Curve: 3 Things I Learned From Reading Pimp
Pimp is the name of the brash and raw autobiography from Robert Beck. One of the most successful African American writers of the 20th century, his debut book created the fervor that led to him selling nine million copies over the course of his career. Pimp depicts his life in the streets of Chicago and other cities in the 40’s and 50’s, a life filled with cruelty, cunning and violence. In the midst of all the violence and bleakness however, are gems and nuggets of knowledge that help the reader to see the nature of men and women more clearly. Dave Chappelle in his last Netflix series described the impact it played on his life as well, and after all his shows he gives members of the crowd copies of their own to read.
Recommended to me by an older friend of mine, I read the book almost two years ago. I devoured the writing, drawn in by powerful and poetic prose, and the gravity of his stories. The characters and his depiction of life was so vivid that I wondered if he wrote the book while in the life not years afterwards. I took the lessons I gleaned from the book and wrote about it in a book called Curve. I was able to break down three major principles from the book.
Principle #1: How You Start is How You Finish
“The way that you start with a bitch is how you’ll end with a bitch.” The advice came from a character…
