Dennis Wilson and Charlie Manson, by Jack Skelley. In story and verse this chapbook explores the tragic links between the Beach Boys drummer and the cult killer. Illustrations by Brian Walsby.

Dennis Wilson and Charlie Manson, by Jack Skelley. In story and verse this chapbook explores the tragic links between the Beach Boys drummer and the cult killer. Verse sections include an "Epilogue Remix – Beach Boys Villanelle."

Killer illustrations by noted artist Brian Walsby.

Dennis Wilson and Charlie Manson is published by Fred & Barney Press.

Jack Skelley

“In Skelley’s world everything and everyone is volcanic. Cities become backlots; celebrities become saviors. Sharp, always spectacular. One of my very favorite writers on the earth.” – Dennis Cooper

“Jack's mind on the page helps parse our crazy, media-besotted, celebrity-drenched, digitized lives. His ability to syncretize pop culture and history, product placement, Catholicism and beyond is a necessary wonder of the contemporary world. ” – Amy Gerstler

“Despite my dislike of seeing my own name, you’re really a good writer – never what’s expected.” – Kathy Acker

“With a linguistic and cultural range of four or five octaves, Skelley’s poetry and its luminous, energized mental landscapes provide a place for the art to survive.” – David E. James

Jack's Skelley's books and chapbooks: Monsters (Little Caesar Press), From Fear of Kathy Acker and More Fear of Kathy Acker (Illuminati Press), God Raised My Dummy (Found Street Press), Disco Paradiso, Plastic Surgery and Your Skin, Wammo Amnesia, I'm Happy Now and others (Fred and Barney Press). In addition to publishing in many magazines, blogs, etc, Jack's work is widely anthologized. Collections include: Under 35: The New Generation of American Poets (ed. Nicholas Christopher, Anchor Books), Sweet Nothings: An Anthology of Rock and Roll in American Poetry (ed. Jim Elledge, Indiana University Press), Coming Attractions (ed. Dennis Cooper, Little Caesar Press) and Up Late: American Poetry Since 1970, (ed. Andrei Codrescu, 4 Walls, 8 Windows). Award-winning journalist/editor with over 30 years of publishing, from The Atlantic to Salon to Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Review of Books. He is the former Executive Editor and Associate Publisher of Los Angeles Downtown News. He was editor, publisher & designer of Barney: The Modern Stone-Age Magazine, featuring major artists and writers. Jack's music includes songwriter and guitarist for psychedelic surf band Lawndale (SST Records). And Jack's writing is discussed in books published by Verso (Power Misses: Essays Across (Un)popular Culture) and Temple University Press (The Sons and Daughters of Los) both by David E. James; University of Iowa Press (Hold Outs: The Los Angeles Poetry Renaissance, 1948-1992); Momentum Press (Poetry Loves Poetry: An Anthology of Los Angeles Poets), among many others.