Eric Hoffer

"When he published his first book, in 1951, Eric Hoffer has been a longshoreman for eight years and had toliled another twenty years before that as a migratory worker. The book, an abstract and lucid analysis of mass movements called The True Believer, was a critical success and is now considered a classic...

Hoffer always carried a notebook with him. There are 131 of them in the archives, still creased from being  carried about in his capacious pockets. Many people carry notebooks but Hoffer's are unusual. He was more disciplined than some imagine. He once said his writing was done "in railroad yards while waiting  for a freight, in the fields while waiting for a truck," conjuring up Jack Kerouac more than Eric Hoffer - two very different writers. His entries, in his workingman's hand, are polished, with few erasures or corrections, even when written on a park bench. His thoughts are always original, and one reads them with an abiding sense that some new revelation may be at hand."

SPARKS
Eric Hoffer and the art of the notebook
HARPERS' Magazine/July 2005

[Thanks Christine!]

Comments

[Mike]

I was glad to see this posted. I went up to Borders to buy the magazine, but the August issue was already out. So, I was off to the library where I found the July issue and made a sixty cent copy of the article. Very good. For anyone who likes Eric Hoffer and his notebooks, I strongly encourage you to find a copy of "Thinking and Working on the Waterfront" by Hoffer which is a journal he kept while working on the docks. It is no longer in print but used copies can be found at the usual places - Amazon marketplace,eBay, Half.com, ABE, etc. I have had my copy for years and have read it a dozen times or more.

[Wayne Sarf]

What sort of notebooks did he carry? Any photos of them? Brand name? The reference to erasures implies that he used pencil -- at least while at the workplace etc.

[Ed Cereghino]

What sort of notebook? Eric was my friend and mentor for over twenty years, and from him I acquired the notebook and card habit. He mostly used Boorum & Pease Memo Books, # 6139 - 4 1/2 x 7 1/4, 98 pages. These are no longer produced, but B & P has a newer version with slightly different dimensions. I'm still using mine, but am almost out of inventory. - Ed Cereghino

[Bill]

Ed, after you left baseball in 1951 and went to college, what did you do? You must have kept up your interest in the game (reading things into your email address, sorry). How did you meet Eric Hoffer?

I apologize for the questions if they are too impolite, and for my ignorance. I write technical stuff, but I'm always a sucker for a great story.

Bill

[Ed Cereghino]

Bill, Nice to hear from you. Actually, I played professional baseball from 1951 through 1958 - five spring trainings with the Yankees, and played mostly Triple A. Retired, finished my collegiate education, and taught at Jefferson High School, Daly City, CA - the school from which I had graduated. Then became principal there and at Rio Vista High School in the Sacramento Delta. Retired seventeen ago. My wife, Jan, and I have been married fifty-three years and live in Lodi, CA. As for Eric, I first "met" him when I was going off to spring training in 1952; I bought THE TRUE BELIEVER and read it on the way to Florida. When I was later teaching at Jefferson, I had Eric come to speak to my students, and from there our friendship lasted for over twenty years. Eric is very much with me just now, as I have just re-read all of his works, my correspondence with him and his biography and autobiography. As for the baseball connection, I've stayed in touch with many of the guys; in fact, just got in this morning - went to a banquet in San Francisco, the focus of which is the San Francisco Baseball Old Timers. We meet monthly and then once a year at this event. Again, nice to hear from you. - Ed

[Don Becker]

Ed: I remember when Grove Mohr first got you to play for Bristow's Candies. You were 13, six feet tall and had a 90 mile an hour fastball. The first time I caught you my hand was swolen to twice normal size. I remember when you signed with the Yankees for $85,000. Too bad your curve ball was not in the same category as you fastball. I also remember your dad who used to drive on our many trips to play against the town teams around Northern California. He was a great guy and wow, did he love his cigars. Hope life is treating you well. Don Becker

[Ed Cereghino]

Don - So great to hear from you! I remember the Big Rec days with fondness. Grove was a great guy, and we had one great bunch of ballplayers. My dad also loved the "ride," if you will. Jan and I see Frank Strazzullo and his wife, Joan, a couple of times a year; next, well see them in Carmel in May. I'll let him know you are out and about. Where are you living? Do you have an email address? Mine is yankseal@comcast.net. Great to hear from you. - Ed