A Violent Life
Afterword Books, 978-0-9986858-5-4, 2025
I was told to meet the Afterword Books publishers, Manuel Chavarria and Eleanore Studer, at The House of Pies on Vermont Blvd. With them was Erin Alexander, the head honcho behind the zine/book A Violent Life. I used to work with Erin, but now we mostly communicate through Instagram, where she posts images of vintage pulp paperbacks and found photos. She approached me through Eleanore and Manny to set up a meeting. Why she didn’t call or write to me directly remains a bit of a mystery.
Erin handed me a folder of black-and-white photographs—mostly family snapshots—but in her case, all of them captured people engaging in acts of violence to amuse their loved ones. She asked me to write the text for these anonymous images, to accompany a zine/book release.
I said yes immediately, because Erin wanted me to do it. Beyond that, I wasn’t sure how to proceed. Should it be an extended essay, with the photos serving as illustrations? Instead, I decided to write a short text for each photograph—typically two paragraphs long. That approach made me think of Emil Cioran, who wrote those extremely witty and dark aphorisms. He would have had plenty to say about the representation of violence in family photos. I’m not Emil, but what began as images of “fun” gradually turned into something darker—and unmistakably American.
As an only child, I used to stage imaginative battles between myself and the evil world. My parents didn’t go out of their way to buy me toy guns, but my mother eventually gave up; I’d use my index finger as a pistol and shoot imaginary enemies on the streets of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Where does that violent pulse come from?
Erin’s found photographs made me truly see the images. I became fascinated by their backgrounds—those endless roads somewhere in the middle of America. I’m very proud of A Violent Life. It feels like a significant piece of work, both for Erin and for me. I hope you’ll enjoy it.
To purchase a copy:
Artbook at Hauser & Wirth (now in stock)
917 East 3rd St.
Los Angeles, CA 90013
213.988.7413
And through Big Cartel. Website HERE
Anything Tosh is always interesting and now with Erin another imaginative sure to be another great creation.
And having Manny and Eleanore at the start the zine has great Book Soup family minds together again.
Interesting. A secret meeting at the House of Pies to discuss A Violent Life...