GUY MANKOWSKI

Now being at the point where the first chapter of this book is finally out in the world it is remarkable to think I was first inspired to write a book about Kristen Pfaff from Hole when I read her mother Janet's book about her daughter's life (available  here ) and it contained excerpts from Kristen's diary. An entry in which she describes as a young girl having a conversation with the sea was perhaps the most beautiful piece of writing I've read and it probably began all this work. I have been working on it with Jason Pfaff after I got in touch with him. Jason gives his side of how we decided to work together on  this  podcast. One reason the book has taken longer to write than anyone might have expected is revelations about Pfaff from people who knew her are still being offered to me. However much I know about Kristen the more news about the book comes out the more people come to Jason and me to talk and open up about their recollections of her. Jason Pfaff and I h...

  Tickets for my TEDx talk live in Lincoln on Saturday 03/09  are now available here . I'll be talking (in Session 2: 'People') about how in lockdown I found myself in the usual position of being given the archive of a famous pop star, and archive that even her family hadn't fully opened...I'm honoured to be one of the speakers selected to talk about their specialist subject in a panel alongside the cognitive psychologist Robin Kramer and the textiles artist Kerry Gibson. There is a program of incredible speakers for 2022, including former England Rugby Union legend Rory Underwood. 

In 2014 I wrote what has been my only piece of fan mail, to Mark Fisher (also known as K-Punk). It was around the time my novel, ‘How I Left The National Grid’ was being published. I distinctly recall being frustrated that Fisher, a writer whose work I loved, was not more widely known.   He did not have a Wikipedia page as far as I could tell, and when I hunted for one on that site I found some generic reference to his work on there which did not mark him as distinct in a way I thought was deserved (even now the page for Fisher’s Wiki page derides him as a ‘blogger’ and questions if he is deserving of a presence there, despite his PhD, lecturing work at Goldsmiths and enormous impact). The slightly generic aspect to his name, and more pertinently Fisher’s own lack of any apparent ego seemed to mean he did not have the online profile that his writing deserved. But I felt I needed to get in touch.  Why did I write to him? Us writers can be a proud lot, reluctant to wear our infl...

  Just wanted to offer a quick update about the book about Kristen Pfaff. Along with Jason Pfaff, for some years a book about Pfaff has been in development. It has benefited from the input of many parties, not least Pfaff’s exes, Mike Huber and Robert Slammon and many others. It also benefits from access to Pfaff’s unseen archive, Jason Pfaff's video archive, as well as other exciting sources. Pfaff’s 27 years were used fitfully and the book will very much focus on her life rather than her passing. As an academic, activist, counsellor and musician Pfaff packed a lot into her years and this book will very much celebrate her life and her time as a key member of cult band Janitor Joe, putting the spotlight onto the years in which less is known about Pfaff. The book will also celebrate Pfaff and others contribution to the masterpiece that was Hole’s ‘Live Through This’. When there is news on the publication front we’ll be sharing it right away. I’d like to offer my thanks to the Pfaff ...

 On Tuesday 12th October at The Collection, Lincoln I am honoured to be talking about my book 'Albion’s Secret History: Snapshots of England's Pop Rebels and Outsiders' with iconic frontwoman Kate Jackson.  Focusing on figures who served to define England’s unofficial cultural history, this book was written to penetrate the surface of England’s pop history, including the venues it was shaped in, alongside art, film, architecture and politics, and throw some new light on the ideas of Englishness it reveals. Rhian E. Jones described the book as 'the most illuminating odyssey through overlooked English culture since Michael Bracewell's 'England Is Mine''. The second part of this event will be with Louder Than War's John Robb, who coined the term 'Britpop' and who was the first to interview Nirvana.  In addition on 14th October I'll be in conversation with award-winning Booker shortlisted author, journalist and political commentator Will Self...

The next day you get to tell her that you ‘have to go, or you’ll be late meeting Morrissey.’ Her expression, as she sits up in the bed, shows that she remembers you claiming this would happen but that she never really entertained that the time would actually come. You would burn with pride but it all feels too ridiculous and surreal.  You don’t know what to make of the wild-eyed way she looks at you and bites her lip. So you check your hair looks okay and you just gather your wallet and take your card from the light slot and leave. But as you make your way to the Marble Arch pub, wrapping your navy blue coat around you, the collar flapping in the wind, you wonder if this is really happening. Are you simply going to walk to the end of the street and then, at some flaring wound of a rain-flecked concrete junction, find there is no Morrissey? Certainly not here?  But instead you dart over a pelican crossing, and walk down a weed strewn expanse of the cities ripped backsides. And ...

As part of the release of Albion's Secret History: Snapshots of England's Pop Rebels and Outsiders' I was honoured to get to interview some of the visionary English artists I discuss in the book and I'm so glad to hear the series has just had its 20,000th view!  The chapter on Gary Numan is entitled ' Interzones, Edgelands, Psykick Dancehalls and Shamans: Gary Numan, Joy Division and Mark E. Smith '. In our discussion Gary and I discussed the putting together of the Numan persona, his unpublished fiction that informed it, and his experiences of fame. You can watch the interview here . Gary was an absolute gent and we talked about everything from synths to ghosts. It was so much fun to chat to Kate Jackson about her art, our shared love of British Railway Stations and her work with Suede's genius guitarist Bernard Butler.  My interview with her can be found here . The interview series concluded with me chatting to Gazelle Twin, recently the subject of Tim Bur...