Steve Aylett
Encyclopedia
Steve Aylett is a satirical
science fiction
and slipstream author of several bizarro
books. He is renowned for his colorful satire attacking the manipulations of authority, and for having reams of amusing epigram
s and non-sequiturs only tangentially related to what little linear plot the books possess. His characters are often Trickster
figures.
A synesthete
, Aylett claims to have books appear in his brain in one visual "glob" which looks like a piece of gum.
n town called Beerlight, apparently modelled on Baltimore
.
, Jonathan Swift
and Mark Twain
. The four books are collected in THE COMPLETE ACCOMPLICE (2010, Scar Garden Press)
-like biography of an imaginary author. The book traces his career through thinly disguised satires on a number of well-known writers from the late 20th Century, including Philip K. Dick
, Hunter S Thompson and Ken Kesey
. A no-budget movie of the book (incorporating the other Lint book 'And Your Point Is?') has been produced by Aylett, edited by Electric Children - screenings in UK and US commenced in 2011.
and a comic
called The Nerve, as well as visual artifacts such as Jeff Lint's comic The Caterer. Newer projects include The Promissory for Arthur
magazine’s ‘mimeo’ line, now published independently at lulu.com
, and the surreal and colorful Get That Thing Away From Me. A strip titled 'Johnny Viable' has appeared in Alan Moore's
print magazine Dodgem Logic
.
Winner of the Jack Trevor Story Award in 2006.
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and slipstream author of several bizarro
Bizarro fiction
Bizarro fiction is a contemporary literary genre, which often utilizes elements of absurdism, satire, and the grotesque, along with pop-surrealism and genre fiction staples, in order to create subversive works that are as weird and entertaining as possible. The term was adopted in 2005 by the...
books. He is renowned for his colorful satire attacking the manipulations of authority, and for having reams of amusing epigram
Epigram
An epigram is a brief, interesting, usually memorable and sometimes surprising statement. Derived from the epigramma "inscription" from ἐπιγράφειν epigraphein "to write on inscribe", this literary device has been employed for over two millennia....
s and non-sequiturs only tangentially related to what little linear plot the books possess. His characters are often Trickster
Trickster
In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. It is suggested by Hansen that the term "Trickster" was probably first used in this...
figures.
Biography
Aylett left school at age 17 and worked in a book warehouse, and later in law publishing.A synesthete
Synesthesia
Synesthesia , from the ancient Greek , "together," and , "sensation," is a neurologically based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway...
, Aylett claims to have books appear in his brain in one visual "glob" which looks like a piece of gum.
Beerlight
Slaughtermatic, The Crime Studio, Atom and some of Toxicology are set in a supposedly future dystopiaDystopia
A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...
n town called Beerlight, apparently modelled on Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
.
Accomplice
Only an Alligator, The Velocity Gospel, Dummyland, and Karloff's Circus are set in Accomplice, a suburb on a tropical peninsula in a perhaps nuclear-blasted future, underneath which live demons. Aylett says he is in the tradition of "real satirists" such as VoltaireVoltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
, Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
and Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
. The four books are collected in THE COMPLETE ACCOMPLICE (2010, Scar Garden Press)
Lint
'Lint' is a satirical, ZeligZelig
Zelig is a 1983 American mockumentary film written and directed by Woody Allen, and starring Allen and Mia Farrow. Allen plays Zelig, a curiously nondescript enigma who is discovered for his remarkable ability to transform himself to resemble anyone he's near.The film was shot almost entirely in...
-like biography of an imaginary author. The book traces his career through thinly disguised satires on a number of well-known writers from the late 20th Century, including Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
, Hunter S Thompson and Ken Kesey
Ken Kesey
Kenneth Elton "Ken" Kesey was an American author, best known for his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , and as a counter-cultural figure who considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. "I was too young to be a beatnik, and too old to be a...
. A no-budget movie of the book (incorporating the other Lint book 'And Your Point Is?') has been produced by Aylett, edited by Electric Children - screenings in UK and US commenced in 2011.
Comic books
He has written issue #27 of Tom StrongTom Strong
Tom Strong is a comic book created by writer Alan Moore and artist Chris Sprouse initially published bi-monthly by America's Best Comics, an imprint of DC Comics' Wildstorm division.-Background:Tom Strong, the title character, is a "science hero"...
and a comic
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
called The Nerve, as well as visual artifacts such as Jeff Lint's comic The Caterer. Newer projects include The Promissory for Arthur
Arthur (magazine)
Arthur magazine, a free bi-monthly 50,000-copy periodical, was founded in October, 2002 by publisher Laris Kreslins and editor Jay Babcock. It has received favorable attention from other periodicals such as L.A. Weekly, Print, Punk Planet and Rolling Stone...
magazine’s ‘mimeo’ line, now published independently at lulu.com
Lulu.com
Lulu is a company offering publishing, printing, and distribution services with headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina. Since their founding in 2002, Lulu has published over 1.1 million titles by creators in over 200 countries and territories and adds 20,000 new titles to their catalogue a month...
, and the surreal and colorful Get That Thing Away From Me. A strip titled 'Johnny Viable' has appeared in Alan Moore's
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
print magazine Dodgem Logic
Dodgem Logic
Dodgem Logic is a bimonthly underground magazine edited and published by Alan Moore. The first issue appeared in December 2009, and there have been eight issues published as of Spring 2011. Each issue features comics, stories, and articles by Moore, including the regular feature "Great Hipsters...
.
Awards and nominations
Slaughtermatic was shortlisted for the Philip K. Dick Award in 1998.Winner of the Jack Trevor Story Award in 2006.
External links
- Jeff Lint Note: this is a spoof Wikipedia page hosted by the publisher. Jeff Lint is a fictional character, the protagonist of the eponymous book 'Lint'
- Guest Blog 2011