Absinthe: Frequently Asked Questions and Some
Attempted Answers, John Baggott, Web site review by Al
Paulson
Could a potent emerald liquor have had something to do with the
lush paintings of the French Impressionists and the imagery of the
symbolist poets? Did this same elixir cause Van Gogh’s ear-severing
fits of madness or inspire Paul Verlaine to paint himself green and
ride, naked, through the streets of Paris? Indeed, the legendary
spirit absinthe has been credited for such great fits of
creativity, as well as blamed for an eventual decline into
dementia.John Baggott’s Web site provides
comprehensive and clinical information on the pharmacology and
legality of ‘the green fairy’. The site is well-researched and
footnoted, and sheds some light on the culture and mythology
surrounding this liquor that was outlawed in the United States in
1912.
–Al Paulson
Go there>>
RELATED:
Still Life with Absinthe: The tipple of
choice for fin-de-siecle decadents, John Moore, Utne Reader #87
