Seth Morgan (novelist)
| Seth Morgan | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Seth David Morgan April 4, 1949 Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Died |
October 17, 1990 (aged 41) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Resting place | Seaside Cemetery |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Nationality | USA |
| Education |
St. Bernard's School Hotchkiss School The American School In Switzerland |
| Alma mater | University of California Berkeley |
| Notable works | Homeboy (1990) |
| Relatives | George Frederick Morgan (father) |
Seth David Morgan (April 4, 1949 - October 17, 1990) was an American novelist, the author of the 1990 novel Homeboy (1990). He was also the fiance of Janis Joplin at the time of her death in October 1970.
Early life
Morgan was the son[1] of poet George Frederick Morgan and Constance Canfield. The Esquire article, "Seth Morgan's Last Ride", published in February 1, 1991, recounts Morgan's description of his mother and childhood; Morgan stated his mother was "an alcoholic beauty who drank herself to death in 1964". He claimed that his mother's coldness was to blame for his brother's suicide (he leaped to his death off the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge).[1] Morgan also believed that he inherited what he called his "addictive personality" from his alcoholic mother. He later said that he harbored intense bitterness towards women because of his mother's treatment of him and his siblings and spent years "planning the strategic degradation of women".[2]
Morgan attended several elite private academies: St. Bernard's School in New York, Hotchkiss School in Connecticut, and The American School in Switzerland. He also briefly attended University of California Berkeley and received a trust fund income between US$26,000 and US$30,000 a year.[1]
Relationship with Janis Joplin
In 1970, Morgan dropped out of U.C. Berkeley. Later that year, he met singer Janis Joplin while delivering cocaine to her home in Marin County in 1970. The two began a relationship and became engaged.[1] Their relationship became public knowledge in Joplin's obituary in Time.[3]
Criminal record
After Joplin’s death, Morgan married a Sausalito waitress. She worked as a prostitute during their marriage while Morgan acted as her pimp. The marriage was short-lived and Morgan later claimed he had married the woman to prevent her from suing him after the two had been involved in a motorcycle accident that left her face partially paralyzed. (A drunken Morgan had crashed his Harley into a house formerly owned by Jack London.)[1] He then moved to San Francisco where he married for a second time. He then found work as a barker at strip clubs and developed an addiction to heroin. To support his habit, he began committing armed robberies. During one robbery, Morgan pinned a victim’s hand to the floor with a knife. In 1977, he was caught committing a robbery by police and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. After his release, he went back to working in strip clubs. In 1986, he moved to New Orleans. He later admitted he chose to move to New Orleans with plans to drink himself to death but decided to write a novel instead.[4]
Career
Morgan's only title published was Homeboy (ISBN 0394575776), a novel about heroin addicts and convicts. In it, Morgan used several experiences from his own life, including time spent as a barker in San Francisco and his prison term for armed robbery.[5] While incarcerated, Morgan won the P.E.N. essay contest for convicts.
From 1986 to 1987, Morgan lived in New Orleans in the Lower Garden District at 1232 St. Andrew Street, a rental property owned by Metairie resident Marcel Jaffe. During this time, Morgan was sober, spending his time writing, attending meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, working out at the Lee's Circle YMCA and hanging out at the Hummingbird Grill, a New Orleans greasy spoon that has since closed.
In the spring of 1990, the publication of Homeboy led to positive reviews and book-signing engagements for Morgan in several cities, including San Francisco, where 14 years earlier he had impaled a bystander's hand with a knife during an armed robbery.[6] Morgan told Suzie Groover, who accompanied him on the publicity tour, that he was afraid of getting arrested on outstanding warrants from years earlier.[6]
Death
On October 16, 1990, Morgan was arrested in New Orleans for DUI and was released on bail that was paid by his girlfriend Suzy Levine.[6][7] The following night, Morgan visited a New Orleans bar with Levine. They left the bar at approximately 11:30 pm on Morgan's motorcycle. Shortly before midnight, Morgan was traveling on the St. Claude Avenue Bridge when he hit the median strip while attempting to maneuver into the right lane. Levine was thrown forty-five feet down the roadway while Morgan crashed face first into a cement piling. Both were killed instantly. An autopsy later revealed that Morgan had Percodan and cocaine in his system, and his blood alcohol content was nearly three times the legal limit.[2] Neither Morgan nor Levine was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.[5]
Legacy
Morgan is buried in the Seaside Cemetery in Blue Hill, Maine.[1] At the time of his death, Morgan was working on a second novel.[8] His obituary reported that immediately after his death.[8] Nearly four months later, a long article about Morgan in The Washington Post Style section quoted a representative of his publishing company as saying he left behind outlines for some of the chapters and nothing else.[6] The spokesperson considered that detail important because company officials were glad they had given Morgan only a small advance to work on the novel even though he had pleaded for a lot more money, and the amount they insisted on giving him made him "bitter".[6] The second novel was never published.[6]
Seth Morgan has been cited as a major influence on the works of Craig Clevenger and Will Christopher Baer.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Seth Morgan’s Last Ride". Esquire. February 1, 1991.
- 1 2 Seinfelt, Mark (1999). Final Drafts: Suicides of World-Famous Authors. Prometheus Books. p. 432. ISBN 1-615-92664-X.
- ↑ "Blues For Janis". Time. October 19, 1970. p. 63.
- ↑ Seinfelt 1999 p. 433
- 1 2 Blau, Eleanor (October 19, 1990). "Seth Morgan, 41, Dies in Crash; His Novel, 'Homeboy', Won Praise". nytimes.com. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Harris, Art (February 12, 1991). "The Last Ride of a Rebel Writer; For Seth Morgan, Drugs, Crime & An Instant Legend". Washington Post. p. D2.
- ↑ Portion of Washington Post article about Suzy Levine bailing Morgan out of jail can be found by clicking here.
External links
- Mansen, Deborah. "Fiction: New Guys on the block: Hell's Angels in Purgatory." New York Times Review 6 May 1990.
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