Steinberg’s heroes have always been alcoholic writers

[YankeeFan]

Chicago Magazine on Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg, who has a new book out:

The Last Round

The Chicago Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg reveled in his role as a hard-drinking writer in the old mold. Then one awful night, his wife had to call the police

At a small Japanese restaurant in River north, Neil Steinberg, 47, settles into a back booth. Shooting his cuffs—his shirt is impeccably starched, his suit a ringer for one from Savile Row—he peers through his glasses and studies the menu. He knows Japanese food, thanks in part to visiting his older brother, Sam, who lived in Tokyo for several years, and he loves it. So he decides: For lunch, he will have the combination box of sushi. And to drink: He orders hot tea.

He understands that everyone will want to know what he is drinking. “I am, after all, the most famous drunk in Chicago now,” he says.

http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/June-2008/The-Last-Round/

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Sadly, the best writers are usually the biggest drinkers or drunks.

I had an editor tell me, "A happy writer is a bad writer."

I think there is a lot of truth to that.

 

[Dick Whitman]

I'm trying to get my head around the idea of drinking 40 oz. of hard liquor in a single day.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I'm trying to get my head around the idea of drinking 40 oz. of hard liquor in a single day.

I worked with a columnist who probably did that on most days. It was rare to see him when he didn't at least have a buzz going.

 

[Dick Whitman]

I can honestly say I'm not sure I've ever been around or known someone who was a true alcoholic. I've been around plenty of bar flies or guys who liked to occasionally tie one on, including myself at periods of my life. But the guy who has a drink at 9 a.m. or hides a flask in his office drawer? I've never known that guy.

 

[MisterCreosote]

At my worst, I could easily consume a fifth of whiskey in one sitting (meaning 3-4 hours).

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Yeah, the guy I worked with belongs in the drunk hall of fame. I picked him up at his house once to take him to the airport (a 20 minute drive) and we were barely out of his driveway and he was drinking out of a flask.

He was such a drunk and would get so pissed if I wasn't drinking that I would order diet cokes and have them put it in the rum and coke glass with the stirrer. I'm amazed he's still alive.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I've always thought there is a big difference between big drinkers and a true alcoholic.

The guy who drinks in the morning on a normal day or drinks by himself (I'm not talking about drinking a couple beers while watching a game) are the alcoholics.

 

[MisterCreosote]

To me, you're not a "true alcoholic" until you start lying about it.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

I'm trying to get my head around why I am reading a six-year-old article.

 

[YankeeFan]

 

[Mr. Sunshine]

I can honestly say I'm not sure I've ever been around or known someone who was a true alcoholic. I've been around plenty of bar flies or guys who liked to occasionally tie one on, including myself at periods of my life. But the guy who has a drink at 9 a.m. or hides a flask in his office drawer? I've never known that guy.

Alcoholics come in many forms.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Alcoholics come in many forms.

It's funny: In the two years since that post, I have seen several old acquaintances come clean about their prior alcoholism, including one of the aforementioned bar flies who has been sober for nearly 14 years.

 

[Riptide]

How strange: They forgot how to spell GUN STORE.

 

[LanceyHoward]

I've always thought there is a big difference between big drinkers and a true alcoholic.

The guy who drinks in the morning on a normal day or drinks by himself (I'm not talking about drinking a couple beers while watching a game) are the alcoholics.

I think a lot of the big drinkers are disguised alcoholics. They organize their life in order to be "big drinkers". They watch the game so they can have a couple beers. They go to the happy hour to have a couple drinks, They host a barbecue on weekends to have drinks with friends. They spend their free time looking for acceptable reasons to socially drink.

But they are not alcoholic but instead just someone who enjoys the occasional drink.

 

[hondo]

That gun column was all over the place. After saying he despised the gun industry, is he now pissed off that a background check worked and a guy with his record couldn't buy a gun? Is he saying that the gun store would have sold a gun to a Muslim with a record of drinking and spouse abuse, but not to a white guy from Chicago?

 

[Will Graham]

That gun column was all over the place. After saying he despised the gun industry, is he now pissed off that a background check worked and a guy with his record couldn't buy a gun? Is he saying that the gun store would have sold a gun to a Muslim with a record of drinking and spouse abuse, but not to a white guy from Chicago?

He went into the endeavor thinking his narrative was already finished and then everything changed, but he still had to write something.

 

[Dick Whitman]

I think a lot of the big drinkers are disguised alcoholics. They organize their life in order to be "big drinkers". They watch the game so they can have a couple beers. They go to the happy hour to have a couple drinks, They host a barbecue on weekends to have drinks with friends. They spend their free time looking for acceptable reasons to socially drink.

But they are not alcoholic but instead just someone who enjoys the occasional drink.

I usually have a drink or two a day. Usually just one. Wish it was like four or five or six, though.

 

[britwrit]

I'm reading The Trip to Echo Spring, by Olivia Laing, right now and this deals with the exact same subject. With the possible exception of the poet John Berryman - who seemed to be particularly inspired while drinking - none of the great writers who were also alcoholics seemed to have great endings. With Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, their drinking directly impacted on their health, their lives, and ultimately, cost the world what probably would have been some great works.

When I was young, I used to think, "Wow. You really have to be damaged to be an artist. It's just part of the price you pay!" Now that I'm older and have seen legions of incredibly damaged people who were in no way artists, I realize how stupid that is.

 

[studthug12]

I'm trying to get my head around the idea of drinking 40 oz. of hard liquor in a single day.

That's only two 20 oz. bottles of straight booze.