Blood and Guts in High School: A Novel“Kathy Acker’s writing is virtuoso, maddening, crazy, so sexy, so painful, and beaten out of a wild heart that nothing can tame. Acker is a landmark writer.” —Jeanette Winterson, New York Times–bestselling author A masterpiece of surrealist fiction, steeped in controversy upon its first publication in 1984, Blood and Guts in High School is the book that established Kathy Acker as the preeminent voice of post-punk feminism. With 2017 marking the 70th anniversary of her birth, as well as the 10th year since her death this transgressive work of philosophical, political, and sexual insight—with a new introduction by Chris Kraus—continues to become more relevant than ever before. In the Mexican city of Merida, ten-year-old Janey lives with Johnny—her “boyfriend, brother, sister, money, amusement, and father” —until he leaves her for another woman. Bereft, Janey travels to New York City, plunging into an underworld of gangs and prostitution. After escaping imprisonment, she flees to Tangiers where she meets Jean Genet, and they begin a torrid affair that will lead Janey to her demise. Fantastical, sensual, and fearlessly radical, this hallucinatory collage is both a comic and tragic portrait of erotic awakening. “The girl in this story had more agency and voice than any girl I’d ever read or would read in my entire life.” —Lydia Yuknavitch, national bestselling author of Thrust “No writer I know is more audacious than Kathy Acker, whose anarchic wit drives a thoroughgoing attack on conventions and complacencies of all sorts. Not unlike Gertrude Stein in her day, Acker gives us a different way to look at the uses to which language is put.” —Lynne Tillman, author of Men and Apparitions |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 41
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... never found that simple collage was an answer , because it has to go through me to mean anything . " By the time she composed the Blood and Guts manuscript in 1979 , Acker had already achieved considerable recognition and notoriety in ...
... never found that simple collage was an answer , because it has to go through me to mean anything . " By the time she composed the Blood and Guts manuscript in 1979 , Acker had already achieved considerable recognition and notoriety in ...
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... 1978 , lovelorn dreamer and sex maniac Janey Smith hallucinates a future that feels a great deal like the one we're living now . -Chris Kraus Bovey , MN ; 2017 Inside high school Parents stink Never having known a mother.
... 1978 , lovelorn dreamer and sex maniac Janey Smith hallucinates a future that feels a great deal like the one we're living now . -Chris Kraus Bovey , MN ; 2017 Inside high school Parents stink Never having known a mother.
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... never thought I was going to leave you . I was just fucking . Janey ( not at all calming herself down by listening to what he's saying . He knows her energy rises sharply and crazy when she's scared so he's probably provoking this scene ) ...
... never thought I was going to leave you . I was just fucking . Janey ( not at all calming herself down by listening to what he's saying . He knows her energy rises sharply and crazy when she's scared so he's probably provoking this scene ) ...
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... never acted like this before . Father : I know . Janey : I'm just scared you're going to leave me . I know I've been shitty to you : I've fucked around too much ; I didn't introduce you to my friends . Father : I'm just having an affair ...
... never acted like this before . Father : I know . Janey : I'm just scared you're going to leave me . I know I've been shitty to you : I've fucked around too much ; I didn't introduce you to my friends . Father : I'm just having an affair ...
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... never seen him act like that . The past two months he's treated me like he hates me . I never thought he'd leave me . He's going to leave me . Bill ( breaking in ) : Janey . Can you tell me exactly what happened last night ? I have to ...
... never seen him act like that . The past two months he's treated me like he hates me . I never thought he'd leave me . He's going to leave me . Bill ( breaking in ) : Janey . Can you tell me exactly what happened last night ? I have to ...
Contents
The Scorpions | |
Outside high school | |
The mysterious Mr Linker | |
Translating | |
A journey to the end of the night | |
In Egypt the | |
A second of time | |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Acker anymore asked beautiful beaver Bill Blood and Guts body boomp boomp Café Catullus cause cock cooky cops crazy cunt dead death Dimwit dreams East River East Village ERICA JONG everything eyes Ezafe Fat Lady Father feel Fritzy gaol garbage Genet girl grey hand happening hate Hawthorne hell Hester hippy horrible huge hurt inside Janey Janey's Jean Genet Kathy Acker kill knew Knockwurst legs live look Lousy Mindless Salesgirl menstrual extraction Merida mind never night pain President Carter prison rock-n-roll Sahih scared scream shit Slave Trader sleep slum snow someone stick stinks stop streets SUCK ME SUCK talk about Sally Tangier tell there's thing tiny told turned walk walls want to fuck what's whore wild woman women است این پنجره جانی خانه سیاه هست