Louisville Free Public Library hosts 9th annual Gonzo Fest

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville writer known as the founder of gonzo journalism was celebrated in his hometown Saturday.

The Main Library of the Louisville Free Public Library hosted the ninth annual Gonzo Fest. The literary and music festival honored the legacy of Hunter S. Thompson, who rose to prominence with one-of-a-kind accounts of the Kentucky Derby, the Hells Angles motorcycle gang and the 1972 presidential election.

"He was an original voice," said Ron Whitehead, a writer, poet and professor. "Nobody can be, can write, like Hunter Thompson."

Thompson was born in 1937 in Louisville and grew up at a house on Ransdell Avenue. He committed suicide on Feb. 20, 2005, at his home in Woody Creek, Colorado.

Gonzo Fest featured music, spoken word and panel discussions. The library at 301 York Street was chosen as the location for the festival because Thompson's mother, Virginia Thompson, worked at the branch for years as a librarian.

Looking for more of a Thompson fix? There are exhibitions dedicated to the writer at the Frazier History Museum and the Speed Art Museum.