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| In skateboarding, a sport for outsiders and misfits, for those who haven't grown up or who are lucky enough not to have ever grown up, authenticity is the coin of the realm. Life and Limb, a new anthology published by Brooklyn's own Soft Skull Press, is as authentic as they come—all the pieces were written by folks who have spent more time on a board than might be considered healthy. —The New Yorker |
| A future nomination for Oprah’s Book Club this is not, but that doesn’t make Life and Limb: Skateboarders Write from the Deep End any less readable. In fact, this week’s Intelligence might be coming to you a bit late thanks to certain TRACE staffers (who shall remain nameless) becoming so engrossed in the book’s collection of short fiction and personal essays, all on the art—and lifestyle—of shredding. Artist Ed Templeton takes you inside his Orange County. Justin Hocking explores the ‘L & L’ recurring theme, and existential dilemma, of pushing 30 and “the only thing you feel you can do with any competence or enthusiasm is roll around on a piece of wood with wheels.” Jocko Weyland of Open City magazine, Renaissance man Mark Gonzales and Thrasher’s Michael Burnett are some of the other contributors. —Trace 212 |
A fascinating and entertaining look at the view from the "deep
end.—Altar Magazine | |
Life and Limb
Skateboarders Write from the Deep End
Introduction by Jocko Weyland, Edited by Justin Hocking, Jared Maher, and Jeffrey Knutson
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| Paper | 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 | 220 pgs. | ISBN: 1-932360-28-X | List: $13.95 | 06/1/2004 |
Available on Powells.com, Amazon.com, from your local BookSense store, and bookstores everywhere!
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About the book: Life and Limb is a collection of writing about the art, science, and raw lust for motion that epitomize the culture of skateboarding. With fiction and essays infused with the energy, drive, and unruliness of the sport, Life and Limb documents life on the edges of experience. From eating an entire tree on a ten thousand dollar dare, to monkeywrenching a McDonalds, to accidentally setting fire to cemeteries, the pieces in this unique anthology often feature subjects far removed from skateboarding itself, yet sprung from a common source.
In these diverse narratives one finds an iconoclastic sense of creativity fostered by a lifetime spent mostly outside the bounds of team sports. In unexpected and often humorous ways, they express aesthetics common to skateboarders everywhere: a nearly spiritual devotion to a discipline that’s more of a martial art than a sport, an appetite for risk that sometimes borders on the suicidal, and a youthful reluctance to resign one's self to the mundane world of commerce and responsibility. The perfect meeting of pavement and the page, Life and Limb will pin skaters to their couches and leave literary fiction fans with the feeling of flight.
Featuring writing, photography and artwork by Mark Gonzales, Ed Templeton, Michael Burnett, Scott Bourne, Lori Damiano, Dave Carnie, Andreas Trolf, Andy Jenkins, Angela Boatwright, and many more.
About the author: Jocko Weyland is an artist and writer living in New York City. He is the author of The Answer is Never--A Skateboarder's History of the World (Grove Press, 2002) and a contributing editor to Open City magazine, and his writing and photographs have appeared in Thrasher, The New York Times Magazine, Metropolis and Cabinet.
Jeffrey Knutson is a writer and skateboarder living in Portland, Oregon. He got his first skateboard in 1983 when some punk-teenagers from across the street gave him an old Nash. Things haven’t been the same since. He is currently seeking an M.A. in education so he can teach literature and creative writing to high school students.
Justin Hocking started skateboarding in the early 80’s. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared or are forthcoming in Open City, Thrasher, and Many Mountains Moving. He earned an MFA in fiction from Colorado State University, where he also worked as an instructor of creative writing, literature, and English composition. He currently lives in Brooklyn.
Jared Maher, 23, has been a skatepunk for 14 years and he still can’t do a 360 flip. With a degree in Creative Writing, Jared is a freelance writer and a contributing editor for Adbusters Magazine.
This author is on tour: See our events page for their transcontinental tour! |
