Gangsters, Harlots & Thieves: Down and Out at the Hotel Clifton
Poems and Essays by Todd Moore, Edited by Theron Moore
Todd Moore spent the last 40+ years writing prolific poetry and prose in the small press community. He co-founded the literary genre known as “Outlaw Poetry” with fellow writer Tony Moffeit and established a solid reputation for himself when he began writing and publishing books & chapbooks about famed outlaw John Dillinger beginning in 1978 up until his death in 2010. I wrote this book, Gangsters, Harlots & Thieves: Down and Out at the Hotel Clifton, to not only honor my father and the literary legacy he created, but his contributions to the field of poetry and the small press as well. Gangsters, Harlots & Thieves… paints a bigger than life picture of what it was like growing up in and around the seedy, skid row environs of the infamous Hotel Clifton and the true life adventures my father had interacting with many of the shady characters that hung out there, whether it was to score dope, hook for johns, or because they were drunks and/or derelicts that had nowhere else to go. It’s also an exploration into what sparked my father’s literary passion as a kid and takes a look at how he was inundated with, and why and how he came to embrace outlaw culture, as well as examining the relationship he had with his father, a failed novelist, professional alcoholic, and a tough guy gangster type who at one time did a little work for Capone himself. This book tells this story, and much more. Reading Gangsters, Harlots & Thieves… is kind of like watching a Cagney movie like “White Heat,” its film noir come to life; it has the vibe and groove of Frank Miller’s Sin City; it’s gritty, it’s raw, it’s violent, and brutally honest in a bare knuckle fighting kind of way. These are my father’s stories and recollections of a bygone era that influenced an entire outlaw / gangster pop culture producing movies like “Bonnie and Clyde,” “The Untouchables,” and more recently, “Public Enemies” with Johnny Depp, just to name a few. This book is told with his voice through autobiographical writing & essays that employ his trademark quick description, quick narrative and pulp fiction inspired dialog allowing Gangster, Harlots and Thieves… to connect with the reader immediately, whether they’re familiar with Todd Moore, or not. Part biography, part autobiography, Gangster, Harlots and Thieves… will grab you, hold onto you, and not let you go until the fat lady sings or the last shot of whiskey is finally downed. Enjoy! — Editor Theron Moore
- Paperback: 134 pages
- Publisher: road/house-Saint Vitus Press (June 11, 2011)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0615492355
- ISBN-13: 978-0615492353
- Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.3 inches
Now available at Amazon.com for $12.99
For more information visit saintvituspress.com