John D Morton is best known for founding the electric eels in Cleveland, Ohio— a violent musical project that could arguably be described as the very first punk band. This book features examples of Morton’s visual artworks, alongside his lesser known and more recent forays into poetry—specifically, experiments in the formats of haiku and tanka. Collected together for the first time, this selection of works delves into Morton’s preoccupations and obsessions: junk culture like B- movies and robots, memories of musician friends such as Anton Fier and Peter Laughner, or even more serious matters surrounding mental health, addiction, and death. Morton describes himself as a Nihilist—‘a sociopath that has taken a course in philosophy, he jokes— and he has the learning and the life to back this up.—Jon Savage, author of England’s Dreaming
