The Outlaw Bible of American Essays

by Alan Kaufman (Editor)

Like its highly acclaimed companions, The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry and The Outlaw Bible of American Literature , this edition is a prime for generational revolt and an enduring document of the visionary tradition of authenticity and nonconformity in American lives and letters. A raucous eruption of language and a showcase for the best essayists of our time, The Outlaw Bible of American Essays chronicles American history and measures the boundlessness of dissident thought.

Genres: Essays, Nonfiction, Cultural

344 pages, Paperback

First published October 9, 2006

About the author

Alan Kaufman's novel Matches was published by Little, Brown and Company in the Fall of 2005. David Mamet has called Matches "an extraordinary war novel," and Dave Eggers has written that "there is more passion here then you see in twenty other books combined." Kaufman's critically-acclaimed memoir, Jew Boy (Fromm/Farrar,Strauss, Giroux), has appeared in three editions, hardcover and paperback, in the United States and Great Britain. He is the award-winning editor of several anthologies, the most recent of which, The Outlaw Bible of American Literature, was recently reviewed on the cover of the New York Times Book Review. There are two more volumes in Kaufman's Outlaw anthology series: The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry and The Outlaw Bible of American Esaays. He has taught in the graduate and undergraduate schools of the Academy of Art University and in writing workshops in San Francisco. His work has appeared in Salon, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, Partisan Review and The San Francisco Examiner. Kaufman has been widely anthologized, most recently in Nothing Makes You Free: Writings From Descendents of Holocaust Survivors (WW Norton). Kaufman is a member of PEN American Center. Kaufman's papers and manuscripts are on deposit in the Special Collections Library of the University of Delaware and he is profiled in the Europa Biographical Reference Series.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

Matches, a novel (Little, Brown); (Constable & Robinson, UK) Jew Boy, a memoir (Fromm/FSG); (Constable & Robinson, UK; Uitgeverij Ten Have, Holland) The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry (Thunder's Mouth Press; Basic Books) The Outlaw Bible of American Literature (Thunder's Mouth Press; Basic Books) The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry (Thunder's Mouth Press; Basic Books) The New Generation: Fiction For Our Time From America's Writing Programs (Anchor/Doubleday) Who Are We? Poems (Davka/Wordland Books LTD)

Reviews

[Brad · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mixed bag if there ever was one. The highlights made this worth reading, but the amount of cheap rebellion and poor writing on display in half of these essays kind of made it a struggle at times. I have no idea why Kaufman chose some of these essays, or why he didn't introduce some of the ones that needed context (like the Hank Bordowitz 'Noise of the World' selections).

But the stuff that was good was very good. Michelle Tea's Transmissions from Camp Trans shed some light on the tricky subject of Trans bigotry within lesbian/feminist communities. John Sinclair's recollections of being censored by police was a great read. And the conspiracy ramblings of William S. Burroughs and Paul Krassner were a ton of fun. Sue Coe's tale of slaughterhouses and James Sullivan's history of blue jeans was also good stuff. Oh, and I loved Iceberg Slim's essay.

The weaker essays, and some of these I skipped halfway through because I couldn't stand them, were the nonsensical outrage of David Meltzer's Sexsville: Outtakes (what the fuck was he even saying, it started with beastiality and then went every which way), Sparrow's America: A Prophecy (yawn), Erim La Prade's Meeting Mose T (horrible prose, needed introduction because I had no idea what was happening, boring interaction with the artist, no pictures of the man's art to accompany the piece), and in what way was that Ray Charles essay "Outlaw." It felt more sexist than anything.

I don't regret reading this collection, but I'd say if you pick it up only check out a few of the selections. Not really recommended.

[Barbora · Rating 1 out of 5]

Some of the articles are good, but the editing of the entire volume makes no sense- from sequencing decisions to the framing of the individual pieces the volume is extremely half hasard and underwhelming.

[lola · Rating 3 out of 5]

60s and 70s counterculture-heavy.

[Jenifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

See my review for The Outlaw Bible of American Literature, if you please.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

.

[Nick Regan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hubert Selby Jr…bell hooks…Annie Sprinkle…Kurt Vonnegut…Dream blunt rotation

[Dea G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alan Kaufman likes the 60s and 70s a little bit too much, but he also likes good, trangressive writing. Literary nonfiction is hard to come by, and this volume offers essays on everything from poet d.a. levy to Canadian slaughterhouses. The writing is raw and sometimes makes the reader downright nauseous, which is sort of what I want to do with my words someday, when I'm all grown up and a real life writer. (kidding . . .bout the grown up part)

[Blaine Morrow · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a mixed bag of dissident and revolutionary essays, some which show their age and some which will be interesting because they expose thoughts and injustices that are not covered in popular literature. I was disenchanted by the hatred and intolerance evident in some of the more radical essays, and perplexed at why other essays were even included in this collection. If there's an overall message, I missed it.

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I adored "The Outlaw Bible of American Literature" and was looking forward to reading this. Unfortunately, it's a pretty slim volume with pretty slim pickings. There are some gems to be had - Kurt Vonnegut's essay on obscenity is as fantastic as one might imagine - but on the whole, it's a disappointing read.

[Anie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A hit and miss anthology of essays. Some of the essays - Kurt Vonnegut, Susie Bright, etc. - are absolutely fantastic, and well worth five stars. Unfortunately, some of the essays are less stellar; I put the book down for the whole summer because I got stuck in one particularly long and uninteresting essay. I would suggest that skipping some of the essays in this book is not a sin.

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was decent. some of the essays had me very intrigued. some were bland tho. or atleast couldn't keep me reading.
it seemed like an almost incomplete collection in some way. like it was lacking. my fave essay was bell hooks (the need for love in any revolution) and some of the ones having to do with sexuality were also good.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have enjoyed reading this book, and will recommend it to everyone. There are a few dry bits in it, but it is absolutely worth the read.

I am so glad that we stopped in the City Light bookstore in SF. I picked up this book and flipped randomly to a bit about sex with a horse. I was hooked at "Her vagina tasted like buttered oats." This was so funny, and I knew I had to have this book.

[Jaime · Rating 3 out of 5]

read michelle tea's essay on prejudice against trannys at the michigan women's fest. then read annie sprinkle's gross essay. then vonnegut's angry essay. then put the book away.

[Stevahkno Fwaurmo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read an essay here and there when Im searching for a quick short read. Ive come across some good ones and some bad ones, its a gamble.