by Lowell Warren I first read Patti Smith’s memoir Just Kids when I was seventeen. Just Kids chronicles Smith’s relationship with artist Robert Mapplethorpe after they meet as twenty-one year … Continue Reading Robert Mapplethorpe
By Journey Bubar “It will never rain roses: when we want to have more roses, we must plant more roses.” These words were spoken by the great English Victorian Novelist, … Continue Reading Broad With A Blog
by Lowell Warren When I hear someone say “performance art,” I picture actors, singers, and dancers prancing around a stage, reciting dramatic monologues, belting high notes, and tap dancing to … Continue Reading The Artist is Present
by Lowell Warren Let’s set the scene: It’s 1917. I like to imagine I’m a museumgoer, standing before William Bouguereau’s 1893 painting L’innocence, admiring his delicately rendered depiction of innocence … Continue Reading The Urinal
Hey, everyone, it’s your favorite punk editor, Rowan. I’ve been writing about punk music for the entirety of the semester, but my time here has wound down. I chose to … Continue Reading Stay Rebellious
by Rowan Bagley An integral part of the punk movement is the focus on direct forms of activism, which can vary from graffiti to rioting depending on the intended message. … Continue Reading Anarcho-punk
by Rowan Bagley Until recently, I was unaware of Chicano/a punk subgenre despite it developing out of the punk scene fairly early. Like other subgenre artists, Chicano/a youth in working-class … Continue Reading Chicano/a Punk
“The quote pushed me to accept that I have something to share that no one else can, while reminding me that my unique position and perspective should do less to separate me and more to bond me to the collective whole of human experience.”
Got an original quote that you’d like to share? How ’bout having it published and having a chance to win a signed copy of an excellent new novel? This coming … Continue Reading The River Presents
by Rowan Bagley I was avoiding posting about this particular punk movement because it’s so often dismissed as not being “true punk”, but My Chemical Romance announced their reunion shows … Continue Reading Emo and Pop Punk
“As I neared the work site, my father was standing with his weight leaning on a long metal bar, bucket hat and tinted sunglasses, leather work gloves, and a watchful look to examine how much of this he was going to have to explain and how much he was going to be able to leave unsaid because I am his son.”
“Trethowan’s quote struck me. It’s one of those things that we might not often stop to ponder. Like, if you think about how heavy a rain cloud is, it’s amazing that it seems to float in the sky. Man has been to the moon, but we don’t know why hiccups occur.”
by Rowan Bagley I have never experienced the pressure of being expected to represent the views and feelings of my entire race. My gender, yes, but not my race. I … Continue Reading Punk and Racedness
“the two people in the booth behind me, were a grandfather and a granddaughter. They were strangers to me and still are. I never saw them. I didn’t dwell on their conversation, but I did hear enough to piece together a story.”
by Rowan Bagley In 1975, Patti Smith released her album Horses, which featured cover art by a relatively unknown photographer named Robert Mapplethorpe. The black and white photograph features Smith … Continue Reading Punk and Gender Expression
“There were high tables, each with four easels supporting blank canvases. A brick wall, splashed with dimmable recessed lighting, and a stage for the instructor that would try to inspire and enlighten. Three brushes, gobs of five selected hues of paint for our suggested end goal: a dandelion gone to seed silhouetted against a full moon in a purple sky.”