Memos from Purgatory
First edition
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| Author | Harlan Ellison |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Leo and Diane Dillon |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Street gangs, prison |
| Publisher | Regency |
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Publication date
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1961 |
| Media type | Print (paperback) |
| Pages | 160 |
Memos from Purgatory is Harlan Ellison's account of his experience with kid gangs when he joined one to research them for his first novel, Web of the City. It also describes the author's experience during an overnight stay in prison.
In 1954, Harlan Ellison joined the teenage street gang The Barons under an assumed name in order to research his first novel, Web of the City. The gang's territory was in Red Hook, considered to be one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Brooklyn. He acted as war counselor for the gang for ten weeks before leaving. After publishing Web of the City in 1958, Ellison decided to write a nonfictional account of his experience. This became "Book One: The Gang" in Memos from Purgatory.
The second part of the book, "The Tombs", was expanded from an essay Ellison wrote about his experience in jail. In 1960, two police officers searched Ellison's apartment and found a .22 revolver, a switchblade knife, and a set of brass knuckles, all of which Ellison had kept as memorabilia from his time with The Barons. Ellison was arrested under New York State's Sullivan Act banning the possession of concealed weapons and incarcerated overnight at The Tombs. Disgusted by the conditions in the jail, Ellison wrote an essay entitled "Buried in the Tombs" for The Village Voice. The article was later expanded into book two of Memos from Purgatory, with a dedication to Ellison's friend Ted White, who had encouraged him to write down his experiences.
Ellison later adapted "Book One: The Gang" into a teleplay for The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. The episode aired in 1964 under the slightly different title "Memo from Purgatory" and starred James Caan as the author Jay Shaw (based on Ellison). The character of Shaw decides to write a book about a juvenile street gang and researches his subject by joining The Barons gang in Brooklyn. Although this is the same gang Ellison joined to research Web of the City, the events of the episode were fictionalized.
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