Sunday, September 18th, 4:00 p.m.  The Museum of Moving Images screens "The Lost Weekend."  "The Lost Weekend," stars Ray Milland and Jane Wyman and is based on the bestselling, autobiographical novel by former Hotel Chelsea resident Charles Jackson. "The Lost Weekend," is the story of Don Birnman, who has the good fortune of getting a…

The Naked Lunch, which Burroughs worked on while living at the Hotel Chelsea is going to be released in a new edition later this year.  The Naked Lunch is being republished, in a new edition by Burrough’s biographer Barry Miles and his friend and manager James Grauerholz (the novel was first edited, with famously haphazard…

For the record, I don’t believe in ghosts, but if they do exist, I happen to think that Dylan Thomas’ ghost would rather be haunting the Chelsea than Austin University. "Ugly, Lovely Night" is a film by Binda Singh which tells the tale of an American student who meets Thomas’ ghost at Swansea University (near…

In Lawrence, Kansas, the city commissioners debated and ultimately decided to place William Burrough’s home on the register of historic places. Burroughs was also fond of the Chelsea, which served as his first stop when he returned from Europe in 1964.  In an essay in Claudio Edigner’s book Burroughs wrote, “Every room in this hotel…

Nothing is True Everything is Permitted: The Life of Brion Gysin, is being billed as the first-ever biography of the painter, poet, piper who died in 1986.  In the 1960’s Brion spent some time at the Chelsea carrying on a love affair with John Giorno in room 703 among other things.   John Geiger, the book’s…

Novelist Larry Brown would have celebrated his 54th birthday today.  In honor of his birthday, I’m going to share some advice I received from Brown nearly 14 years ago.  First, some background. After money had been stolen from my apartment, the building manager instructed me to file a report with the police.  The money had…

The Rough Guide To Cult Fiction, is billed as a guide to over 200 cult authors including genre benders, beats, gurus, drunks, junkies, sinners, and surrealists. According to the editor, in the entry for Herbert Huncke the book discusses how he spent his last years in the Chelsea financially supported by the Grateful Dead.  Photo:…

Celebrate the holiday weekend. Join the legions of Bohemians and literary figures who have hoisted a glass at El Quijote. The El Q is conveniently located in the Hotel Chelsea. Pulitzer Prize winning American poet John Berryman finds the cafeteria like vibe of the watering hole unwelcoming. Artist Robert Filliou enjoys a beer and conversation with…

Earlier I blogged about the Chelsea being snubbed by The New York Times Literary Map of Manhattan. Now the 92nd St. Y is feeling snubbed too. "The New York Times‘ interactive Literary Map of Manhattan—which cites places where “imaginary New Yorkers lived, worked, played, drank and looked at ducks"—got a lot of play in the…