The Old Soak, and Hail And Farewell

The Old Soak, and Hail And Farewell gathers Don Marquis's comic intelligence around one of his most durable inventions: the bibulous, loquacious observer whose tavern wisdom becomes a vehicle for social satire. Written in a supple vernacular, the pieces transform anecdote, complaint, and mock-philosophy into a portrait of American manners in transition, especially under the shadow of temperance and Prohibition. Marquis's style is conversational yet artfully poised, belonging to the great tradition of American newspaper humor while carrying an unmistakably elegiac undertone. Marquis, best remembered for archy and mehitabel, was a journalist, poet, playwright, and humorist whose daily immersion in urban life sharpened his ear for eccentric speech and democratic argument. His experience in newspaper columns encouraged brevity, timing, and character-based wit, while his humane skepticism gave even comic figures moral density. The Old Soak reflects Marquis's fascination with ordinary talk as a repository of cultural memory. This book is warmly recommended to readers interested in American humor, Prohibition-era satire, and literary journalism at its most polished. It offers laughter, but also a shrewd meditation on habit, change, and the consolations of storytelling.