Ned Polsky

Ned Polsky ({{birth date|1928|10|20}} – {{death date|2000|06|13}}) was an American author and sociologist who wrote the 1969 book Hustlers, Beats, and Others, about political culture, criminology and pool hustlers.{{cite news |last1=Pagann |first1=Christian |title=Decline and fall of six pockets: Hustlers, Beats, and Others (book review) |publisher=Chicago Tribune |date=20 August 1967|id={{ProQuest|179264857}} }}{{cite news |last1=Curtis |first1=C. Michael |title=Hustlers, Beats, and Others (book review) |publisher=Christian Science Monitor |date=10 August 1967|id={{ProQuest|510934725}} }}{{cite journal |last1=Erikson |first1=Kai T. |title=Review of Hustlers, Beats, and Others |journal=American Sociological Review |date=1968 |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=460–462 |doi=10.2307/2091925 |jstor=2091925 }}{{cite journal |last1=Boskin |first1=Joseph |title=Review of Hustlers, Beats, and Others |journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science |date=1968 |volume=376 |pages=197 |jstor=1037858 }}{{cite journal |last1=Roebuck |first1=Julian |title=Review of Hustlers, Beats, and Others |journal=The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science |date=1969 |volume=60 |issue=2 |pages=232–233 |doi=10.2307/1142244 |jstor=1142244 }}{{cite journal |last1=Lemert |first1=Edwin M. |title=Review of Hustlers, Beats, and Others. |journal=American Journal of Sociology |date=1968 |volume=73 |issue=5 |pages=649–650 |doi=10.1086/224553 |jstor=2775581 }}{{cite journal |last1=Cohen |first1=Stanley |title=Review of Hustlers, Beats, and Others |journal=The British Journal of Criminology |date=1968 |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=93–95 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.bjc.a049118 |jstor=23635220 }} He was also known for his criticism of Norman Mailer's essay The White Negro, included with the essay in later collections of Mailer's work,{{cite magazine |title=The Norman Invasion |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/10/21/the-norman-invasion |magazine=The New Yorker |date=14 October 2013 }} and as an "insane Joyce fanatic" who memorized long passages from Finnegans Wake.{{cite news |title=Some Bars in Some Places |url=https://rkovach.wordpress.com/2008/05/27/some-bars-in-some-places/ |work=Good Stories |date=28 May 2008 |first=Roger |last=Kovach }}{{self-published inline|date=August 2022}}

Polsky studied linguistics and literature at the University of Wisconsin, and pursued graduate studies in sociology at the University of Chicago, although he did not complete his degree. He was for many years a professor of sociology at Stony Brook University,{{citation|url=http://lakechapalaartists.com/?p=1385|title=Ned Polsky (1928–2000), Beat Sociologist|work=Lake Chapala Artists|publisher=Sombrero Books|accessdate=2019-02-22}} and served as vice president of the Society for the Study of Social Problems in 1971–1972.{{citation|url=https://www.sssp1.org/index.cfm/m/527/locationSectionId/0/Past_Presidents,_Vice_Presidents,_and_Editors|title=Past Presidents, Vice-Presidents, and Editors|publisher=Society for the Study of Social Problems|accessdate=2019-02-22}} He was also a skilled pool player, and in his retirement became an antiquarian bookseller.{{citation|url=http://www.asanet.org/sites/default/files/savvy/footnotes/nov00/departments.html|title=Ned Polsky (1928–2000)|first=Robert|last=Kahn|authorlink=Robert Louis Kahn|journal=Footnotes|date=November 2000|publisher=American Sociological Association}}

In 1968, he signed the "Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War."Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" January 30, 1968 New York Post