Massive Pissed Love: Nonfiction 2001-2014 [Paperback]

Richard Hell may best be known as a punk icon, a founding member of seminal bands Television, the Heartbreakers, and The Voidoids, but for decades he’s been a prominent voice in American letters. Through his novelsGo NowandGodlike, and his critically acclaimed autobiography,I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp, Hell has proven himself as a talented and insightful writer across many genres, in many forms. But one might argue that Richard’s true genius lies in shorter form as a writer on culture. Love comes in spurts, Hell once sang, and that could well describe the intensity of his penetrating and wickedly droll criticism.

Massive Pissed Loveis a collection of Hell’s ruminations on art, literature, and music, among other things, that’s like a candy box of reading treats, a bag of shiny marbles, a cabinet of mementos and uncanny fetishes. However one thinks of it, it’s a joy to read from start to finish and a deeply necessary addition to the oeuvre of one of the sharpest minds and sensibilities at work today.

Richard Hellremains a crucial voice of our culture. He’s currently conducting an interview/performance series at Symphony Space in New York, “A Night Out with Richard Hell,” as well as giving readings and talks internationally, while focusing primarily on a novel in progress. He’s published journalism inSpin,Bookforum,The New York Times,Esquire, theVillage Voice,Art in America, and many other outlets. Hell was the film critic forBlack Bookfrom 2004-2006. He’s the author of an autobiography,I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp(Ecco, 2013), and the novelsGo Now(Scribner, 1996) andGodlike(Akashic, 2005), as well as the collection of essays, diaries, and lyricsHot and Cold(powerHouse, 2001).

Praise forMassive Pissed Love

[A]fter his musical career qulĂ