His entry begins:
Recent reading for me has revolved around research for the book that I hope will be the British equivalent/sequel to Rebels Wit Attitude, tentatively titled Britwits. Andy Medhurst's book A National Joke has been a terrific discovery for me, as it offers a cultural studies perspective to the rich tradition of English comedy, which is not dissimilar to what I want to do with the history of British subversive rock humorists. It also centralizes social class identity in its various analyses, which is also key to my own arguments. Lastly, Medhurst does some fantastic analysis of some of my fave brit humor, particularly Mike Leigh's films and the extraordinary 90s sit-com The Royal Family. [read on]Iain Ellis teaches in the English Department at the University of Kansas and writes regular columns on “Alternative Rock Cultures” and “Subversive Rock Humor” for PopMatters.
About Ellis, from his PopMatters profile:
Read more about his new book, Rebels Wit Attitude.Born in Manchester and raised east of London, Iain Ellis spent his formative years playing, performing, and consuming a heavy (if not healthy) diet of punk rock music and football. Little has changed since. In 1986, the young man went west to find his dreams in Bowling Green, Ohio. Instead, he picked up a PhD in American Culture Studies, writing his dissertation on 1980s American Punk Culture. In 2000, he traveled further west, settling in Lawrence, Kansas, where he currently teaches English and Youth Culture Studies at the University of Kansas. An avowed arrested adolescent, Iain continues to follow music and sports with a passion, performing and recording periodically with his Ohio-based Britpop band, piss artists, and playing weekly with his Lawrence football team, The Sweepers.
Writers Read: Iain Ellis.
--Marshal Zeringue
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