Poet Laureates of Poker: Part One, Al Alvarez
By Murphy James

In 1983 Al Alvarez published The Biggest Game in Town. One critic called it "the origin of contemporary poker literature." The London Evening Standard calls it "probably the best book on poker ever written." McManus, author of Positively Fifth Street calls it "the seminal book on the literature of poker. Gorgeously written. Very cool."

Alvarez covered the World Series of Poker in 1981 on assignment from the New Yorker. The Biggest Game in Town was originally published in the magazine as a series of long articles. "Here was the World Series of Poker," Alvarez says, "and hardly anyone was writing about it." With a few changes, the articles became the book.

Prior to The Biggest Game, most poker books were about strategy or how to play the game. Katy Lederer, in Poker Face, calls this the "head" of poker. Al wrote about the people who played poker: their backgrounds, families, and what they did away from the poker table. He wrote about the heart of poker. And in so doing, he created a new literature.

Alvarez’ other poker book, Poker: Bets, Bluffs, and Bad Beats (2001), is a beautifully illustrated, coffee table-type book, heavy on the history of poker. And that’s it. Only two of his 25 books are about poker. Among his older works, only Biggest Game is still in print.

Alvarez is a man of many passions: poetry, pipes, and poker lead the list. He has served as poetry editor and critic for the London Observor and was an early champion of the American poet, Sylvia Plath, and her British husband, Ted Hughes.

In The Savage God, a book on suicide, he recounts Sylvia’s suicide in the first chapter and his own attempt, after a failed marriage, in the last. Alvarez is portrayed by Jared Harris in the movie, “Sylvia,” starring Gwenth Paltrow, with Daniel Craig (the new James Bond) portraying Ted Hughes.

Sylvia had several suicide attempts before she died from gas in a cooking oven in 1963. In the film (as she tries to seduce Alvarez), he tells her of his own suicide attempt. One thing they had in common: they took too many sleeping pills and threw them up.

Her poetry is filed with images of death including her last effort, “Edge,” in 1963: “The woman is perfected. Her dead Body wears the smile of accomplishment . . . .”

Alvarez talks of his own life in several of his works. In his autobiography, Where Did It All Go Right? his life is recounted in two parts: the first 30 years or so when he was a struggling writer, unhappily married, stuck doing wretched theatre reviews of plays like The Amorous Prawn and teetering on the brink of self-destruction. And in the next 40 years and counting, books about rock climbing (Feeding the Rat), oil exploration in the North Sea (Offshore: A North Sea Journey), and writing (The Writer’s Voice), and a happy marriage to Anne, a psychotherapist.

And a return to poetry, after 25 years, with New and Selected Poems. Among those in his collection, one about Anne:

Anne Dancing

You sashay in, twenty years-old again,
Sweatshirt and jeans, eyes closed, a cat-like smile,
Self-satisfied, self-absorbed, hips swaying,
Weaving your intricate steps across
The intricate carpet. The merest glance
At me does it. You're a North American
College girl out on a date, a '50s-style
Dazzler - great legs, cute ass, sweet smile.
That's Satchmo playing
Your youth back loud and clear. You toss
Your greying, lovely head. You say, "Come on, let's dance."

In a book (The Mind Has Mountains) put together by his friends to commemorate Alvarez’ 70th birthday, David Cornwell, aka John le Carre, writes: “Al is the most chivalrous and best-mannered man you or I are likely to meet.”

Another contributor to The Mind Has Mountains is British biographer Anthony Holden. Reflecting on Al’s life, he writes: “A poet must visit dark and dangerous places to return with anything worthwhile.”

End of Part One. See Parts Two and Three for other Poet Laureates of Poker.

(c) 2006 Murphy James

Murphy James is the pen name of Harry Murphy. He is a frequent contributor to Poker News and Strip Las Vegas Magazine. His website is http://www.murphyjames.com His email address is murphyjames@murphyjames.com

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