Hannah Puts on His Silk PJs and Slippers

I am officially declaring a temporary moratorium on “I read it for the articles” jokes for this post. It’s too easy and obvious.

But I was thrilled to see Barry Hannah’s name on the front cover of the latest issue of Playboy. No, they’re not doing some kind of layout with writers standing around looking cool while models cavort around them. Rock stars get all those assignments.

Instead, Hannah writes a piece about fighting alcoholism in Tuscaloosa, AL. It’s as much a recounting of his intense relationship with the city as it is a reflection of his relationship to the drink. It’s full of typical Hannah sentences and passages. And there’s one particularly moving passage where Hannah’s elderly father, tired from worry over his son, appeals for sobriety.

All in all, it’s an interesting piece. We even get allusions (although they’re brief) to legendary Hannah stories concerning guns, convertibles, and released arrows.

And even though they didn’t hide the bunny icon in the letters, it was great to see a literary writer’s name prominently displayed on the front cover.