Karen Finley returns to the Bay Area in September: Celebrating 25th Anniv. of SHOCK TREATM

25 years ago, Karen Finley gained international notoriety when Jesse Helms and other conservatives in the Senate vehemently denied her an NEA grant because they thought her art was obscene. At the same time, City Lights published Finley’s landmark book Shock Treatment, which includes those seminal works, excoriating homophobia and misogyny at a time when many artists and writers were under attack for challenging the status quo.

This month, City Lights publishes a twenty-fifth anniversary expanded edition of Shock Treatment, featuring a new introduction in which Finley reflects on that time, tracing her journey from the midwest, to the San Francisco Art Institute, to burlesque gigs, and on to the San Francisco North Beach literary scene.

*Finley is available for interview. We can expedite a copy of the book immediately. High res images of the book cover and author are available upon request.