Absinthe.se
The internet's premier independent absinthe resource since 2003
I sit at my door, smoking a cigarette and sipping my absinthe, and I enjoy every day without a care in the world.
- Paul Gaugin, 1897
Ernest Dowson, 1867-1900
Dowson was a novelist and short story writer. He was one of the best known of "the Decadents", definitely and absintheur and - unusually for the time - an Englishman.
Oscar Wilde is known to have commented on Dowson's heavy absinthe drinking, pointing out that if Dowson didn't drink absinthe, he just wouldn't be Dowson... Ernest Downson died at the very young age of only 32 years much due to his alcoholism. Both his father and mother died only a few years before and the sorrow of losing them both was very hard on him and was in large part cause of his rapid degeneration.
Dowson understood the romantic properties of the green spirit: 'Whiskey and beer are for fools,' he once said; 'absinthe has the power of the magicians; it can wipe out or renew the past, and annul or foretell the future.'
- absinthe books and poetry -
Many writers "of old" wrote poems or passages about absinthe. Some drank it, some didn't. Find some of them here as well as reviews and notes on modern books about absinthe.
- latest news and additions -
Today, on 14 May 2012, it is exactly 100 years since August Strindberg passed away. In honor of the 100 year anniversary of his passing I have published the extensively updated profile on August Strinderg - the absinthe drinker, with several interesting quotes from his works and personal letters to friends and loved ones.
Read more...
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It's the new bistro, the new bar in town. A good place to meet when meeting in real life isn't always an option. Meet me on facebook for more updates from the absinthe world.