In Memoriam: Hubert "Cubby" Selby, Jr.

Selby began writing after many years of hospitalizations for lung disease, stemming from tuberculosis he had contracted in WWII, while serving in the merchant marine. He had lost his job, and was sent home to die by the doctors, as there was nothing more that could be done for him. He decided he wanted to do something worthwhile with his life before dying, and so set up his typewriter behind his tiny apartment in Brooklyn on a card table and taught himself how to write. 50 years later, lung disease finally caught up with him.

His work is not for the faint of heart, and depicts a world of incredibly brutality and ugliness. But as he said himself, his goal was not to glamorize these aspects, but to dignify them, to provide for dignity even to the lowest elements. His work and life are challenging, but stand out in sharp relief against our picture of the nostalgiac 50's.

There are many fascinating interviews with Selby available online, which can be found at the links below, or by typing hubert selby jr into google. He really was an interesting human being. One of the things that really got me interesting in him in the first place was an interview on the DVD for "Requiem for a Dream", which is really incredible. Of course, if you didn't see it, that would mean you'd need to rent "Requiem for a Dream" which is an incredible film, but intensely painful to watch, and one that I wouldn't watch again on purpose. But if you've never seen it, its worth doing. Of course, its not exactly a friday date movie.

Selby also wrote several other books and short works, all of which sound interesting and none of which I've read. A list of works can be found at the official site below.

Notes:
CNN death announcement

All Things Considered segment on Selby

Official Selby webpage

Interview

A reading by Selby of his short work "Psalm 16" (real audio)

IMDB Page

Another page from the official site, which deals more officially with the CD released by Selby and Nick Tosches, "Blue Eyes and Exit Wounds", featuring recordings of some of their writings. It also features this lovely passage about other possible title suggestions.

Blues Eyes and Exit Wounds was recorded, in two long sessions, on October 4, 1997. Selby suggested that the CD be titled "Suck My Dick and Go Home", illustrated with a cover reproduction of the painting commonly known as Whistler's Mother. Tosches went for the title, but preferred a portrait of Princess Di to Whistler's Mother. The CD's producer, Harold Goldberg, threatened to withdraw from the project when Mother Teresa was proposed.