HIP LIT REVIEW
In Love With Hell
Hastings Book Launch for Respected Local Writer
Long established writer William Palmer has a string of novels, poetry collections and critical reviews for literary journals under his belt. A resident of St Leonards for the past two years, his latest work is published in paperback this month with a local launch at The Hastings Bookshop in the town centre. The hardback came out in 2021 from Little Brown and was widely reviewed.
In Love With Hell: Drink in the Lives and Work of Eleven Writers is an intriguing departure from Palmer’s usual work. Here he has chosen eleven literary figures from the past – including Dylan Thomas, Jean Rhys, Flann O’Brien, Elizabeth Bishop and Kingsley Amis – and explored each one’s relationship with alcohol and how it may have affected their writing and literary journeys, as well as other aspects of their lives.
Although not the first author to examine this topic, Palmer’s analysis is professionally researched and astutely observed, bringing his own empathic insights into the mix to create a book as difficult to put down as a bottle may be to the alcoholic or hard drinker. Does excessive drinking destroy a writer or facilitate creativity to the point of potential genius? Do inspired, original, innovative writing and heavy drinking necessarily work well together, or is this simply an exaggerated and over-romanticised cliché? These are questions with no definitive answer. This book offers some valuable clues and is guaranteed to leave you thinking about why so many acclaimed authors drank so much during their lifetimes – and why some of the writers of today undoubtedly do so too.
• The paperback launch of In Love With Hell: Drink in the Lives and Work of Eleven Writers is at 6 pm on Friday 29th July at The Hastings Bookshop in Trinity Street and William Palmer will be on hand to sign copies.
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