The Best of the Best
For as long as tobacco has been smoked, there have been individuals that exemplify the craft. Read more
Tobacco: The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of
Tobacco lit cannot be discussed without considering film noir: Crime Fiction in the 1940s romanticized tobacco in an irreversible way. Read more
Virtues and Miami Vices
Miami Vice premiered in 1984 and was the last American television show to glorify smoking. Read more
Fear, Loathing and Tobacco
Hunter S. Thompson, the creator of Gonzo journalism, was rarely seen without a cigarette. Read more
Beatniks on Tobacco
The official blog of the Geist Tobacco Lit Writing Contest looks at the instant gratification that cigarettes provided the greatest writers of the Beat Generation. Read more
The Honourable Suicide of Kurt Vonnegut
"The public health authorities never mention the main reason many Americans have for smoking heavily, which is that smoking is a fairly sure, fairly honorable form of suicide.” —Kurt Vonnegut Read more
Lucy, You Got Some Smokin' to Do
I Love Lucy was unique when it first premiered because it was sponsored entirely by Philip Morris cigarettes, which gave them tremendous sway over creative content. Read more
Breathlessness
Breathless was Jean-Luc Godard's first feature and a landmark film in the New Wave movement, containing all the hallmarks of American noir: criminals, voice-overs, a femme-fatale and lots of smoking. Read more
Why Crad Kilodney Loves Tobacco
Crad Kilodney could always be found on Yonge Street, rain or shine, with his stapled and photocopied books in hand and a pipe in his mouth. Read more
The Spy Who Loved Smoking
In the original novels by Ian Fleming, James Bond is a heavy smoker, putting away between sixty and seventy cigarettes a day. Read more
Up to Snuff
The official blog of the Geist Tobacco Lit Contest looks at the extinct habit of snuff tobacco. Read more
Springfield's Cigarettes
The official blog of the Geist Tobacco Lit Writing Contest looks at the long, hilarious history of smoking in The Simpsons. Read more
Smoking Songs
The official blog of the Geist Tobacco Lit Writing Contest looks at the inexorable link between smoking and the image of the musician. Read more
The Future of Smoking
The official blog of the Geist Tobacco Lit Writing Contest discusses the future of smoking as evidenced by science fiction. Read more
Welcome to Flavour Country
The official blog of the Geist Tobacco Lit Writing Contest marks the departure of the ever-present ever-changing cigarette slogan. Read more
What We Talk About When We Talk About Cigarettes
The official blog of the Geist Tobacco Lit Contest looks at Raymond Carver and the prevalence of cigarettes in his work. Read more
Geistbusters
The official blog of the Geist Tobacco Lit Contest looks at the chain-smoking, ghost-hunting scientists of the 1984 hit film Ghostbusters. Read more
Disney's Ashes
The official blog of the Geist Tobacco Lit Contest looks at the long history (and current absence) of smoking in Disney films. Read more
The Calabash
The official blog of the Geist Tobacco Lit Contest investigatges Sherlock Holmes and his iconic Calabash pipe. Read more
The Man with No Name
The official blog of the Geist Tobacco Lit Writing Contest talks about Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood and those signature Toscano cigars. Read more
