Who's Afraid of Kathy Acker?

Barbara Caspar's documentary about experimental author Kathy Acker (1947–1997) traces the writer's development from her early, impoverished punk days to her success in the 1980s and ‘90s as a post-punk feminist icon best known for reworking literary classics to feature female protagonists and brutal sexuality. Interviews with Acker (archival), her sister, and several colleagues and friends are intercut with footage of the author reading from her work. Excepts from Acker's prose and poetry are also presented with a barrage of impressionistic imagery—some archival, some created for this film (including a stylized, animated version of her literary alter ego Janey, early punk rock bands, paragons of 1950s womanhood, street scenes, and still photos from Acker's childhood). Topics discussed include Acker's sexual masochism in her fiction, her importance as an American literary figure, and the politics of her work. Acker's prose and poetry are sexually explicit, and the film contains graphic nudity as well as scenes from a sex tape Acker made with a friend. In person, Acker was sharp, charming, and funny—a marked contrast to the sexually violent content of her writing and outsider status. Although this offers a comprehensive overview of Acker's life and work, the documentary's explicit material makes this suitable only for related academic studies and more adventurous public library collections. Recommended, with reservations. Aud: C, P. (M. Puffer-Rothenberg)