Brutalists
Encyclopedia
Brutalism is a literary movement formed in 2006 by three writers from the north of England (Tony O'Neill
, Adelle Stripe
and Ben Myers
), and may have been the first literary movement to be launched via the social networking site Myspace
where it announced itself with the following manifesto:
Brutalist works include Digging The Vein, Down and Out on Murder Mile, Seizure Wet Dreams, and Songs From The Shooting Gallery by Tony O'Neill
, Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid and Cigarettes in Bed by Adelle Stripe
, and The Book Of Fuck and Richard: A Novel
by Ben Myers
.
Their debut publication Nowhere Fast was released as a chapbook on Captains of Industry Press in 2007.
The Brutalists are affiliated with the Offbeat generation
, a loose association of like-minded writers working across different styles but united by their opposition to a mainstream publishing industry driven by marketing departments.
Brutalism 2 Cheap Thrills was released in summer 2009 as part of Mineshaft Magazine
, where a new collection of Brutalist poems featured alongside unpublished work by Robert Crumb
and Charles Bukowski
.
Tony O'Neill
Tony O'Neill is a New York-based author. A one time musician with Kenickie , Marc Almond , The Brian Jonestown Massacre and Kelli Ali , O'Neill is also the author of several books including Digging The Vein 2006, Down and Out on Murder Mile 2008 and Sick City 2010.Digging the Vein was a novel...
, Adelle Stripe
Adelle Stripe
Adelle Stripe is a poet from Tadcaster, North Yorkshire. In 2006, alongside Tony O'Neill and Ben Myers she formed possibly the first literary movement spawned via a social networking site, The Brutalists, who the BBC described as a 'group of young writers with a back-to-basics approach to...
and Ben Myers
Ben Myers
Ben Myers is an English writer.His first novel The Book Of Fuck, a fictionalised account about a hapless music journalist, was published to underground acclaim in 2004 through Wrecking Ball Press. Myers claimed it was written in six days "as a joke"...
), and may have been the first literary movement to be launched via the social networking site Myspace
Myspace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
where it announced itself with the following manifesto:
"Brutalism calls for writing that touches upon levels of raw honesty that is a lacking from most mainstream fiction. We cannot simply sit around waiting to be discovered — we would rather do it ourselves. Total control, total creativity. The Brutalists see ourselves as a band who have put down their instruments and picked up their pens and scalpels instead. The only maxim we adhere to is an old punk belief, which we have bastardized for our own means: Here’s a laptop. Here’s a spell-check. Now write a book.."
Brutalist works include Digging The Vein, Down and Out on Murder Mile, Seizure Wet Dreams, and Songs From The Shooting Gallery by Tony O'Neill
Tony O'Neill
Tony O'Neill is a New York-based author. A one time musician with Kenickie , Marc Almond , The Brian Jonestown Massacre and Kelli Ali , O'Neill is also the author of several books including Digging The Vein 2006, Down and Out on Murder Mile 2008 and Sick City 2010.Digging the Vein was a novel...
, Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid and Cigarettes in Bed by Adelle Stripe
Adelle Stripe
Adelle Stripe is a poet from Tadcaster, North Yorkshire. In 2006, alongside Tony O'Neill and Ben Myers she formed possibly the first literary movement spawned via a social networking site, The Brutalists, who the BBC described as a 'group of young writers with a back-to-basics approach to...
, and The Book Of Fuck and Richard: A Novel
Richard: A Novel
Richard: A Novel is a book by English author and journalist Ben Myers about Richey Edwards, the former rhythm guitarist and co-lyricist of the Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. Edwards - who suffered from depression, alcoholism, anorexia and self-harm - disappeared on 1 February...
by Ben Myers
Ben Myers
Ben Myers is an English writer.His first novel The Book Of Fuck, a fictionalised account about a hapless music journalist, was published to underground acclaim in 2004 through Wrecking Ball Press. Myers claimed it was written in six days "as a joke"...
.
Their debut publication Nowhere Fast was released as a chapbook on Captains of Industry Press in 2007.
The Brutalists are affiliated with the Offbeat generation
Offbeat generation
The Offbeat generation was a loose association of like-minded writers working across different styles but united by their opposition to a mainstream publishing industry driven by marketing departments...
, a loose association of like-minded writers working across different styles but united by their opposition to a mainstream publishing industry driven by marketing departments.
Brutalism 2 Cheap Thrills was released in summer 2009 as part of Mineshaft Magazine
Mineshaft Magazine
Mineshaft is an independent international art magazine launched in 1999 by Everett Rand and Gioia Palmieri in Guilford, Vermont. Initially focusing on poetry and literature, the magazine began to publish comics after Robert Crumb became a contributor in 2000...
, where a new collection of Brutalist poems featured alongside unpublished work by Robert Crumb
Robert Crumb
Robert Dennis Crumb —known as Robert Crumb and R. Crumb—is an American artist, illustrator, and musician recognized for the distinctive style of his drawings and his critical, satirical, subversive view of the American mainstream.Crumb was a founder of the underground comix movement and is regarded...
and Charles Bukowski
Charles Bukowski
Henry Charles Bukowski was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles...
.
External links
- O'Neill, Tony. Digging The Vein, Wrecking Ball Press, UK First Edition, 2007. ISBN 978-1903110188 http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1903110181
- O'Neill, Tony. Songs From The Shooting Gallery, Burning Shore Press, US First Edition, 2007. ISBN 978-0976885924 http://www.amazon.com/dp/0976885921
- O'Neill, Tony. Down and Out on Murder Mile, Harper Perennial, US First Edition, 2008. ISBN 978-0061582868 http://www.amazon.com/dp/0061582867
- Myers, Ben. The Book Of Fuck, Wrecking Ball Press, UK First Edition, 2004. ISBN 978-1903110157 http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1903110157
- Myers, Ben. Spam: Emailed Inspired Poetry, Blackheath Books, UK First Edition 2008. ISBN 978-1-906099-07-7
- Myers, Ben. Richard: A Novel, Picador, UK First Edition 2010. ISBN 978-0330517034
- Stripe, Adelle. Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid, Blackheath Books, UK First Edition, 2008. ISBN 978-1-906099-09-1
- Stripe, Adelle. Cigarettes In Bed, Blackheath Books, UK First Edition, 2009. ISBN 978-1-906099-17-6
- The Brutalists' MySpace home
- Article about The Brutalists on The Guardian online edition
- Wrecking Ball Press, the UK Publishers of 'The Book of Fuck' and 'Digging The Vein
- Article about The Brutalists and Offbeat Generation on The Guardian online edition
- Captains of Industry Press, UK publishers of The Brutalists