The Grim, Blood-Soaked World of Donald Goines

Donald Goines had a tough time in the 70s. Though a successful writer, bookstores refused to stock his books. Reviewers wouldn’t touch them. His publisher exploited him.

And all of his work was printed on cheap paper, with even cheaper covers, and only stocked in newsstands. His was the very definition of pulp.

So, how did Donald Goines go from that, to being stocked everywhere and hailed by literature lovers and hip-hop stars alike as a master of his craft?

Donald Goines, From Heroine Addicted Jailbird to Popular Novelist 

Donald Goines was born to a moderately successful black family in 1937. His parent’s profitable dry-cleaning business allowed him and his brothers to lead a stable, middle-class life.

But it wasn’t long before the young Donald was getting into all kinds of trouble. He mixed with the wrong crowd when he started going to Detroit Public Schools, falling into a life of petty crime.

Donald Goines knew if he stayed, he’d end up either in jail or in the gutter, so he doctored his birth certificate and joined the army. At 15, he was on his way to fight in the Korean war.

The military was far from being his salvation, however, as he quickly found himself addicted to heroin. When the war ended in ’57, Goines came back home with a habit that needed feeding, bad.

Donald Goines found himself back in the underworld. He needed the money for the dope, which led him to petty larceny, bootlegging, and armed robbery. Predictably, he found himself doing stints in jail soon after.

But in jail, Goines found purpose. The writer Iceberg Slim was popular in the pen, with hustlers seeing their experiences accurately depicted for the first time in history. Donald Goines knew what he had to do.

He had to get his own street experiences on the page. He started writing his first novel, Whoreson, a violent, sometimes sickening account of a kid born to a prostitute and his experiences in the ghetto.

It was quickly picked up by Iceberg Slim’s publishers, Holloway House, and once he was let out of jail, Donald Goines found himself with a publishing contract.

Fame, Money, and the Irresistible Pull of Dope

Whoreson found itself in limbo for a while, so Donald Goines got to work on his second novel (which would be the first one he published) – Dopefiend.

Dopefiend was a semi-autobiographical work, and pulled no punches in its grim depictions of what life was like on the streets for most African Americans who were hooked on dope. With descriptions of assault and violence that are still shocking today, it shows that life in the ghetto was harsh and unforgiving.

It would set the trend for Donald Goines’ future novels. All of them would be blood-soaked, violent, and relentlessly grim. 

His depiction of the streets had no fantasy to it. No happy endings come out of nowhere. People lead harsh lives full of hardship, pain, torture, and death. And readers were eating it up.

He was one of the most popular black authors of his time – even though his work was frowned upon by the mainstream. He was also incredibly prolific, publishing 16 novels from 1971 to 1974, cementing his literary legacy.

Unfortunately, the streets and the dope never let go of Donald Goines. Despite trying multiple times to kick his habit, including moving to LA in the hope that Hollywood would come knocking so that he could escape his exploitative publisher, it never stuck.

And on October 21^st, 1974, two gunmen would bust into Donald Goines and his wife Sailor’s house and kill them both. An anonymous tip to the cops brought them to the house, only for them to discover Goines himself dead in the living room and Sailor’s body in the kitchen.

The gunmen were never found or identified, and the case remains unsolved. Rumors abound, however, with many speculating that Goines was murdered because he used real underworld figures as inspiration for his novels.

Donald Goines’ funeral was described as an almost cult-like affair, with hundreds in attendance. His family placed one of his books in his hands as he was buried. A book that was later stolen – a testament to his status as a celebrity.

Donald Goines and His Immortality as a Pop Culture Icon

Although never able to truly escape the ghetto, Donald Goines became a pop-culture sensation that persists to this day.

Two movies were made of his works in the 2000s, Crime Partners, with Ice-T starring, and Never Die Alone, starring the late DMX. Not only that, but his depiction of the streets still resonates with many today.

50 Cent said that he didn’t like reading until he found Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim novels, books that spoke to his experiences. Other rappers continue to reference his books in their music. Many songs are named after his work. And his books are used in multiple prison reading programs.

Donald Goines’ work has not only entertained for years, but has smashed its way into hip-hop culture in a way that very few other writers have managed. 

His pessimism with the Civil Rights movement still holds weight, since we are all forced to ask ourselves…

Just how far have we come since the 1970s if the grim, blood-soaked world Donald Gaines described still resonates?

Donald Goines, A Legend Gone Too Soon

He may have been taken too soon, but he left his mark on the world.

Donald Goines novels are all still in print, with gorgeous reprints out now, both in eBook and paperback forms. You can also snag audiobooks.

He lives on in his work, just like all writers do. Inspiring people like me to write their own tales set in the 1970s (although mine are much less grim).

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