About the Gothic Funk Press
Whether the Gothic Funk is a budding literary empire or an experimental literary collective, it sounds as if they know how to throw a party.
- Robert Duffer, Chicago Examiner
The Gothic Funk Nation..., while sounding in name like a Parliament Funkadelic cover band, is actually an art collective with 'a whole lotta rhythm goin' down.'
- bkish literary blog
In November 2004, members of the Michigan diaspora stuck in Chicago reacted to bad news with a party. They called on Ann Radcliffe and James Brown, Derrick May and Frankie Knuckles, and their numbers included artists, authors, DJs, architects, physicists, actors, physicians, activists, clerks, temp workers, and more. Their work was a synthesis of dark gothic sublimity and the earthy passion of funk. They called themselves "gothic funk" and their parties gave birth to the Gothic Funk Nation. Their Paramanu Pentaquark journal has since published dozens of artists. Their Tuesday Funk reading series has become one of the most dynamic of Chicago's literary events, featuring illuminaries such as Parneshia Jones, Megan Stielstra, and J-L Deher-Lessaint, among others. Their National Address reading circle has provided a safe and friendly place to informally workshop works-in-progress. And the parties keep coming!
With the support of the Gothic Funk Nation, cofounder Connor Coyne will launch the Gothic Funk Press to establish an independent publishing voice in the Midwest. With each project and each success, the Gothic Funk Press will advance its mission of spreading Gothic Funk throughout the world.
