The Herbert Huncke Reader (Paperback)

~ Herbert E. Huncke (Author), Benjamin G. Schafer (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Petty thief, drug addict, and Times Square hustler, Huncke (Guilty of Everything, LJ 4/1/90) led the writers of the Beat Generation from the rarefied halls of Columbia University to an exciting world of sex, drugs, and crime. He appears as a character in several Beat works including Jack Kerouac's On the Road, Allen Ginsberg's Howl, and William Burroughs's Junkie. Huncke lacked in formal education but was nonetheless charming and articulate, a gifted storyteller. Encouraged by Ginsberg and others, he published several books, including Huncke's Journal (1965) and The Evening Sun Turned Crimson (1980). This posthumously published collection reprints these two titles, long unavailable, and includes excerpts from Huncke's autobiography, as well as previously unpublished stories and letters. Highly recommended for all literature collections.?William Gargan, Brooklyn Coll. Lib., CUNY
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Herbert Huncke was the original Beat. A hustler, carny, addict, petty thief, street philosopher, and chronicler of the demimonde, he was the archetype on which a generation modeled itself. In the 1940s, Huncke befriended the young William Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, and Allen Ginsberg, guiding them through New York's underground and introducing them to a world of volatile experience they had never imagined. His extraordinary ability to relate his life story in pared-down, unaffected prose inspired them to create a new type of literature, free of constraint and self-consciousness.

Huncke's work is a vital part of Beat literature, but until now has remained relatively unknown. The Herbert Huncke Reader includes the full texts of Huncke's long out-of-print classics; Huncke's Journal and The Evening Sun Turned Crimson; excerpts from his autobiography, Guilty of Everything; and a wide selection from his unpublished letters and diaries.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (September 16, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688163467
• ISBN-13: 978-0688163464
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,159,980 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone should take notice, December 17, 2002

By	Daniel Roberts (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

There are few authors I feel everyone should read but no matter who you are Herbert Huncke should be read. He is one of the best storytellers/writers I have had the privilege of reading. His stories of sex, streets, drugs, life and friends bring a humanity to what may be considered by many obscure, degenerate, or just plain disgusting, but Hunckes stories I believe are non of these. They are filled with love, beauty, pain and always truth. He takes the reader into a world they dont always want to enter but when the story is finished we are glad we made the journey and had someone like Huncke by our side as a companion.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The true beat, June 10, 2001

By A Customer

Herbert Huncke was the true beat. As WS Burroughs wrote, in The Herbert Huncke Reader, "Huncke had adventures and misadventures that were not available to middle-class, comparatively wealthy college people like...me....Huncke had extraordinary experiences that were quite genuine." The sad true is that Huncke was the type that Burroughs wrote about, but didn't like much. He was real. Burroughs was living on trust-fund money for decades (remember that the $200 a month WSB received from family in the 1950s was equal to thousands of dollars a month now-not a bad way to live). Huncke lived the life that others wrote about, but never live. While Burroughs ate steak and drank fine booze, Huncke was still wandering around Times Square. Read the original beat. He makes the other `beat' writers seem like the middle-class dilatants that many of them were. Huncke never fought for the fame, the fortune, and the boys. He was just a "junkie on the prow." This book is truly hip.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS BOOK WILL SET YOU FREE!, January 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Herbert Huncke Reader (Hardcover)

I have read a lot of beat literature and was glad to get back to an original source.As a long time associate with William S Burroughs and Jane Vollmer,aka. Mrs. Burroughs,the woman he shot and killed in Mexico it was great to get some insight into their circle of friends. Anyone who aspires to keep a journal of their life and times will dig the outside interpretations that Huncke lays down here.I highly recommend this book to people who are interested in sociology and urban anthropology .This book will turn you on to another world and kick you in the teeth.No holds barred.