems that we in the reading public often fail to look at life on the other side of the lens: the view from the writer's eye. I wonder at times how many of these people admired the works of Thompson when he was alive, and if any of these people had ever read one of his novels.
"Death Be Not Proud," quoth the great poet, and when I first read of Thompson's death, I could not help but think of old Gonzo, sitting at his ranch viewing the world from his home that he was so fond of calling, "The Compound." Some will say that Thompson took the easy way out when he placed the pistol to his head and pulled the trigger, but for a man of his integrity, it may have been a path to leave this material existence with grace. Hunter S. Thompson was a man of fierce independence, a writer and artist blessed with a talent for viewing the extremes in the order of life, and placing them on the printed page with the aid of pen or typewriter. He was not a man who took the craft of writing lightly. For him, the art of literature was more than the latest pop novel. His grasp of the written word
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