The host was marvelous, keeping things lively. Robert Sharpe has very thoughtful, interesting, wide-ranging topics. And he was ready to find them in Keep This Quiet Too! – vol. II of the KTQ! series. BookLife, the indie arm of Publishers Weekly, has its verdict on the book:

With an eye for surprising detail, Harrell conjures a charged and vivid milieu, even as the story she tells is often painful . . . A journey with grand destinations throughout the globe and within the author’s consciousness. – 

BookLife further calls it: “charged, vivid, painful, grand.” I’ll take it.  Also of interest, says the reviewer, is “her abundant enticing experiences and insights, and her relationships with her subjects.” The review opens:

“I’m not crazier than you,” Harrell reports once saying to her friend Hunter S. Thompson. Thompson’s response: “No, but you talk crazier.” That exchange, recounted in an introductory author’s note, kicks off the second in a series of memoirs (after Keep This Quiet!) by Harrell that examine her relationship with three fascinating men of letters: first that gonzo icon Thompson, for whom Harrell served as an editor at Random House and maintained a friendship with through his years of covering horse races and regatas, and Milton Klonsky, the beat writer who was her literary and spiritual advisor. Finally, there is the poet Jan Mensaert, her troubled husband, whose struggle with drugs, alcohol, and mental illness overshadowed his considerable artistic abilities.

“Horse races and regatta,” that’s a funny take on all the political news tackled. Just scratching the surface.

I’m VERY appreciative of the review, with phrases that lift out beautifully. And those topics and facets were on full display in this interview.

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Margaret Harrell first met Hunter when she was working on copy editing his first published book Hell’s Angels. They maintained a friendship for years after. She is an accomplished author herself, In-particularly of the Keep This Quiet series where Hunter gets a significant mention. For any and all information on Margaret, and where to buy her books you’ll find her site here. Many thanks to Margaret for taking the time to do this. Also I must thank her for her constant advice, pushes, kicks and inspiration.

Then here is my actual contribution to this topic. Many people contributed their own separate articles, which he collected on his site. You can enjoy checking them out there:

Margaret A. Harrell on the separation of Hunter & Duke.

I would never attempt to try to figure Hunter out. But he did spontaneously bring up the subject of Duke to me once. It was after we’d not spoken for many years, and suddenly we fell back into talking frequently for hours (on the phone). It was as if we’d never stopped. However, it had been over fifteen years since we last spoke—years of experience that neither of us knew the other had had. I lived in Belgium (before that Morocco), and though Hunter was a worldwide phenomenon, I couldn’t follow his career as well as if I’d been in the US. Anyway, following his career would not have given me all the answers. On the flip side, a lot had happened to me he knew nothing about. So in trying to broach the details of the interim, I mentioned some inner experiences in guided meditation. Before I got very far, he said, “Margaret, you talk the craziest of anyone I knew.” This was astounding. Me? Crazier than him? What did he mean? I protested, “I’m not crazier than you.” “No,” he agreed quickly. “But you talk crazier.” It was then he explained about Duke, how he’d invented him so that he, Hunter Thompson, could observe. Many authors spend a lot of time observing, but Hunter threw himself into his stories. He was action personified, driving the scenes. So how and when could he be observing? That was easy. Duke could say things that would get Hunter into trouble. And it was up to the reader to figure out how closely that reflected the author. Meanwhile, a part of Hunter could take it all in.

Keep reading the article here and also check out the many blogs on Martin Flynn’s site. He is one of a small group who have done the most to keep the true spirit of Gonzo alive.

Sky Swirls

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Keep This Quiet! offers an illuminating look at Hunter S. Thompson in full throttle trying to make it as a Top Notch prose-stylist. Harrell fills in many important biographical gaps. . . . Read it.

—Douglas Brinkley, editor of The Proud Highway and Fear and Loathing in America.

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“This is my life,
I’m satisfied.
So watch it, babe.
Don’t try to keep me tied.”

—And I Like It –Jefferson Airplane song

In the ever expanding list of biographies and memoirs about Hunter S. Thompson, this latest offering, Keep This Quiet! by Margaret A. Harrell, is quite simply a breath of fresh air. This is by no means intended as a slight against previous publications, the majority of which are solid and have contributed much to our understanding of Hunter S. Thompson – the man and the myth. However, what sets Keep This Quiet! apart is the extent to which Harrell explores the question of identity and myth, in her quest to simultaneously answer questions concerning her own character and that of one Hunter S. Thompson. As Harrell writes early on – “Who was he? There was no indication how complicated that answer was.”

Keep This Quiet! is a fascinating memoir in this regard, one that is multi-faceted in terms of Harrell’s own journey of self-discovery, both in a personal and artistic sense and the manner in which this is mirrored by the events of the period, with the tumultuous Sixties marking a nation tragically losing its innocence courtesy of the assassins bullet and the toil of war. Click to continue reading  on Totally Gonzo.org

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4plJjWc89nE

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Keep This Quiet!

Hunter S. Thompson is perhaps one of the most enigmatic figures of the twentieth century. Keep This Quiet! My Relationship with Hunter S. Thompson, Milton Klonsky, and Jan Mensaert is a memoir from Margaret A. Harrell as she discusses her own way with many of the legends of the literary world in the middle of the twentieth century.  With a solid dose of humor and another perspective on these writers from a personal friend, Keep This Quiet! is a moving read and much recommended to any literary studies or memoir collection.

Keep This Quiet! IV: More Initiations

Keep This Quiet!: More Initiations is an inherently fascinating, engaging thought-provoking, and consistently compelling read from beginning to end. Of special note is the inclusion of exercises to offer the reader deftly crafted practical help in learning how they can work with metaphysical energy. While very highly recommended for community and academic library Metaphysical Studies collections, it should be noted for students and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that Keep This Quiet! IV is also available in a Kindle edition ($6.95).

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Keep This Quiet! opens with the question, “How does the Zeitgeist, the spirit of the times, manifest itself in the world, if not through people?” Margaret Harrell looks back at such manifestations in the forms of three writers she was involved with, aesthetically and romantically to various degrees, in the 1960s. These men were Jan Mensaert (a Belgian painter and poète maudit); Milton Klonsky (Greenwich Village intellectual and brilliant essayist); and Hunter S. Thompson (a category unto himself).

Keep reading the review here

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Harrell’s memoir details her relationships with Hunter S. Thompson, Milton Klonsky and Jan Mensaert, and how these partners influenced her life by the way in which they lived their own.

Harrell (Toward a Philosophy of Perception, 2005, etc.) becomes acquainted with the self-styled “Gonzo” journalist Thompson while helping to edit his first book, Hell’s Angels (1967). She meets the Belgian poet Jean-Marie (Jan) Mensaert by chance outside a coffeehouse in Marrakech, and she discovers New York poet Milton Klonsky in a West Village bistro. Though disparate in age, temperament and locale, all three attracted the author because of her sense that they symbolized the zeitgeist of the 1960s and the coming post-modern era. Each man was fiercely individualistic, consciously deciding to live on his own terms in his life and work. For their part, all were physically attracted to Harrell, as well as finding in her a kindred spirit. . . .

Memoir will likely please Hunter S. Thompson fans and appeal to readers with an interest in the beginnings of the post-modern era or the personal sacrifices involved in bringing serious written work to fruition.

To read the full review, click here.

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September 24, 2011

There are folks who enjoy reading Hunter Thompson’s work and are happy to leave it there. Then there are those who want more. More being a need to know as much about Hunter’s process as possible, the nitty-gritty, who helped him?  Who influenced him? Call them freaks if that’s your pleasure, Gonzo freaks.I’m one. We are out there. Unashamedly. And we love to see new HST-related stuff.

Margaret A. Harrell showed up to tell me about her new book Keep This Quiet: My Relationship with Hunter S. Thompson, Milton Klonsky, and Jan Mensaert. Due for release 15th October.This is no ordinary book about or including Thompson. It’s a memoir detailing personal relationships with three authors, the main focus being on Hunter. I’m going to focus on the HST part but must stress that this book, as a memoir is quite deep and holds the door open for the reader. While Hunter is a huge selling point, the book has the legs to stand alone.

Continue reading»

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*****The Art of Complicated Relationships

Margaret Harrell brilliantly illuminates the sentiments of three complicated relationships. This memoir is a unique exploration of Margaret’s memories, supplemented by letters from her three main characters. The letters allow the reader to become familiar with the men in a way that dialogue cannot. The heart-wrenching ambiguity of what is lost in translation is augmented by this form of conversation. Harrell’s writing is crisp and easy to follow. I found it nearly impossible to put the book down. Her adventurous spirit keeps the reader guessing what she will do next, and how these men will manage to keep up. This rare peek into the lives of three literary legends is seen through the eyes of a legend herself. The enthusiasm she brings to each page in her writing is a clear demonstration of her approach to life. Harrell is just as unforgettable as her characters. She has taught me to always search for artistic beauty, even in the most complicated of situations.I highly recommend Harrell’s memoir. I wish there was a sixth star option for the rare, exquisite pieces of literature such as, Keep This Quiet!

–Rachel Escobar, yoga teacher, Parisian-trained cook

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 . . . While the job at Random House did offer her the opportunity to meet a lot of writers and famous people, it is Hunter that became her secret office romance. The two start a correspondence within letters and long distance phone calls that morphs from a concealed passion into a long-term friendship. Keep This Quiet! is a book about a woman’s life and her loves, determination, and discovery.

Harrell is a great writer, and it’s amazing to see her thought process and inner-workings, as she tells a story. A great deal of the book is personal letters from Hunter to Margaret, with Margaret’s inside emotions written in the theoretical margins. Harrell is an excellent storyteller, in a story that is never about the narrative, but about the real people. Every person in the book is bold and well defined; and I especially liked the notes where Harrell backs up her story with proof.

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