Legends of the Chelsea Hotel

August 13, 2007
Short story author Hamilton (in the Journal of Kentucky Studies
, SoMa Literary Review
, etc.) “became consumed in writing darkly humorous and often tragic stories” after many years of living at New York's infamous Chelsea Hotel. Arrayed here are 68 of his columns for ''Living with Legends,” the Hotel Chelsea blog (www.hotelchelseablog.com). Hamilton skillfully interweaves his memories of residents with a history of the 23rd Street hotel, longtime proprietor Stanley Bard (who stepped down reluctantly this year) and the neighboring restaurant, El Quijote. Built in 1883, the Chelsea became a residential hotel for theater luminaries in 1905. Tenants since then have run the gamut from O. Henry and Dylan Thomas to Kerouac and Madonna. Famed books have been written at the Chelsea, including William Burroughs's Naked Lunch
, but the establishment has also attracted a great many eccentrics, hustlers and crazies. Recent management changes and the Chelsea's uncertain future make this nostalgic portrait of the hotel's “fabled madness” all the more poignant. Photos not seen by PW
.

September 1, 2007
Bob Dylan, Thomas Wolfe, and Sid Vicious have all called the Chelsea Hotel home over the years, reveling in its legendary old New York seediness. But recently, Chelsea resident and writer Hamilton has felt the tide of gentrification bearing down on his adopted home. Prompted by his girlfriend and a duty to chronicle a disappearing way of life, Hamilton launched the blog Living with Legends (www.chelseahotelblog.com), which forms the backbone of his book. His succinct yet conversational style makes for an engrossing read with crossover appeal for fans of Beat literature, punk music, Warhol superstars, and the gritty underside of Hollywood. The real stars of this story aren't "The Stars" but the colorful eccentrics who have been the mainstay of the hotel for decadesmore and more on the wrong side of economicsand their patron saint, hotel manager Stanley Bard, who strives to uphold the building's rich history as a haven for outsiders and the arts. The adaptation of blog posts to a monograph is smooth, and the clipped prose and brief, surreal vignettes make the book only more endearing, a delightful hybrid of journalism and gonzo mythologizing. Recommended for all public and academic libraries. [For a profile of this book, see "Editors' Fall Picks," p. 3238.]Matthew Moyer, Jacksonville P.L., FL

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2007
This book is an outgrowth of hotelchelseablog.com, Hamilton and girlfriend Debbie Martins ongoing project to immortalize the seedy New York hotel and waystation for the wayward that has been home to the likes of Sarah Bernhardt, Edgar Lee Masters, Virgil Thomson, Arthur Miller, Charles Bukowski, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and many other theatrical, musical, and literary notables. William Burroughs wrote Naked Lunch there, and Sid Vicious killed Nancy Spungen in Room 100perhaps (she was dead, alright, but Sid was in a confused state, alternately denying and confessing when the gendarmes showed). Obviously, Hamilton has no shortage of stories to tell. One of the oddest is that of underground filmmaker and folk-music collector Harry Smith and the zombie he reanimated on the premises, which was matter-of-factly accepted by the Chelseas other denizens. And there are Ethan Hawke (that little shit, another resident opines) on the rebound from Uma Thurman, a s'ance to contact Thomas Wolfe, and sundry other exploits too numerous to mention. Wicked good dishing.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)