Hubert Selby Jr.

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Hubert "Cubby" Selby Jr. (July 27, 1928 – April 26, 2004) was an American writer.

Last Exit to Brooklyn (1964) and Requiem for a Dream (1978), two of his best-known books, are about worlds in the New York area.

Both novels were released later as films, and he appeared in brief roles in each. Selby wrote about a brutal underworld that was not often represented in literature.

In the United Kingdom and Italy, his first novel was published for obscenity, triggering defenses from many well-known writers, such as Anthony Burgess.

He was influential to more than a generation of writers; for more than 20 years, he taught creative writing at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where he worked full time after 1983.

Early life and education

Hubert Selby was born in 1928 in Brooklyn, New York City, to Adalin and Hubert Selby Sr., a merchant seaman and former Kentucky coal miner. Selby and his partner Adalin had settled in Bay Ridge. Hubert attended public schools, including the popular Stuyvesant High School.

Selby Jr. dropped out of school at the age of 15 to work in the city docks before becoming a merchant seaman in 1947.

He was taken from the ship in Bremen, Germany, and sent back to the United States. Selby was in and out of the United States Public Health Hospital (part of a system of hospitals that was originally intended to treat merchant seamen) in New York for three and a half years.

Selby underwent an experimental drug therapy, streptomycin, which later resulted in severe complications. Several of Selby's ribs were removed from his lungs during an operation, revealing his lungs. One of his lungs collapsed, and doctors cut out a portion of the other.

Selby was mainly bedridden for the next ten years; he was often hospitalized with a variety of lung-related diseases. The doctors gave a pessimistic verdict, implying that he would not live long because he "didn't have enough lung capacity." Selby's request, Gilbert Sorrentino, a childhood friend who had been planning to write fiction, prompted him to write fiction. Selby found that he would not be able to work as a result of his illness, and that "I know the alphabet." I suppose I could be a writer."

He later wrote:

Selby did not have formal education, but he did a good job with a raw language to represent the grim, violent world that was part of his youth. "I write, in part, by ear," he said. What I am writing comes as well as what I feel and see. "I have always been enamoured with the music of the New York address."

Selby used unusual methods in the majority of his works, being less concerned with correct grammar, punctuation, or diction. He indented his paragraphs with alternating lengths, often by reducing one line as finished with a paragraph. Selby often ended his sentences in a fast, stream-of-consciousness style, as Jack Kerouac in his "spontaneous prose." To prevent interrupting the flow of writing, he switched to forward slashes, which were closer to the typewriter. He did not use quotation marks. He may deliver a complete paragraph, without any denotation among alternating speakers.

In Last Exit to Brooklyn, a few aspects of his encounters with longshoremen, the homeless, thugs, pimps, transwomen, prostitutes, homosexuals, addicts, and the general poverty-stricken population were expressed.

In 1958, Selby began working on his first short story, "The Queen Is Dead." He had a string of day jobs at the time, but he wrote every night. During the day, he worked as a secretary, a gas station attendant, and a freelance copywriter. The short story grew slowly for the next six years before he published it.

In 1961, his short story "Tralala" was published in the literary journal The Provincetown Review. It also appeared in Black Mountain Review and New Directions. It depicts a seedy life (befuddled with violence, robbery, and mediocre conne) as well as a gang rape of a prostitute. A number of commentators slammed the subjects and the harshness of the story. The journal's editor was jailed for selling pornographic literature to a juvenile. The journal was used as evidence in an obscenity lawsuit, but the lawsuit was later dismissed on appeal.

Selby married Judith Lumino on October 24, 1964, but the union broke soon after. LeRoi Jones (later Amiri Baraka), the writer and playwright, urged him to contact Sterling Lord, then Kerouac's agent, as he continued to write. Selby's first book, Last Exit to Brooklyn (1964), combined "Tralala," "The Queen Is Dead," and four other closely related short stories. Grove Press, which had already published William S. Burroughs' books, accepted and released the book. Eliot Fremont-Smith, a literary critic for the New York Times in November 1964, described the book as "a brutal book" and said that it "is not a book one'recommends', although perhaps to writers. It's been worth watching from them, those that want to read it," says the author.

Many, including poet Allen Ginsberg, expected that the book would "explode like a rusty hellish bombshell over America and be eagerly read in a hundred years," he said. In 1967, the novel was published in the United Kingdom for obscenity. Anthony Burgess, a British writer, was one of a number of writers featured in its defense. On appeal, the jury's conviction was later reversed. In Italy, the book was outlawed.

Selby survived the heroin crisis even though he wrote all his books while sober. He was arrested for heroin use in 1967 and spent two months in the Los Angeles County jail. Since being arrested, he went from New York to Los Angeles to try to kick his heroin use and finally quit smoking. He stayed drug free for two years, but he continued to fight heroin use for the next two years. Selby's ex-girlfriend, Suzanne Victoria Shaw, was arrested at a West Hollywood bar earlier this year. Two days after they met, the two couples stayed in a group. They married in 1969, after Selby and his second wife, Judith, had arranged their divorce. Suzanne and Selby lived back and forth between Southern California and the East Coast for the next decade, eventually settled in the Los Angeles area in 1983. They had two children, Rachel and William.

Selby's second book, The Room, was published in 1971, and it received rave reviews. It featured a criminally insane man who was imprisoned in a prison cell who reminisces about his uncontrollable past. Selby referred to The Room as "the most disturbing book ever written." After writing it, he said he couldn't read it for decades.

Selby's apartment in West Hollywood continued to write short fiction, as well as screenplays and teleplays. His work has appeared in various publications, including Black Mountain Review, Evermore Review, Provincetown Review, Kulchur, New Directions Annual, Yugen, Swank, and Open City.

Selby met punk rock singer Henry Rollins in the 1980s, who had long admired the writer's books and publicly supported them. Rollins also arranged recording sessions and reading tours for Selby, broadening Selby's readership. Rollins released original recordings through his own 2.13.61 publications, as well as Selby's other works.

Selby has taught creative writing as an adjunct professor in the University of Southern California's Master of Professional Writing program for the past 20 years.

In 1989, Uli Edel's film Last Exit to Brooklyn was directed by Uli Edel. Selby appeared in Brooklyn for a brief period as a taxi driver. In 1980, Requiem for a Dream (1978) was adapted as a film of the same name. He appeared as a prison guard taunting Marlon Wayans, who were forced to work before resigning, but he had a small part.

Early works

In 1958, Selby began writing "The Queen Is Dead," his first short story. He had a succession of day jobs at the time, but he wrote every night. During the day, he worked as a secretary, a gas station attendant, and a freelance copywriter. The short story didn't develop for the next six years before he published it.

In 1961, his short story "Tralala" was published in the literary journal The Provincetown Review. It also appeared in Black Mountain Review and New Directions. It depicts a seedy life (befuddled with violence, robbery, and mediocre con-artistry) and a prostitute gang rape. A number of commentators attacked the story's harshness and brutality. The journal's editor was jailed for selling pornographic literature to a child. The journal was used as evidence in an obscenity lawsuit, but the case was dismissed on appeal.

Selby married Judith Lumino on October 24, 1964, but the union fell apart shortly after. LeRoi Jones, the poet and playwright, invited him to call Sterling Lord, who then directed Kerouac's agent as he began to write. Selby's first book, "The Queen Is Dead," "The Queen Is Dead," and four other closely related short stories were included in his collection, "Last Exit to Brooklyn (1964). Grove Press, which had already published William S. Burroughs' books, was accepted and published the novel. Eliot Fremont-Smith, a literary critic for the New York Times, described the book as a "brutal book" in November 1964, adding that it "is not a book one'recommends', not to writers. It's important to them, as well as those who want to read it.'

Many, including poet Allen Ginsberg, said the novel would "explode like a rusty hellish bombshell over America" and be eagerly read in a hundred years," despite being eager to read in a hundred years. In 1967, the novel was published in the United Kingdom as a result of obscenity. Anthony Burgess, a British writer, was one of a number of writers who appeared as witnesses in the book's defense. On appeal, the jury's conviction was later reversed. In Italy, the book was banned.

Selby continued to combat heroin use although he wrote most of his articles while sober. He was arrested for heroin use in 1967 and spent two months in the Los Angeles County jail. He went from New York to Los Angeles to try to avoid his heroin use and finally quit the habit. He stayed clean of drugs, but he continued to battle alcohol use for the next two years. Selby's ex-girlfriend, Suzanne Victoria Shaw, was born in West Hollywood in 1995. The two couples arrived together two days after they met. They married in 1969, after Selby and his second wife, Judith, had finalized their divorce. Suzanne and Selby travelled back and forth between Southern California and the East Coast for the next decade, before settling in the Los Angeles area in 1983. They had two children, Rachel and William.

Selby's second book, The Room, was published in 1971, and it received rave reviews. It was a criminally insane man who was detained in a cell of a jail who reminisces about his troubling past. Selby called The Room "the most disturbing book ever written." After writing it, he said he couldn't read it for decades.

Selby's apartment in West Hollywood continued to write short fiction, as well as screenplays and teleplays. His work has appeared in several newspapers, including Black Mountain Review, Everwood, Provincetown, Kulchur, New Directions Annual, Yugen, Swank, and Open City.

Selby met punk rock singer Henry Rollins in the 1980s, who had long admired the writer's books and proudly supported them. Rollins contributed to Selby's readership, as well as arranging recording sessions and reading tours for Selby. Rollins released original recordings through his own 2.13.61 publications, as well as Selby's other works.

Selby taught creative writing as an adjunct professor in the University of Southern California's Master of Professional Writing program for the past 20 years.

In 1989, Uli Edel produced a film version of Last Exit to Brooklyn, directed by Uli Edel. Selby made a brief appearance as a taxi driver in Brooklyn. Requiem for a Dream (1978) was released as a film of the same name that was released in 2000. When resigning, he had a small part as a jail guard taunting Marlon Wayans.

Life after Last Exit to Brooklyn

Selby's second book, The Room, was published in 1971, and it received raves. It featured a criminally insane man who was in a prison cell and reminisces about his troubling past. "The Room" was Selby's "most disturbing book ever written." Since writing it, he said he couldn't read it for decades.

Selby's flat in West Hollywood continued to write short fiction, screenplays, and teleplays. His work has appeared in several journals, including Black Mountain Review, Evermore, Provincetown Examine, Kulchur, New Directions Annual, Yugen, Swank, and Open City.

Selby met punk rock singer Henry Rollins in the 1980s, who had long admired the writer's writing and publicly supported it. Rollins not only arranged recording sessions and reading tours for Selby, but also broadened Selby's readership. Rollins released original recordings through his own 2.13.61 publications and also sold Selby's other works.

Selby has taught creative writing as an adjunct professor in the University of Southern California's Master of Professional Writing program for the past 20 years.

In 1989, Uli Edel directed Last Exit to Brooklyn, a film adaptation. Selby appeared in Brooklyn for a brief period as a taxi driver. The Requiem for a Dream (1978) was adapted as a film of the same name that was released in 2000. He appeared as a prison guard taunting Marlon Wayans, who were forced to work before resigning, but he had a small part as a prison guard.

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