Many thanks to Marty Flynn, owner of HST Books, who has added this post. I have reproduced the beginning below. But I am sure you will want to click “Keep Reading” at the end. First Marty introduces my text:
Margaret Harrell first met Hunter when she was working on copy editing his first published book Hell’s Angels. They maintained a friendship for years after. She is an accomplished author herself, In-particularly of the Keep This Quiet series where Hunter gets a significant mention. For any and all information on Margaret, and where to buy her books you’ll find her site here. Many thanks to Margaret for taking the time to do this. Also I must thank her for her constant advice, pushes, kicks and inspiration.
Then here is my actual contribution to this topic. Many people contributed their own separate articles, which he collected on his site. You can enjoy checking them out there:
Margaret A. Harrell on the separation of Hunter & Duke.
I would never attempt to try to figure Hunter out. But he did spontaneously bring up the subject of Duke to me once. It was after we’d not spoken for many years, and suddenly we fell back into talking frequently for hours (on the phone). It was as if we’d never stopped. However, it had been over fifteen years since we last spoke—years of experience that neither of us knew the other had had. I lived in Belgium (before that Morocco), and though Hunter was a worldwide phenomenon, I couldn’t follow his career as well as if I’d been in the US. Anyway, following his career would not have given me all the answers. On the flip side, a lot had happened to me he knew nothing about. So in trying to broach the details of the interim, I mentioned some inner experiences in guided meditation. Before I got very far, he said, “Margaret, you talk the craziest of anyone I knew.” This was astounding. Me? Crazier than him? What did he mean? I protested, “I’m not crazier than you.” “No,” he agreed quickly. “But you talk crazier.” It was then he explained about Duke, how he’d invented him so that he, Hunter Thompson, could observe. Many authors spend a lot of time observing, but Hunter threw himself into his stories. He was action personified, driving the scenes. So how and when could he be observing? That was easy. Duke could say things that would get Hunter into trouble. And it was up to the reader to figure out how closely that reflected the author. Meanwhile, a part of Hunter could take it all in.
Keep reading the article here and also check out the many blogs on Martin Flynn’s site. He is one of a small group who have done the most to keep the true spirit of Gonzo alive.
Sky Swirls
