Poet Laureates of Poker
"Poker may be only a game, but it is not a matter of life and death. It's a lot more serious than that." Anthony Holden in "Big Deal." Two Brits and a Yank Lead the Way British authors Al Alvarez and Anthony Holden and their American counterpart, James McManus, have each written classic books about the culture of poker. Each is known as a “poker writer.” But in truth poker is not necessarily their main writing interest. They are, first of all, poets. Al Alvarez In 1983 Al Alvarez published "The Biggest Game in Town." One critic called it "the origin of contemporary poker literature." The London Evening Standard calls it "probably the best book on poker ever written." James McManus, author of Positively Fifth Street calls it "the seminal book on the literature of poker. Gorgeously written. Very cool." Alvarez covered the World Series of Poker in 1981 on assignment from the New Yorker. "The Biggest Game in Town" was originally published in the magazine as a series of long articles. "Here was the World Series of Poker," Alvarez says, "and hardly anyone was writing about it." With a few changes, the articles became the book. Prior to "The Biggest Game," most poker books were about strategy or how to play the game. Katy Lederer, in "Poker Face, calls this the "head" of poker. Al wrote about the people who played poker: their backgrounds, families, and what they did away from the poker table. He wrote about the heart of poker. And in so doing, he created a new literature. Alvarez’ other poker book, "Poker: Bets, Bluffs, and Bad Beats" (2001), is a beautifully illustrated, coffee table-type book, heavy on the history of poker. And that’s it. Only two of his 25 books are about poker. Among his older works, only "The Biggest Game" is still in print. Alvarez is a man of many passions: poetry, pipes, and poker lead the list. He has served as poetry editor and critic for the London Observor and was an early champion of the American poet, Sylvia Plath and her British husband, Ted Hughes. In "The Savage God," a book on suicide, he recounts Sylvia’s suicide in the first chapter and his own attempt, after a failed marriage, in the last. Alvarez is portrayed by Jared Harris in the movie, “Sylvia,” starring Gwenth Paltrow, with Daniel Craig (the new James Bond) portraying Ted Hughes. Sylvia had several suicide attempts before she died from gas in a cooking oven in 1963. In the film (as she tries to seduce Alvarez), he tells her of his own suicide attempt. One thing they had in common: they took too many sleeping pills and threw them up. Her poetry is filed with images of death including her last effort, “Edge,” in 1963: “The woman is perfected. Her dead Body wears the smile of accomplishment . . . .” Alvarez talks of his own life in several of his works. In his autobiography, "Where Did It All Go Right?" his life is recounted in two parts: the first 30 years or so when he was a struggling writer, unhappily married, stuck doing wretched theatre reviews of plays like The Amorous Prawn and teetering on the brink of self-destruction. And in the next 40 years and counting, books about rock climbing ("Feeding the Rat"), oil exploration in the North Sea ("Offshore: A North Sea Journey"), and writing ("The Writer’s Voice"), and a happy marriage to Anne, a psychotherapist. And a return to poetry, after 25 years, with New and Selected Poems. Among those in his collection, one about Anne: Anne Dancing You sashay in, twenty years-old again,
Sweatshirt and jeans, eyes closed, a cat-like smile,
Self-satisfied, self-absorbed, hips swaying,
Weaving your intricate steps across
The intricate carpet. The merest glance
At me does it. You're a North American
College girl out on a date, a '50s-style
Dazzler - great legs, cute ass, sweet smile.
That's Satchmo playing
Your youth back loud and clear. You toss
Your greying, lovely head. You say, "Come on, let's dance." In a book ("The Mind Has Mountains") put together by his friends to commemorate Alvarez’ 70th birthday, David Cornwell, aka John le Carre, writes: “Al is the most chivalrous and best-mannered man you or I are likely to meet.” Another contributor to "The Mind Has Mountains" is British biographer Anthony Holden. Reflecting on Al’s life, he writes: “A poet must visit dark and dangerous places to return with anything worthwhile.” Anthony Holden 21-year old Holden, then editor of the Oxford student magazine, Isis, first met Alvarez, the editor of The New Poetry in 1968. He found him to be a “warm, wise-cracking enthusiast . . .short and worried about his weight.” He has since joined Al at over a thousand poker tables. That is, when he has time away from his day jobs: once a speechwriter for Prince Charles, music and opera critic for the London Observor, and biographer of the Royals. He is a thorn in the side of Charles, with whom he has since fallen out, writing biographies to coincide with the Prince’s 30th, 40th, and 50th birthdays. Of the Prince, Holden says, “He is a puerile, bawdy, hot-blooded adulterer.” Also a confidante of Diana, Holden writes, “She has a husband who no longer understands her, nor even, it seems, much likes her.” Like Alvarez, among his 29 books is one – just one – on poker. Yet he says, “When people say they have read "my book," I know which one they are talking about.” They are, of course, talking about "Big Deal," his account of a year as a poker pro from 1988-1989. "Bigger Deal" is on the way. "Poker may be only a game, but it is not a matter of life and death. It's a lot more serious than that." People may know about “the Holden book” because of this single quote, which has earned him a place in poker literature. To experience life as a poker pro, which he recounted in his book, he traveled the globe on the poker circuit, coming close to being busted out of his original $20,000 stake many times. He writes about playing against Stu Ungar, World Series of Poker champion and perhaps the greatest poker player in the world, during his decline from cocaine. He looked like a “stick insect,” writes Holden, who won a big pot from him in a tournament. He played in the personal guest house of the King of Morocco and recounts the hilarious story of Amarillo Slim Preston (self-styled as the “World’s Greatest Gambler”) riding a camel through the magnificent palace to win a bet. The end result of his year on the road: a profit of $12,300. "Big Deal" is scheduled for release as a production of Celadon Films in 2007. "Bigger Deal" is in the works. In "Bigger," Holden does it again – a year as a touring pro – between 2005 and 2006. “This time,” he says, “I’m keeping my day job.” His first stint in poker tournaments around the world was motivated by a public falling out with his boss, Rupert Murdoch, in front of the Queen of England. There are a lot of differences in the culture of poker between "Big" and "Bigger." In 1988 there were about 200 participants in the championship event of the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas and the top prize was $700,000. In 2006 there were more than 8000 players and the top prize was $12 million dollars, the biggest prize in sports history. Poker is seemingly on TV 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Televised tournaments – heavy on commercials - have been played under water and on a Nordic tundra. “I realize with a sinking heart,” Holden told Victoria Coren of the Observor, “that the game I have loved for nearly 40 years as a romantic, seedy, maverick outpost of la vie boheme has now become just another branch of corporate-logo American capitalism.” Holden’s latest book (2005) is "The Remarkable Life of Leigh Hunt: Poet, Revolutionary, and the Last of the Romantics." Among Hunt’s poems: Jenny Kissed Me Jenny kissed me when we met,
Jumping from the chair she sat in;
Time, you thief, who love to get
Sweets into your list, put that in!
Say I'm weary, say I'm sad,
Say that health and wealth have missed me,
Say I'm growing old, but add,
Jenny kissed me. James McManus No other way to say it. This guy is all over the map. Like Alvarez and Holden, this is another way of saying that he writes about a lot of different things. Like Alvarez, his life is an open book. He even characterizes himself as sometimes being “Good Jim” and sometimes being “Bad Jim.” In "Physical: An American Checkup" (2006), he talks about the hidden places (his hidden places) where doctors wearing latex gloves put their fingers, to a lap dance (here’s where Bad Jim appears) in a strip joint (his wife forgave him) after almost winning the World Series of Poker. There is an article in Esquire about his daughter’s battle with juvenile diabetes, “Please Stand By While the Age of Miracles Is Briefly Suspended: How the President is Trying to Kill My Daughter,” and in "Physical," a recounting of his son’s suicide at the age of 22. McManus is a tenured professor of English at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is the author of four novels, including "Going to the Sun," which won the Carl Sandburg Award in 1996 and two books of poetry including "Great America," with references to everything from NutraSweet jingles to "Leave It to Beaver" (a typically bawdy reference, in the latter case). Publishers Weekly says this about several of his selections from "Great America": “The middle-aged narrator of ‘Smash and Scatteration,’ having displayed his sexy and forthright fiancee Linda Krajacik (" 'Yo, tell me about it, Mr. Premature / Ejaculation,' she snaps, whapping a palm with a fist"), goes on in ‘Wisconsin,’ another piece, to ogle the body of nubile teenager Katie Krajacik, who plays ‘center field on my daughter Mairead's fast-pitch softball team.’ Should we sort it out, leave it alone or call the police?” "Positively Fifth Street" tells of his assignment from Harper’s to cover the 2000 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Time Magazine called Fifth Street "irresistible . . . the writer's equivalent of a royal flush." McManus parlayed his advance from the magazine into a seat at the final table of the championship event and came close to winning the damn thing before being knocked out in fifth place by a rabbi, Steve Kaufman, from Cincinnati. Another poetic turn: the rabbi lost out to a player, Chris Ferguson, who looks a bit like - and uses the nickname of - “Jesus.” McManus describes Kaufman, with a nod to Dante, as, "The Satanic Prince of Noodges who forked me down into the pitch." McManus pocketed $250,000 and after the lap dance and exorbitant tips, paid down the mortgage on his house. Kaufman, who won $500,000, bought a condo in Vegas. When they meet, as they sometimes do at poker tournaments, McManus asks, “How is my property in Vegas?” The professor combines his love of poker and love of teaching in a unique course that he began in 1997, "The Literature and History of Poker." The course ends with an in-class Texas Hold ‘em tournament. He has a book in the works on the history of the game. He is also writing a novel about Vegas, poker, and terrorism. How much poetry is he writing these days? “I write maybe one verse poem a year now. But I feel that when you are writing narrative fiction or nonfiction you don’t stop writing poetry. The poetic elements of language, rhythm and sound and sentence structure and so on are still there. I feel that I haven’t stopped writing poetry just because I’m writing narrative nonfiction.” And Finally How is it that these three writers, who write about many things, have nailed the culture of poker when hundreds of “poker writers” have not? Because unlike those who want to teach you the difference between a flush and a straight, they have romanticized the game and talked about the humanity of the poker players. McManus put his finger on it when he said, you are still writing poetry even when writing nonfiction, as in Bigger Game, Big Deal and Fifth Street. Each of these has brought poetry to poker. Poetry, poker. What’s the difference? Murphy James is the pen name of Harry Murphy. He has been published in men's magazines, business journals, gaming publications, and newspapers. His website is http://www.murphyjames.com |
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