Punk literature

Encyclopedia : P : PU : PUN : Punk literature

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Punk literature emerged from the punk subculture. The punk attitude and ideology has also given rise to distinctive characteristics in its manifestations of literature. It has generated a considerable amount of poetry and prose, as varied as the subculture itself. It has had an influence on the popular transgressional fiction literary genre and several science fiction and fantasy genres have been named after it.

Zines and journalism

Punk has its own underground press in the form of punk zines. Punk zines chronicle and help to define punk. Most punk scenes have at least one punk zine, which feature news, gossip, cultural criticism, and interviews with local or touring punk rock bands. Some punk zines take the form of perzines. Important punk zines include Maximum RocknRoll, Punk Planet, and Cometbus. Also, a number of novels, biographies, autobiographies, and comic books have been written about punk.

Poetry

Richard Hell, Jim Carroll, and Patti Smith are examples of punk poets. Jim Carroll's autobiographical works are perhaps the first punk literature. The Medway Poets, a British punk performance group, was formed in 1979, and included punk musician Billy Childish. They are credited with influencing Tracey Emin, who was associated with them as a teenager. Members later formed the Stuckists art group. A description by Charles Thomson of a Medway Poets performance contrasts with the sedate image of poetry:

Bill Lewis jumped on a chair, threw his arms wide (at least once hitting his head on the ceiling) and pretended he was Jesus. Billy sprayed his poems over anyone too close to him and drank whisky excessively. Miriam told the world about her vagina. Rob and I did a joint performance posing, with little difficulty, as deranged, self-obsessed writers. Sexton finally introduced us to his girlfriend, Mildred, who turned out to be a wig on a wadge of newspaper on the end of an iron pipe. She liked his poems.["1979" from "A Stuckist on Stuckism", Charles Thomson, 2004] Accessed April 9, 2006

Prose and fiction

Comics

Love and Rockets is a notable comic with a plot involving the Los Angeles punk scene.

Literary genres

Punk has had an influence on other literature, inspiring the cyberpunk and steampunk genres. A number of literary genres take their name from punk, including:

• Biopunk

- set in present or in a future time, where genetics have advanced significantly

Cyberpunk and Postcyberpunk

- set in a futuristic (usually dystopic), highly technological world

Mannerpunk

- themes relating to the comedy of manners and high fantasy fiction

Splatterpunk

- themes relating to horror fiction

Steampunk

- set during the Victorian era, English Regency, Industrial Revolution and Edwardian period

See also

• Punk
• Kathy Acker

References

 

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