Jerk. Art by Nayland Blake. Fiction by Dennis Cooper
San Francisco: Artspace Books, 1993. 1st Edition. Octavo, publisher’s laminated illustrated boards, photo-illustrated endpapers.
Stated first edition of this collaborative artist’s book by queer cult writer Dennis Cooper and queer American artist Nayland Blake. Later appearing in Cooper’s 2009 collection Ugly Man, the story details the grisly crimes of David Brooks, the accomplice to serial killer Dean Corrl. Nayland produced the marionette and puppet art, which "act[s] out various elements in the human psyche," to inspire Cooper to write the piece, which is narrated via an invented testimony told by a teenage accomplice. In 2009, "Jerk" was adapted into a one-person puppet-play by French director Gisèle Vienne and starring Jonathan Capedevielle. Illustrated with color plates; with a review of Blake's art by Peter Winterson. No dust jacket, as issued. Price sticker to lower board. Corners gently banged and light soiling to boards. Very good. Item #6215
$35.00