Thanks to the kindness of Steve Lewis, I’m able revisit one of Harlan Ellison’s early works, The Deadly Streets. I read this 40 years ago and the raw energy in these pages is still palpable. The Deadly Streets was written during the height of the “juvenile delinquency” hysteria. Some of these stories seem quaint compared to today’s gang wars between the Crips and the Bloods. Ellison was writing for a market that no longer exists and an audience that gave up reading books for YouTube and MySpace. If you can find a copy of The Deadly Streets it’s well worth reading.
I was reminded of that recently when I read the review of West Side Story and the reviewer pointed out how when it first came out, people were appalled at the violence.
Violence was a common thread in the juvenile delinquent novels of the 1950s.
Is this the same as Memos From Purgatory or another book?
Cap’n Bob, MEMOS and DEADLY STREETS are two different books, although both originally date from the same time period.
I love those 70’s Pyramid editions. The Leo and Diane Dillon covers were wonderful. Of course, Harlan was also pretty good at his job, too. Don’t think he’s had a new collection out since SLIPPAGE , way back when.
Ellison’s writing career is pretty much over. He still manages to attract attention when he pulls stunts like grabbing Connie Willis’ breast.