Virtual Fools

My edited collection, Ken Russell: Re-Viewing England’s Last Mannerist (Scarecrow Press), is now available in the United States.  The book should be available via European venues soon.  I was a bit dealyed in announcing this, since its release was pushed forward by a month, and I’ve been quite busy getting settled in Pittsburgh.  Still, I’m thrilled to be able to share some information about it, in hopes that you’ll pick up a copy.

The book showcases some hefty collaboration amongst the world’s foremost authorities on Russell.  Though it contains two previously available essays (to be fair, two essays that people interested in Russell might have otherwise missed), the rest of the book consists of brand-new material.  Many of the essays use exclusive interviews with Russell and his collaborators; newly uncovered archival material; discuss films that have otherwise been under- or un-available; and are accompanied by rare photographs, some of which have never appeared in print!  Though the book’s contents can be casually browsed at Amazon, I’m posting a list of the essays in order to tantalize:

Foreword – Joseph A. Gomez

Introduction – Kevin M. Flanagan

Ken Russell at the BBC, 1959-1970 – Paul Sutton

The Body Politic:  Ken Russell in the 1980s – Barry Keith Grant

In Defense of the Amateur – Brian Hoyle

Television, Contested Culture, and Social Control:  Cultural Studies and Pop Goes the Easel – Kevin M. Flanagan

Smashing Our Guitars, Deconstructing Our Idols: The Pop Art Aesthetic in Tommy – Tom Wallis

“Il parait que c’etait une musicien”: Ken Russell’s The Debussy Film – John C. Tibbetts

Fact, Fiction, Fever, Fantasy: Ken Russell’s Mahler and the Bio-Film – William Verrone

Defending Rudy: Alternative Masculinities in Ken Russell’s Valentino – Brian Faucette

As the (White) Worm Turns: Ken Russell as God and Devil of Rubber-Reality Horror Cinema – John Kenneth Muir

Behind the Last Veil: Forms of Transgression in Salome’s Last Dance – Thomas Prasch

Complicating the Costume Drama: Lady Chatterley, Ken Russell, and the Conceits of Heritage – Kevin M. Flanagan

Ken Russell at Work, 2006 – Paul Sutton

“Le Phoenix Terrible”: A Ken Russell Season at the BFI, July 2007 – John C. Tibbetts

I encourage you to purchase a copy and see for yourself.  The book is available at Scarecrow Press, Amazon and Barnes and Noble (each, as of this posting, at a competitive discount), Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.jp, and as a special order at bookstores everywhere.

Even if you’re not familiar with Russell and his work, this book can act as a catalyst to fill Netflix queues and DVD wish-lists!