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Bigmouth Strikes: Simon Lee on Autobiography: Morrissey, by Steven Patrick Morrissey
"Much of Morrissey’s identity — and indeed, his career — has been structured upon the cultivation and maintenance of an enigmatic persona. He has notoriously evaded probing questions and has gone to lengths to avoid exposing too much of his private life to retain the element of mystery that cloaks him. Given this, there is an existential hazard involved with the release of an autobiographical 'tell all'..." [READ MORE]
"On the covers of the US and UK editions there are similar photos of an ostensibly content, almost beatific Morrissey, eyes shut and head tilted ever so slightly to the side. The UK version adheres to the Penguin Classics format, and in both editions there are no chapters, nor is there an index; Morrissey has eliminated in print the instrument to skim effectively in search of gossip or other specific subjects. It’s almost as if he wants you to read the book the Morrissey way, the way in which he wrote it, and in no other manner whatsoever." [READ MORE]
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LARB Contributors
Kevin Nolan writes essays and fiction. His short story “Helix” appeared in Issue 2 of The Rattling Wall. He’s at work on a novel.
Simon Lee is a researcher, writer, and educator. He works on issues in literature and art, particularly representations of urbanism, architecture, environment, and the impact of space and place on identity. He is the author of The Intersection of Class and Space in British Postwar Writing: Kitchen Sink Aesthetics (2024) and editor of Locating Classed Subjectivities: Intersections of Space and Working-Class Life in Nineteenth-, Twentieth-, and Twenty-First-Century British Writing (2022), and has published a wide range of scholarship on British life. He is an associate professor at Texas State University, where he teaches contemporary literature, cultural studies, and critical theory. He splits his time between Austin and Los Angeles.
LARB Staff Recommendations
Bigmouth Strikes
Simon Lee reviews Morrissey's Autobiography.
Morrissey’s Long Flirtation
Kevin Nolan reviews Morrissey's Autobiography.