I am officially declaring a temporary moratorium on “I read it for the articles” jokes for this post. It’s too easy and obvious.
But I was thrilled to see Barry Hannah’s name on the front cover of the latest issue of Playboy. No, they’re not doing some kind of layout with writers standing around looking cool while models cavort around them. Rock stars get all those assignments.
Instead, Hannah writes a piece about fighting alcoholism in Tuscaloosa, AL. It’s as much a recounting of his intense relationship with the city as it is a reflection of his relationship to the drink. It’s full of typical Hannah sentences and passages. And there’s one particularly moving passage where Hannah’s elderly father, tired from worry over his son, appeals for sobriety.
All in all, it’s an interesting piece. We even get allusions (although they’re brief) to legendary Hannah stories concerning guns, convertibles, and released arrows.
And even though they didn’t hide the bunny icon in the letters, it was great to see a literary writer’s name prominently displayed on the front cover.
Which issue–month–is the Hannah story in? He’s a hero…I’d love to read it.
The issue is August 2007. It’s currently on the newsstands. Actress Garcelle Beauvais is on the cover.
Hannah’s article is entitled “No More, No Well.”
The great scene with his father is impressive:
“It is a good thing I did not know I’d hit bottom, but I can now recall with clarity when it was. I was in the Bryce asylum drying out yet again when my father came to the ward door and they let me out to the foyer to talk with him. He was white-haired, handsome, fedora in hand but stooped in grief.
‘Son, I’m just an old man. I can’t make these trips anymore. Where did we fail you?’ With his hand on my shoulder, he broke into tears, a rare act for tough guys of the Depression and World War II.’”