The Bible & Hunter S. Thompson

[Kire]

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Seeing Thompson’s book of letters next to the Bible, reminded me of just how much that religious work had influenced the legendary “gonzo” writer—an impact that was rarely, if ever, mentioned in the tributes that poured in after his death. It was a glaring omission, and one that I also was guilty of in my own eulogy.

In Generation of Swine, Thompson’s searing indictment of the 1980s, he acknowledges the Bible’s powerful influence on his work:

“I have stolen more quotes and thoughts and purely elegant little starburst of writing from the Book of Revelation than anything else in the English language…I love the wild power of the language and the purity of the madness that governs it and makes it music.”

But it wasn’t just Revelation’s that impacted Thompson. His writing is littered with borrowings from other Testament Books, both New and Old. A proud southern gentleman from Kentucky, he often depicted the world in biblical terms, famously claiming that Richard Nixon was evil in a way that “only those who believe in the physical reality of the Devil can understand.” And in a barbed attack on American culture Thompson described Hell as:

“…a viciously overcrowded version of Phoenix—a clean, well-lighted place full of sunshine and bromides and fast cars where almost everybody seems vaguely happy, except for the ones who know in their hearts what is missing.”

The Scriptures relevance for Thompson flooded back as I stared at The Proud Highway and Bible in the bottom of the box. It reminded me of the mystery surrounding Thompson’s brief suicide note. Before shooting himself with a revolver, he had typed the single word “Counselor” in the center of a blank page. To date, fellow journalists and friends of Thompson have expressed confusion as to what the word might signify, comparing it to the mysterious “Rosebud” of Citizen Kane. And that’s when it hit me. I picked up the Bible and quickly scanned the Gospel of John. There it was in the 14th chapter:

More: http://www.rawstory.com/exclusives/blyler/hst_counselor_081405.htm

[BeTheChange]

1. Thanks for posting this

I love Thompson.. I'd have to say he has been an inspiration to me since I was a teenager. His writings taught me to question "truth".. and to regularly explore the boundaries of reality.

One can only guess what HST what Counselor meant.. but I think that he mighta liked the corrolation this writer has drawn. It seems fitting to me that a man so full of love, concern and decency at the core, would have picked a passage from the most loving and relational book of the bible to allude to in his final farewell.

Thanks.