The news of Hunter S. Thompson's suicide did not shock me. I always assumed he would go out in some sort of violent or drug-induced manor. I don't really have anything to add to the meta-memorialization that is happening right now except to say that I thought the man was a very fine writer. Fear and Loathing is an expertly crafted novel of the highest order.
This quote from The St. Petersburg Times is really touching to me for reasons of personal relevance:
"He didn't finish high school, but he taught himself to write. He retyped books by writers he admired - Steinbeck, Hemingway, Faulkner - all the heavyweights. He said he wanted to get inside the rhythm of their language and find his own style."
I knew he was many things but I never knew that he too was an autodidact. It only makes me respect him even more.
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