Drunk on Literature

The Draughts of Evil

Over the years, the shine of living the literary life — you know, on the road, properly sauced, dirt poor and scribbling in battered notebooks — has dulled. It’s part of the past now, those rosy days of youth when we’d avoid responsibility and stay up late reading Rimbaud, smoking cigs and drinking cheap wine. Ah, the clichés of the naïve bohemian! But, just because we’re not going to spend our days hopping Greyhounds and downing fifths, it doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy reflecting on the literary heavyweights who did. If you can relate, head over to Life Magazine, where an online gallery shows off the writers who sent caution — and moderation — to the wind. — Kevin Murphy