Readers of this site know that 'tough guy' writers are my pet peeve. Yes, some writers really were tough: Mickey Spillane, Nelson Algren, Eddie Bunker, Samuel 'Cut Deeper' Johnson, and Thomas Carlyle, to name a few. Cervantes had to be really tough in order to survive his years as a galley slave. Emily Dickinson was also very tough. In fact, she regularly took the train into Boston to participate in bare knuckle boxing matches staged by recent immigrants from Ireland. She boxed under the name "The Little Wren" and "The Battling Wren."
On the other hand, the punks these days that write about fight clubs and what have you -- they couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag! That's why the discovery of a new and genuinely tough writer is so exciting. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Al Nussbaum!
You can learn about Al Nussbaum at the website devoted to him and his friends: http://alnussbaum.com/ And that's not all! You know how disappointing it is to read about an old time "gun moll" -- but when you Google her image she looks like a rhinoceros? Bonnie Parker was no Faye Dunaway, that's for sure. Well, here again Al Nussbaum delivers. Feast your eyes!
"Jacqueline Ruth Rose was a former waitress from Paoli, Indiana. At age 19, Rose was wanted by the FBI for driving a getaway car in a bank robbery by One Eye Bobby Wilcoxson and Al Nussbaum." Read more about Jacqueline at the Al Nussbaum website. There's even a link to a story by Al Nussbaum himself, written after he got out of prison. It was published in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.
Thank you for the heads up. I will check it out for sure. The Hitchcock reference though peripheral supplies the supplemental meaning that (mike) hammers home the point. Take that, Spillane.
Love what you say about Emily.
Posted by: Sylvie Planet | July 25, 2008 at 05:19 PM
Al Nussbaum and Jacqueline Ruth Rose were enemies. Bobby Wilcoxson was Nussbaum's crime partner. Nussbaum was the planner and Wilcoxson was the muscle. Nussbaum and Rose could not stand each other. Nussbaum and Rose both needed Wilcoxson.
Posted by: Steve | August 01, 2008 at 04:52 PM
I read Mr. Nussbaum's story "Collision" at that link and was very pleased with the reading. I'm trying to find more Nussbaum, but my local public library doesn't know him. Nussbaum's style, to judge by "Collision," is succinct, lucid and marvelously honest; I'm sure his being an experienced pug-ugly and, with all due respect, jerk, help to make this achievement possible. Thanks for bringing my attention to all this!
Posted by: Willie | May 27, 2009 at 01:19 PM
Many years ago I read a story by Nussbaum titled "The Artist". It remains to this date one of the best stories of its type I've ever read. The first person narrator is a psychopathic personality, but this is not truly revealed until the story's last couple of lines. Skillfully done. This guy was good. I've managed to ferret out a couple of more Nussbaum stories and they were also equally high quality, featuring crisp narration, an insight into the criminal mind, and a brilliant sense of irony. I'd like to see a collection of his work published.
Posted by: Todd Pence | November 06, 2009 at 04:57 PM
Your wishes are about to come true. I am Al Nussbaum's daughter and am currently compiling a collection of his short stories. You can find out more at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nuttree/turning-sentences-into-words and www.albertnussbaum.com. I welcome your comments and hope you find this project interesting and worthwhile enough to spread the word!
Alison Nussbaum
Posted by: Alison Nussbaum | October 13, 2012 at 10:09 AM
I am Jacqueline Ruth Rose's daughter........ Thanks Bobby and Al.
Posted by: tee | June 29, 2014 at 08:13 PM