Ramos 1 Student ID# 37676647 Kasandria Sajette Ramos Alberto Gulluba Writing 39B: Gangster and Pop Culture

11 May 2012 Composer of Literature Being an artist doesnt take much, just everything youve got. Which means, of course, that as the process is giving you life, it is also giving you death. But its no big deal. They are one and the same and cannot be avoided or denied. So when I totally embrace this process, this life/death, and abandon myself to it, I transcend all this gibberish and hang out with the gods. It seems to me that that is worth the price of admission. After dropping out of high school, joining the Merchant Marines, and fighting a four-year battle with tuberculosis, Selby found himself in a state of spiritual ambivalence- during which time, his passion for writing was revealed. Hubert Selbys 1964 fictional novel, Last Exit to Brooklyn, created uproars of positive and negative reviews upon its release. Where some went so far as to ban the novel and prosecute it, others consider it one of the most influential literary works of the century. Even so, Last Exit to Brooklyn, was the flame that ignited Selbys success in his writing career. Sometimes we have the absolute certainty there's something inside us that's so hideous and monstrous that if we ever search it out we won't be able to stand looking at it. But it's when we are willing to come face to face with that demon that we face the angel (Selby). Although many readers may hold that Hubert Selby Jr.s novel, Last Exit to Brooklyn, is one filled with grammatical blemishes and effortless prose, scholars across the board believe it is important to acknowledge the purpose for Selbys idiosyncratic style; because, in doing so, one may find that by coming face to face with the demons of eccentric typography and unorthodox usage of

Ramos 2 Student ID# 37676647 dialogue, Selby transcends himself and his works. Through the use of slash and burn aesthetics and blending dialogue, Hubert Selby Jr. creates a musically poetic prose that candidly depicts, not only the immense influence music had on his work, but his characters stories and the violent realities he grew up in. In doing so, Hubert encourages his readers to create and examine more in- depth points of views that illuminates the characters voice as well as depicted the disease of the human condition. Hubert Selby Jr. transcends his novel by utilizing capitalizations, indentations in paragraphs, and slashes in order to create an emotional journey similar to that by which a piece of music takes a listener on. Capitalization is most prevalent in part ones, Another Dime Another Dollar; You get caught and you wont be able to drink this good coffee. COFFEE (Selby Jr. 16.3). The use of upper- cases creates emphasis on coffee as a means to re-create crescendos found in music. Crescendos indicate the gradual increase of volume in a musical piece; therefore, Selby has made use of the upper- cases as a means to create the same loudness. Where capitalizations pose as crescendos, indentations in paragraphs are the equivalent of a rest in songs. A pause in any literary work, may act as a break of ideas or statements; however, in this text, the pause often represents a characters break for thought. On the left side of page 22- last sentence of paragraph 2 and first sentence of paragraph 3- it is clear that the pause can reveal the characters stream of consciousness. Slashes in Huberts work, on the other hand, often acts as an indication of endlessness. Here, Selby breaks the rhythm of the dialogue in a consistent manner- for which, he claims to have done due to the convenience of the slash button on the type- writer. Go tell ya troubles to jesus and stop breakin my balls. I/ll break ya balls ya rotten bastard, trying to kick him in the groin, but Freddy turned and lifted his leg then slapped her across the face (Selby Jr. 18.1). In

Ramos 3 Student ID# 37676647 providing capitalizations as crescendos, indentations in paragraphs as rests, and slashes as rhythm breaks, Selby carries the reader on an emotional journey- similar to that of any music. Though the slash and burn aesthetic seems to be of musical notation, it is through the dialogue that a reader gets a sense of who the characters are and the realities into Selbys