Croakers
In the August 2009 edition of The Monthly Magazine, Gail Bell writes for The Nation Reviewed in light of the recent death of Michael Jackson. Croakers considers the uses and abuses of narcotics and anaesthetics as aids to the often insatiable desire for oblivion.
“If claims about Jackson’s use of this drug [Diprivan] are true, then it would seem in his case that an ethical boundary line has been crossed; one that has implications for our interpretation of the words ‘acceptable medical practice’.
Medical practitioners who willingly prescribe for the stars are often blinded by the light of fame and money, while in the parallel universe of the street an addict has to work hard to be seen at all. “William S Burroughs called these narcotic-prescription-writing doctors croakers”.
Endnotes
In the April 2009 edition of The Monthly Magazine, Gail Bell investigates matters of life and death in a new essay, “Endnotes”. Drawing on her work as a pharmacist and her personal experiences, she offers an affecting and beautifully crafted meditation on the choices we make, and those we avoid, about ending our lives.
“Lena showed me her workshop notes. One sheet, ‘Preparations for Life’s Final Journey’, asked for ten or so lines on the theme If I had six months to live, I would … Followed by: If I had my life over, I would … To me, these are unbearably sad subjects. I couldn’t write a word if the exercises were given to me. I am not ready. For Lena, they are projects, goals, steps on the path … She knows that she is not tired of life. Nor is she depressed. If anything, she’s a pragmatist who has lived long enough to know that all good things must come to an end.”
Editor of The Monthly, Sally Warhaft writes: “I think it is the best thing you’ve written for us. It’s a very moving, informative and brave piece, beautifully written, and I know our readers will love it.”
Macbeth on Monday
In the October 2008 edition of The Monthly Magazine, Gail writes for The Nation Reviewed. Macbeth on Monday is a fond recollection of her fifteen years as part of a group that met weekly to read aloud from Shakespeare. As the group’s founder becomes ill and the meetings wind down, Gail contemplates what she is losing: a dear friend of long standing and the unique gift of regular excursions into the vital and precise language of Shakespeare’s plays– in particular the tragedy of Macbeth.
Running Dogs: The legal trade behind the manufacture of methamphetamines
In the April 2008 edition of The Monthly Magazine, Gail Bell explores the legal trade in cold and flu tablets which is being exploited by criminal gangs who convert pseudoephedrine into the highly lucrative street drug, methamphetamine.
Chris Feik, editor at Black Inc who publish The Monthly and The Quarterly Essay, describes the essay “Running Dogs” as “intelligent reportage, stylishly written”.
Read an excerpt of the essay here and listen to Gail’s interview with Richard Aedy on Life Matters.
Murder He Ate
In December 2004, at the invitation of David Shipley, Op-ed editor for the New York Times, Gail Bell was invited to write an essay based on the poisoning of Viktor Yushchenko, the Ukrainian Opposition Leader. Mr Yushchenko had dined with three senior officials before he fell ill from the effects of Dioxin, a highly toxic chemical with lasting effects.
https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/19/opinion/murder-he-ate.html?smid=em-share