Kathy Acker was a pioneering postmodern author whose works explored the boundaries of sexuality, identity, and power. Her writing is characterized by its experimental nature, blending genres and utilizing fragmentation and collage. Acker delved into the darker and often taboo aspects of human experience, challenging conventional narrative forms and reader expectations. Her provocative and uncompromising style makes her a unique and influential figure in literature.
The new introduction by Neil Gaiman emphasizes the contemporary relevance and urgency of the book, suggesting it addresses themes that resonate powerfully in today's world. It hints at a narrative that may challenge societal norms and provoke thought, reflecting on the dangers and complexities present in its subject matter. Gaiman's endorsement indicates a significant impact, making it a compelling read for those interested in literature that engages with pressing issues.
This work reinterprets a classic tale, transforming it into a bold exploration of textual appropriation and homage. The narrative subverts traditional expectations of causality and moral sensibility, offering readers a fresh perspective on familiar themes. Through innovative variations, it challenges conventional narrative forms, showcasing Kathy Acker's distinctive voice and literary style. The book invites readers to rethink their understanding of classic literature while engaging with its provocative and experimental approach.
Kathy Acker was a punk-rock counter-cultural icon, and innovator of the literary underground. The interviews collected here span her amazing, uncompromising, and often misunderstood 30-year career. From Acker's earliest interviews--filled with playful, evasive, and counter-intuitive responses--to the last interview before her death where she reflects on the state of American literature, these interviews capture the writer at her funny and surprising best. Another highlight includes Acker's 1997 interview with the Spice Girls on the forces of pop and feminism (which reads as if it could have been conducted with a new generation of pop star in 2018).
Two terrorists ponder the dangers of love and language in Kathy Acker's "twisted re-creation of quest sagas and Bildungsroman and TV sitcoms" (Philadelphia Enquirer)
'INTENSE SEXUAL DESIRE IS THE GREATEST THING IN THE WORLD' A tale of art, sex, blood, junkies and whores in New York's underground, from cult literary icon Kathy Acker Penguin Modern: fifty new books celebrating the pioneering spirit of the iconic Penguin Modern Classics series, with each one offering a concentrated hit of its contemporary, international flavour. Here are authors ranging from Kathy Acker to James Baldwin, Truman Capote to Stanislaw Lem and George Orwell to Shirley Jackson; essays radical and inspiring; poems moving and disturbing; stories surreal and fabulous; taking us from the deep South to modern Japan, New York's underground scene to the farthest reaches of outer space.
"After Kathy Acker met McKenzie Wark on a trip to Australia in 1995, they had a brief fling and immediately began a heated two-week email correspondence. Their emails shimmer with insight, gossip, sex, and cultural commentary. They write in a frenzy, several times a day; their emails cross somewhere over the International Date Line, and themselves become a site of analysis. What results is an index of how two brilliant and idiosyncratic writers might go about a courtship across 7,500 miles of airspace--by pulling in Alfred Hitchcock, stuffed animals, Georges Bataille, Elvis Presley, phenomenology, Marxism, The X-Files, psychoanalysis, and the I Ching. Their correspondence is Plato's Symposium for the twenty-first century, but written for queers, transsexuals, nerds, and book geeks. I'm Very Into You is a text of incipience, a text of beginnings, and a set of notes on the short, shared passage of two iconic individuals of our time."--Page 4 of cover
The book explores how the rise of the World Wide Web challenges traditional notions of writing and creativity, paralleling the impact of photography on painting. Editors Craig Dworkin and Kenneth Goldsmith compile innovative works that engage with the evolving materiality of language and the transformative nature of digital text. This collection highlights contemporary responses to the complexities of expression in a digital age, inviting readers to reconsider the boundaries of literature and artistic creation.
This volume delves into the creative dialogue between Paul Buck and the late Kathy Acker, highlighting their correspondence from the early 1980s. It explores themes of appropriation and plagiarism, reflecting on their relevance in contemporary discourse. Buck's work transcends traditional boundaries, merging visual arts and literature while reinterpreting Acker's letters and published pieces. The narrative also revisits their initial meetings in Amsterdam and Paris, enriched by contributions from writer Rebecca Stephens and artist John Cussans, creating a transgressive exploration of creativity.
The early 1970s short novels showcase a young writer's bold and provocative style, reflecting a unique, subversive worldview. With themes of sexuality and rebellion, these recently unearthed works capture the essence of Acker's innovative literary voice, offering readers a glimpse into the formative years of her career.
The incredible variety of Acker's body of work has been distilled into a single volume that reads like a communique from the front lines of late-20th century America. Acker was a literary pirate whose prodigious output drew promiscuously from popular culture, the classics of Western civilization, current events, and the raw material of her own life.