Didn’t get into the Vancouver Sun ,
but did make it to Harvard
Hunter S Thompson applies for a job with the Vancouver Sun October 1958
A Hunter S Thompson bibliography might include the following;
1967 Hells Angels: The Strange And Terrible Saga Of The Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs
1971 – Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas
1973 – Fear And Loathing: On The Campaign Trail
1979 – The Great Shark Hunt: Strange Tales From A Strange Time (AKA The Gonzo Papers Vol 1)
1988 – Generation Of Swine: Tales Of Shame And Degredation In The 80’s (The Gonzo Papers Vol 2)
1990 – Songs of the Doomed: More Notes on the Death of the American Dream (Gonzo Papers Vol 3)
1994 – Better Than Sex: Confessions of a Political Junkie (Gonzo Papers Vol 4)
But there’s heaps more
My list is a bit confused by “The Rum Diary” which I think was his first book but not published until this century. I’ve got ‘Screw Jack’ but haven’t got around to reading it so I can’t actually place the novel historically by content and context.
I’m going to have to rely on Wikipedia for the complete bibliography, Hunter STOCKTON Thompson was quite the writer after all, he wrote many many articles for magazines that include Rolling Stone, Esquire, The Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, New York Times, Time, Vanity Fair, The San Juan Star, and Playboy. I hope the entry is full, accurate and up-to-date so read it yourself at leisure the man died on 20th February 2005 so I’m going to go out on a limb and say he’s not writing anything any more.
There’s no real reason for copying and pasting this here but it keeps moving around the internet. I first read it in the newspaper that the applicant sent it to, then it went to a number of logs (like this) and now I’ve decided to store it here. It’s one of those silly little things that only take on greater import with subsequent events.
Also I’ve recently finished re-reading “The Great Shark Hunt” and Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas and am reminded that he was a fine and clear writer of political commentary and to the left of the Democrats (maybe even more so than Michael Moore and other left-critics of the current Obama administration).
Vancouver Sun
TO JACK SCOTT, VANCOUVER SUN
October 1, 1958 57 Perry Street New York City
Sir,
I got a hell of a kick reading the piece Time magazine did this week on The Sun. In addition to wishing you the best of luck, I’d also like to offer my services.
Since I haven’t seen a copy of the “new” Sun yet, I’ll have to make this a tentative offer. I stepped into a dung-hole the last time I took a job with a paper I didn’t know anything about (see enclosed clippings) and I’m not quite ready to go charging up another blind alley.
By the time you get this letter, I’ll have gotten hold of some of the recent issues of The Sun. Unless it looks totally worthless, I’ll let my offer stand. And don’t think that my arrogance is unintentional: it’s just that I’d rather offend you now than after I started working for you.
I didn’t make myself clear to the last man I worked for until after I took the job. It was as if the Marquis de Sade had suddenly found himself working for Billy Graham. The man despised me, of course, and I had nothing but contempt for him and everything he stood for. If you asked him, he’d tell you that I’m “not very likable, (that I) hate people, (that I) just want to be left alone, and (that I) feel too superior to mingle with the average person.” (That’s a direct quote from a memo he sent to the publisher.)
Nothing beats having good references.
Of course if you asked some of the other people I’ve worked for, you’d get a different set of answers.
If you’re interested enough to answer this letter, I’ll be glad to furnish you with a list of references — including the lad I work for now.
The enclosed clippings should give you a rough idea of who I am. It’s a year old, however, and I’ve changed a bit since it was written. I’ve taken some writing courses from Columbia in my spare time, learned a hell of a lot about the newspaper business, and developed a healthy contempt for journalism as a profession.
As far as I’m concerned, it’s a damned shame that a field as potentially dynamic and vital as journalism should be overrun with dullards, bums, and hacks, hag-ridden with myopia, apathy, and complacence, and generally stuck in a bog of stagnant mediocrity. If this is what you’re trying to get The Sun away from, then I think I’d like to work for you.
Most of my experience has been in sports writing, but I can write everything from warmongering propaganda to learned book reviews.
I can work 25 hours a day if necessary, live on any reasonable salary, and don’t give a black damn for job security, office politics, or adverse public relations.
I would rather be on the dole than work for a paper I was ashamed of.
It’s a long way from here to British Columbia, but I think I’d enjoy the trip.
If you think you can use me, drop me a line.
If not, good luck anyway.
Sincerely, Hunter S. Thompson
So now I’m going to have a look on the dusty shelves of second hand bookstores (or Amazon) for Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967 – I want a bit more of this guy’s work
