Irresponsible Freaks, Highball Guzzlers And Unabashed Grafters

by Edwards, Bob; Martin, James

• ISBN13: 9780973248159
• ISBN10: 0973248157
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-09-30
• Publisher: Brindle & Glass Pub Ltd

Summary

Bob Edwards, the Great White North's equivalent to H. L. Mencken, remains a singular figure in Canadian journalism. His newspapers, published in Wetaskiwin, Leduc, High River, Strathcona, Winnipeg, Port Arthur, and most famously Calgary, skewered politics, society, and business leaders with a fearlessness and outrageousness rarely seen then, now, or in between.As editor James Martin points out in his illuminating introduction, Bob Edwards seems more modern the farther back in history he recedes; he was the granddaddy of Gonzo Journalism à la Hunter S. Thompson, a freewheeling cultural critic in the spirit of Lester Bangs, a pioneer of satirical reform as evidenced in Frank magazine, and a spoofer of the po-faced reporting of his day in precisely the same way that The Onion is now.Irresponsible Freaks, Highball Guzzlers and Unabashed Grafters features mountains of Edwards's superb aphorisms, a generous helping of his longer and lesser-known works, and some choice items which have never before seen print, as well as miraculous archival discoveries and many cartoons from Edwards's celebrated Eye Opener. It is a welcome addition to the Bob Edwards canon for those who thought they knew everything about him, and an eye-opening introduction to the uninitiated: ":He was writing this stuff a hundred years ago!?":

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Allan Fotheringham
Introduction	1	(8)
James Martin
Foreword	9	(2)
Bob Edwards
Aeolian Harps Struck Lightning	11	(32)
In which the reluctant politico slings a nasty pen before succumbing to the hustings.
The Outcast's Prayer	43	(18)
In which your esteemed editor & bottle-washer questions holy authority, parses scripture, & forgets his flask in the pews.
Jopplebunky, Frukkledumky, Chucklesnorter, Jinks	61	(27)
In which your crackerjack reporter provides all the local news that's fit to fabricate.
Rushing The Growler	88	(32)
In which your in-house boozological artist implores, ``Don't do as I do. Do as I tell you.''
Nemeses	120	(30)
In which the editor of the great Christian organ throws mud, holds a grudge, has a change of heart --- & defends himself against charges of being a libeller, a character thief, a coward, a liar, a drunkard, a dope-fiend & a degenerate.
A Lovely Little Tablet of Corrosive Sublimate	150	(19)
In which the editor of the E.O. himself (applause) furthers the legend of ... the editor of the E.O. himself (wild applause)
Gloating Over Pictures of the Hootchee-Kootchee	169	(13)
In which your uncle rails against sexual predators, police brutality, land-sharks, movie-house chatterboxes, & other big issues of the day.
The Builder of Bum Jokes	182	(21)
In which the village weekly editor gives away dogs, cooks cats, & likens the Kaiser to a skunk.
Letters from a Badly Made Son	203	(18)
Being the collected correspondence of Albert ``Bertie'' Buzzard-Cholomondeley, remittance man & gopher rancher.
The Most Unfortunate of Men	221	(30)
In which your uncle regales the masses with the picaresque exploits of Peter J. McGonigle, hard-luck editor of the Midnapore Gazette.
Hindword	251	(1)
Bob Edwards
Dramatis Personae	252	(2)
A Bob Edwards Chronology	254	(2)
Endnotes	256	(2)
List of Illustrations	258	(2)
About the Editor	260