Penny Rimbaud

by Penny Rimbaud (Contributor), V. Vale (Contributor)

RE/Search has been fortunate to have had several visits from Penny Rimbaud and fellow-CRASS founder, Gee Vaucher over the past decade. They come to the United States and to San Francisco full of ideas, creative impulses, energy and the know-how to reach their audience. On many occasions there have been lengthy conversations with Penny Rimbaud, who is equaled only by V. Vale in his enthusiasm and knowledge of things non-mainstream. The book distills some of these conversations into a small, pithy volume, easier to carry than an iPhone, and readable from the bus to the bathtub.

Genres: Music

184 pages, Paperback

First published December 9, 2014

About the author

Using the pseudonym Penny Rimbaud, Jeremy John Ratter has long been a thinker, artist, musician and activist within British counterculture. Opening Dial House in Essex in 1967, an 'open house' for visitors interested in alternative living which exists and is a centre of activity to this day, for example for permaculture courses, he then found himself with like-minded individuals who coalesced into the anarchist punk band, Crass, also forming their own Crass Records label and becoming central to the large underground 'anarcho punk' or (as called in the USA 'peace punk') movement that still exists in its more obvious forms here and there, but also was influential way beyond, in terms of plain-speaking political and personal expression, severe criticism of and opposition to the political status quo and dominant patterns of culture, egalitarian, non-commercial and d.i.y. approaches to music making, record labels, distribution and any other resulting 'business', as well as in simply creating a massive network centred on the record label for small d.i.y. punk bands, records, concerts, related artistic projects, information distribution, activism, graffitti campaigns, media manipulation and tricksterism, etc., etc., etc. Since the band's break up in 1984 he has carried on with writing and his own artistic and musical projects, as well as continuing to live in and help maintain the function of Dial House.

Reviews

[J. Gonzalez- Blitz · Rating 2 out of 5]

As much as I like Crass, some serious WTF in this book. Like pages 79 and 90 where he says victims of the Holocaust and rape "allowed" it to happen? That's the same bullshit I hate the secret over. That seems like the opposite of Crass!
Also some rants about how everyone is staring at their phone too much, except on social media, I can find support for other trauma survivors with PTSD who hate New Age victim blaming manipulation. So y'know, there's that.











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