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itsalexjackman's review
3.0
Memoirs of a Bastard Angel: A Fifty Year Literary and Erotic Odyssey are the memoirs of the poet Harold Norse. Following him across the world and through various social circles, the book is a veritable who's who of the queer and literary scenes, and their intersection, from the 40s through the 60s. Norse was friends or bedmates with a laundry list of people like [a:Tennessee Williams|7751|Tennessee Williams|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1206504901p2/7751.jpg], [a:Allen Ginsberg|4261|Allen Ginsberg|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1421583811p2/4261.jpg], [a:William S. Burroughs|4462369|William S. Burroughs|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1459243207p2/4462369.jpg], [a:James Baldwin|15997487|James Baldwin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1482987007p2/15997487.jpg] and [a:William Carlos Williams|15435|William Carlos Williams|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1199320930p2/15435.jpg].
The memoirs, subtitled a Literary and Erotic Odyssey, follow him across the United States, to Paris, Italy, and Tangier. It covers a critical period at "The Beat Hotel", where he worked with the beats to perfect the cut-up style of poetry and prose, and details his important relationships with important artists of his generation and those previous. The book is a tell all in the truest sense of the word(s), filled with delicious gossip and salacious details, name dropping famous writers, musicians, and artists throughout.
Though at times a bit self congratulating and at others a bit whiny, the book is a mostly enjoyable read that would be of interest to anyone who is a fan of the author or his famous friends. In parts the book does drone along at a laborious pace, but all is forgotten when you get to another passage about the crazy adventures of the literary elite.
The memoirs, subtitled a Literary and Erotic Odyssey, follow him across the United States, to Paris, Italy, and Tangier. It covers a critical period at "The Beat Hotel", where he worked with the beats to perfect the cut-up style of poetry and prose, and details his important relationships with important artists of his generation and those previous. The book is a tell all in the truest sense of the word(s), filled with delicious gossip and salacious details, name dropping famous writers, musicians, and artists throughout.
Though at times a bit self congratulating and at others a bit whiny, the book is a mostly enjoyable read that would be of interest to anyone who is a fan of the author or his famous friends. In parts the book does drone along at a laborious pace, but all is forgotten when you get to another passage about the crazy adventures of the literary elite.
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