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True tales of writers and pirates, painters and potheads, guitar pickers and drug merchants in America’s southernmost city
For Hemingway and Fitzgerald, there was Paris in the twenties. For others, later, there was Greenwich Village, Big Sur, and Woodstock. But for an even later generation—one defined by the likes of Jimmy Buffett, Tom McGuane, and Hunter S. Thompson—there was another moveable feast: KeyWest, Florida.
The small town on the two-by-four-mile island has long been an artistic haven, a wild refuge for people of all persuasions, and the inspirational home for a league of great American writers. Some of the artists went there to be literary he-men. Some went to re-create themselves. Others just went to disappear—and succeeded. No matter what inspired the trip, Key West in the seventies was the right place at the right time, where and when an astonishing collection of artists wove a web of creative inspiration.
Mile Marker Zero tells the story of how these writers and artists found their identities in Key West and maintained their friendships over the decades, despite oceans of booze and boatloads of pot, through serial marriages and sexual escapades, in that dangerous paradise.
Unlike the “Lost Generation” of Paris in the twenties, we have a generation that invented, reinvented, and found itself at the unending cocktail party at the end—and the beginning—of America’s highway.
Anonymous
Posted November 12, 2011
Very interesting history of the Keys. Great stories about celebs and the local "Conchs" alike. The intersecting of lives and how it happens is really quite unbelievable.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I really enjoyed the early history ( 60's & 70's ) of Key west and the charaters that shaped it. They played hard and worked hard--good combination
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.kickstan
Posted June 7, 2012
A grand presentation of the literary history of Key West. Using Tom Corcoran as a focal point makes the story real, current and relevant. Caused me to reread Tom McQuane's 92 in the Shade and order The Sporting Club and The Bushwacked Piano. Corcoran and McQuane - great combo with strong ties to the Keys. Well researched and annotated. You will love this book if you love literature and the Florida Keys.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted November 11, 2011
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Posted September 2, 2012
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Posted March 15, 2012
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Overview
True tales of writers and pirates, painters and potheads, guitar pickers and drug merchants in America’s southernmost city
For Hemingway and Fitzgerald, there was Paris in the twenties. For others, later, there was Greenwich Village, Big Sur, and Woodstock. But for an even later generation—one defined by the likes of Jimmy Buffett, Tom McGuane, and Hunter S. Thompson—there was another moveable feast: ...