“New York is cocaine, opium, hashish”
American short story writer and journalist Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) wrote to Samuel Loveman on May 28, 1911:
“This is my dull period—I’ve been pleasuring for weeks in New York, and there’s always a reaction. New York is cocaine, opium, hashish.”
“New York is cocaine, opium, hashish” has appeared in several collections of quotations about New York City.
Wikipedia: Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – c. 1914) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book The Devil’s Dictionary was named as one of “The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature” by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration.
Google Books
Twenty-one Letters of Ambrose Bierce
Edited with a Note by Samuel Loveman
Cleveland, OH: George Kirk
1922
Pg. 23:
Washington, D. C.
Dear Mr. Loveman,
Pg. 24:
This is my dull period—I’ve been pleasuring for weeks in New York, and there’s always a reaction. New York is cocaine, opium, hashish.
Are we to have a book from you?
Sincerely yours,
Ambrose Bierce.
May 28, 1911.
28 October 1962, New York (NY) Times, “This Is New York—Or Is It” compiled by Edward F. Murphy, New York Times Magazine, pg. 69, col. 3:
“New York is cocaine, opium, hashish.”
—Ambrose Bierce.
The Ambrose Bierce Project Journal (Fall 2005)
THE MAGIC MOMENT:
THE LIMINAL, DISTENDED TIME FLASHFORWARD OF AMBROSE BIERCE
(...)
The use of psychoactive drugs provides another way to bring out the differences between objective and subjective time. It is well known that Bierce enjoyed drinking. It is little known that he also enjoyed the effects of cocaine, opium, and hashish. [27] From his extensive combat experience to his pipe dreams, Bierce understood the subjective nature of felt time.
(...)
27. See Bierce’s letter to Samuel Loveman, May 28, 1911. He writes: “I’ve been pleasuring for weeks in New York, and there’s always a reaction. New York is cocaine, opium, hashish.” Quoted in Twenty-one Letters of Ambrose Bierce, edited with a note by Samuel Loveman (Cleveland: George Kirk, 1922),
Google Books
The Epic of New York City:
A Narrative History
By Edward Robb Ellis
New York, NY: Carroll & Graf
2005
Pg. 595:
Ambrose Bierce: “New York is cocaine, opium, hashish.”
Twitter
Lauren Cerand
@luxlotus
“New York is cocaine, opium, hashish.”—Ambrose Bierce; From today’s Manhattan Users Guide on “Forbidden Pleasures”: http://bit.ly/Dqyr1
11:08 AM · Feb 25, 2009·Twitter Web Client
Twitter
NY Daily Quote
@nydailyquote
“New York is cocaine, opium, hashish.” http://nydailyquote.com/2011/01/new-york-is-drug.html?spref=tw
1:57 PM · Jan 13, 2011·Twitter for Websites