Friday, April 23, 2010

Punk Rock Saved My Ass press release

Spread the word! The anthology launches April 30th (can you believe we're actually done?)


For immediate release:


Malcolm Mclaren didn’t invent Punk.
 New anthology, Punk Rock Saved My Ass, shares the true stories of people positively transformed by punk rock.
Contact Terena Scott at Medusa’s Muse Press for more information: medusasmuse@gmail.com

Punk Rock Saved my Ass, an anthology of true, transformative punk rock tales, launches April 30th, 2010 from Medusa’s Muse, an indie book publishing company located in Northern California, USA. Edited by Terena Scott and Jane Mackay, the 146 page anthology is a world-wide collaboration of authors influenced by the cultural storm called "punk rock". For some it was a shelter from youthful angst, an artistic outlet, or a way to rage, but all agree that it changed their lives forever. The writers are everyday people of all ages, men and women, with diverse political and cultural backgrounds: libertarians, socialists, bakers, computer geeks, nurses, performance artists, poets, writers, musicians, teachers, and parents, from the United States and Europe. One dollar of every book sold will support the 924 Gilman Street Project in Berkeley, California.
“I wanted to create a book that would show the positive side of punk,” says Terena Scott, editor and publisher of Punk Rock Saved my Ass. “I was tired of all the sensational, self destructive stories about punks. Punk is a passionate, creative, outrageous energy and if you channel it you can create and achieve amazing things. I knew there had to be people out there whose lives had been positively changed by the punk movement and I wanted to talk to them. So I decided to publish an anthology.”
She insists the book is not a romantic manifesto about the glory of punk. “There’s definitely a dark side. People get hurt, and there is a lot a drug use. But that isn’t the whole story, and I wanted to show the bigger picture of what punk is about.” She laughs. “One of the writers states in his essay that he hates books like this; they perpetuate the myth that punk is inclusive and understanding. There can be prejudice in punk, the whole “us vs. them” thing, and you’ll read that in some of the stories. But that’s why this book is different; these essays are written by real people with their own perspective and biases. Every story comes straight from the heart, and when Jane and I edited each story we made sure the writer’s unique voice and honesty remained.”
The writers include musician and libertarian Michael W. Dean, UK poets Tony Walsh and Annie Mcgann; Boston musicians Chestnut Growler and Squallie Greenthumb; performer Jennifer Blowdryer; writers Ryan Cooper, Mic Schenk, Jim Munroe, Matthue Roth, and Heather Seggel; musician Paul Richards of the band Heavy Load; and many more. Also included are several never before published photographs of punks and punk bands taken by Nicole Lucas and Richard Wismar.
Punk Rock Saved My Ass, distributed by Ingram, is $10.00 and will be available from Amazon.com, Powell’s Books, BarnesandNoble.com, and your local bookstore.


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