Hannibal Lecter, My Father (Native Agents) [Paperback]

Kathy Acker (Author), Sylvère Lotringer (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Semiotext(e) / Native Agents | Publication Date: June 1, 1991

You can say I write stories with sex and violence and therefore my writing isn't worth considering because it uses content much less lots of content. Well, I tell you this: 'Prickly race, who know nothing except how to eat out your hearts with envy, you don't eat cunt'...Edited by Sylvere Lotringer and published in 1991, this handy, pocket-sized collection of some early and not-so-early work by the mistress of gut-level fiction-making, Hannibal Lecter, My Father gathers together Acker's raw, brilliant, emotional and cerebral texts from 1970s, including the self-published 'zines written under the nom-de-plume, The Black Tarantula. This volume features, among others, the full text of Acker's opera, The Birth of the Poet, produced at Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1985, Algeria, 1979 and fragments of Politics, written at the age of 21. Also included is the longest and definitive interview Acker ever gave over two years: a chatty, intriguing and delightfully self-deprecating conversation with Semiotext(e) editor Sylvere Lotringer -- which is trippy enough in itself as Lotringer, besides being a real person, has appeared as a character in Acker's fiction. And last, but not least, is the full transcript of the decision reached by West Germany's Federal Inspection Office for Publications Harmful to Minors in which Acker's work was judged to be "not only youth-threatening but also dangerous to adults," and subsequently banned.Acker is the sort of the writer that should be read first at 16, so that you can spend the rest of your life trying to figure her out; she confuses, infuriates, perplexes and then all of a sudden the writing seems to be in your bloodstream, like some kind of benign virus. She's definitely not for the easily offended -- but then, there are worse things in life than being offended. Such as the things that Acker writes about...

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Often compared to William S. Burroughs and Jean Genet, Acker was, according to R.U. Sirius, 'An avatar of nomadic urban modern primitive tribes... her novels perform postmodern campfire grill voodoo... She was a magician." New York City, 1979

"Reading Kathy Acker is like playing hopscotch with a genius." Richard Foreman

Product Details

• Paperback: 148 pages
• Publisher: Semiotext(e); First Edition edition (June 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0936756683
• ISBN-13: 978-0936756684
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 4.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,841,085 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Uncollected work of one of the real mavericks, November 26, 1999

By 

"lexo-2" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hannibal Lecter, My Father (Native Agents) (Paperback)

Pity about the title, but then Kathy Acker wasn't a believer in good taste. A handy, pocket-sized collection of some early and not-so-early work by the mistress of gut-level fiction-making. Acker is the sort of the writer that should be read first at 16, so that you can spend the rest of your life trying to figure her out; she confuses, infuriates, perplexes and then all of a sudden the writing seems to be in your bloodstream, like some kind of benign virus. This volume includes a chatty, intriguing and delightfully self-deprecating interview with Semiotext(e) editor Sylvere Lotringer - which is trippy enough in itself, as Lotringer, besides being a real person, has appeared as a character in Acker's fiction. She's definitely not for the easily offended - but then, there are worse things in life than being offended, such as the things that Acker writes about.

2 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not what was expected, March 28, 2008

By 

Anonymous in Tucson (Tucson, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hannibal Lecter, My Father (Native Agents) (Paperback)

I bought this book for my daughter who is a fan of the Hannibal Lecter series. I thought it would be a story written from the perspective of someone who was felt Hannibal Lecter had influenced them in such a way that he could have "fathered" them. Instead this book is a bunch of profane jibberish. I'm returning it inspite of the cost.