Maintenant 19: A Journal of Contemporary Dada Writing and Art - by Peter Carlaftes & Kat Georges (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In the face of right and wrong by the breed of weak or strong, humanity has placed far too much emphasis on belongings, not belonging. There was a time when ethical behavior had a fixity of purpose: the prevention of corruption, favoritism, undue influence and abuse of entrusted power. Yet it is those who commit these transgressions that prosper most, by completely dispensing with the need for ethics. What exists is a philosophy where the only guiding principle is to ensure the greatest profits.

MAINTENANT 19: A Journal of Contemporary Dada Writing and Art is a testament to the unflinching exposure of self-righteousness. We are no longer bred to be rational creatures. Denial is key. Freedom from blame is the promise. But if blame we must, then here we must first blame the face in the mirror that accepts this way of life. These times of Ethics Cleansing enable some to think they are better than others, but if someone must be better, then let it be ourselves.

The MAINTENANT series, established in 2008, explores themes of politics, humanity, philosophy, and current concerns from an antiwar, anarchic, and often eye-opening perspective. Past issues include work by such artists as Raymond Pettibon, Fred Tomaselli, Nicole Eisenmann, Mark Kostabi, Edel Rodriguez, Tchello D'Barros, Pawel Kuczynski, and more; past writers have included Gerard Malanga, Charles Plymell, Andrei Codrescu, Harry E. Northup, Malik Crumpler, Maw Shein Win, and more, with a strong contingent of artists and writers from the world of punk rock, including Thurston Moore, Mike Watt, Bibbe Hansen, Exene Cervenka, and many others.

The complete list of contributors to Maintenant 19:

Hamza AbuAyyash, Derek Adams, Mariam Ahmed, Jamika Ajalon, Youssef Alaoui, Linda J. Albertano, Austin Alexis, Joel Allegretti, Maureen Alsop, Santiago Amaya, Lisa Andreini, Avelino Araújo, Penny Arcade, Louis Armand, Wayne Atherton, Liz Axelrod, Mahnaz Badihian, Amy Barone, Vittore Baroni, Hannah Behrens, Regina Lafay Bellamy, Martine Bellen, C. Mehrl Bennett, Volodymyr Bilyk, Mark Blickley, Jeff Boynton, Gedley Belchior Braga, Bob Branaman, Michael Georg Bregel, Kathy Bruce, Anaïs Bucher, Imanol Buisan, Fork Burke, Mike Callaghan, Mary Campbell, Billy Cancel, Peter Carlaftes, Mona Jean Cedar, Mario José Cervantes, Mutes César, Birdget Chebo, Isra Cheema, Rachel Chitofu, Lynette Clennell, Andrei Codrescu, Terese Coe, Adrienne Connelly, Chuck Connelly, Roger Conover, Molly Crabapple, Malik Crumpler, Tchello d'Barros, Wer Da, Steve Dalachinsky, Allison A. Davis, Holly Day, Lily Despic, Dario Roberto Dioli, Rachel Dixon, Sam Dodson, Pete Dolack, Eric Dooker, Carol Dorf, Paul Dorf, Sophie Dunér, Cornelius Eady, Nicole Eisenman, Salvatore Esposito, Jeff Farr, Becky Fawcett, Rich Ferguson, Jim Ferguson, Mike Ferguson, Maria Filek, Cheryl J. Fish, Kathleen Florence, Giovanni Fontana, Robert C. Ford, Dorothy Friedman, Thomas Fucaloro, Rosalie Gancie, Sandra Gea, Kat Georges, Christian Georgescu, Adrian Ghenie, Robert Gibbons, Gordon Gilbert, Gemma Goette, Melissa Goodrum, S.A. Griffin, Fausto Grossi, Egon Guenther, Bibbe Hansen, Vidya Hariharan, Fred Harper, Heide Hatry, László Hegedűs, Robert Hieger, Karen Hildebrand, Mark Hoefer, Bob Holman, Matthew Hupert, Marta Janik, Ruud Janssen, Mathias Jansson, Kris Janvier, Jerry the Priest, Milo Starr Johnson, Jerry Johnson, Boni Joy, Milana Juventa, Lois Kagan Mingus, Suzi Kaplan Olmsted, Vincent Katz, Marina Kazakova, Linda Kleinbub, Henry Kneiszel, Doug Knott, Ron Kolm, Mark Kostabi, Paul Indrek Kostabi, Pawel Kuczyński, Zygimantas Kudirka, Bénédicte Kusendila, Tom Laichas, David Lawton, Marie C. Lecrivain, Jane LeCroy, Cecil W. Lee, Patricia Leonard, Margaret Leonard, Misa Levey, Lindsay Liang, Alexander Limarev, Goran Lisnjic, Jon Longhi, Brendan Lorber, Serse Luigetti, Marieta Maglas, Sara Maino, Sophie Malleret, Robyn Mallery, Fred Marchant, Malak Mattar, Bronwyn Mauldin, Jesse McCloskey, Charles Mingus III, Richard Modiano, Mike M. Mollett, Thurston Moore, Luiz Morgadinho, Jules Muck, Carli Munoz, Uche Nduka, Gerald Nicosia, Harry E. Northup, Juan Fran Núñez Parreño, Anna O'Meara, Ruth Oisteanu, Valery Oisteanu, Marc Olmsted, Yuko Otomo, Bibiana Padilla Maltos, Csaba Pál, Lisa Panepinto, Gay Pasley, John S. Paul, Giorgia Pavlidou, Puma Perl, Raymond Pettibon, Charles Plymell, Kai Pohl, Gene Pritsker, Linette Rabsatt, Renaat Ramon, Nicca Ray, Maryam Raz, Sabine Remy, Mado Reznik, Travis Richardson, Wes Rickert, Edel Rodriguez, Thaddeus Rutkowski, Martina Salisbury, Robert Scala, Beatriz Seelaender, Jack Seiei, Silvio Severino, Samantha Sharp, Katherine Shehadeh, Susan Shup, Bertholdus Sibum, Hilary Sideris, Neal Skooter Taylor, Lynn Skordal, Angela Sloan, Valeria Sofranko, Orchid Spangiafora, Dd. Spungin, Jac-Lynn Stark, Eva Helene Stern***, Richard Stone, W.K. Stratton, Jeff Stumpo, Belinda Subraman, Irina Tall, Fred Tomaselli, Robin Tomens, Zev Torres, John J. Trause, Nico Vassilakis, Jimmy Vega, Maggs Vibo, Benito Vila, Voxx Voltair, Barranca Vos, Silvia Wagensberg, Anne Waldman, George Wallace, Scott Wannberg, Mike Watt, Dig Wayne, Poul R. Weile, Ingrid Wendt, Lynn White, Maw Shein Win, A.D. Winans, Francine Witte, Yaryan, Lorene Zarou-Zouzounis, Larry Zdeb, Elzbieta Zdunek, Nina Zivancevic, Joanie HF Zosike

Review Quotes

"Utilizing a myriad of styles and mediums, artists and writers draw us into a Dada world, the world we are living in, like nothing else...it will blow your mind." --Home Planet News

"A compilation of leading Dada-influenced artists from around the world." ―TRIBE LA Magazine

"Excellent examples of collage and montage techniques . . . Interesting visual poems." ―Portland Book Review

"Contemporary art and writing ranging from collages and acrylics to new digital art motifs and using computers to create art . . . As always it brings an interesting perspective." ―Manhattan Book Review

"Though people expect Dada to be silly, and sometimes it is here, it is also often political and usually poignant. . . It's quite a smorgasbord for those who are sick and tired of it." ―Seattle Book Review

About the Author

Peter Carlaftes is a New York City-based author, editor, publisher, and playwright. His books include the poetry collections Life in the Past Lane, Drunkyard Dog and I Fold With the Hand I Was Dealt; the play collections Triumph for Rent and Teatrophy, and the humor title A Year on Facebook. He is co-founder and acquisitions editor of Three Rooms Press (New York), for whom he has edited multiple anthologies including the Have a NYC: New York Short Stories series, the annual Maintenant international dada art and writing journal series, and The Faking of The President: 17 Stories of White House Noir. He is acquisitions editor and co-director of Three Rooms Press. He lives in New York City.