Huncke

Having recently moved, I have made a another re-appraisal of what books to keep and bother to transport, something I have been doing for a long time, there are hundreds of books I have lost or left. I had a large collection of 'beat' books, every Kerouac, Burroughs etc., funnily enough the only ones I miss (I'm not a frequent re-reader) are those of Herbert Huncke, not a major writer, but the editions I had of his writings, generally cheap and printed in India were lovely objects (the coloured inks used on the covers of the Indian books were never strong or bold and so have this washed out quality that was lovely). His style of autobiographical writing was very gentle and flowing, he not only wrote of his life but would draw out lovingly the marginal characters he had met in the lower depths of New York. The man was a whore, thief and junky to be sure, but unlike say Genet, he was also a man of honour and charm. Another factor is of the all the beat writers I know very few (or none) of the major writers (who were all male) could write of, or describe women in any realistic way. This maybe because many were gay or were such as Kerouac simply mother complexed and Catholic. But Huncke seems to be the only one who liked and befriended women to any extent, which rounds him considerably.