"Yes, I think poker really isn't gambling." -- Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez (born London, August 5, 1929) is an English poet, writer and critic who publishes under the name A. Alvarez and Al Alvarez.
Born Alfred Alvarez, he was educated at Oundle School and Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where he took a First in English. After teaching briefly in Oxford and the USA, he became a fulltime writer in his late twenties. From 1956 to 1966, he was the poetry editor and critic for The Observer, where he introduced British readers to John Berryman, Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath, Zbigniew Herbert, and Miroslav Holub.
Alvarez is the author of many non-fiction books. He is best known for his study of suicide, The Savage God, which gained added resonance from his friendship with Plath. He has also written on divorce (Life After Marriage), dreams (Night), and the oil industry (Offshore), as well as his hobbies of poker (The Biggest Game In Town) and mountaineering (Feeding the Rat, a profile of his frequent climbing partner Mo Anthoine). His 1999 autobiography is entitled Where Did It All Go Right?
His 1962 poetry anthology The New Poetry was hailed at the time as a fresh departure. It championed the American style, in relation to the perceived excessive 'gentility' of British poetry of the time. In 2010 he was awarded the A.C.Benson Medal by the Royal Society of Literature.
Alvarez was portrayed by Jared Harris in the 2003 film Sylvia, which chronicles the troubled relationship between Plath and her husband Ted Hughes.
"But in a tournament, you can be said in for all your money at any point so you can't make any mistakes so you have to, it's all about where you're sitting at the table.""I absolutely don't believe in anything. Full stop. Including luck.""I could think of worse ways of going than at the poker table.""I hate writing.""I mean being a writer is like being a psychoanalyst, but you don't get any patients.""I mean to say, this is the book and I really loathe it and I can't imagine what a nice Jewish boy like me ever, how I ever got into this dreadful trade.""I think one of the interesting things about poker is that once you let your ego in, you're done for.""I'm good at reading people.""Now, if, as I think, writing should be, it's a kind of risky trade.""The fact that we write about it doesn't mean we play better than ordinary players at all.""When you make a bet, you're saying something."