"[Slackjaw] is an extraordinary emotional ride, through
the lives and times of reader and writer alike, maniacally aglow
with a born storyteller's gifts of observation, an amiably deranged
sense of humor, and a heart too bounced around by his history, and
ours, not to have earned Mr. Knipfel, at last, an unsentimental
clarity that is generous and deep. What begins as a cautionary tale
turns out to be, after all, an exemplary American life. The Park
Service ought to be charging admission. Long may he continue to
astonish us." --Thomas Pynchon
Illustration by Russell Christian
Preface by Mike Walsh
Ruining It for Everybody
His third memoir. An anti-spirituality spiritual manifesto.
The Buzzing,
A novel about an aging, embittered journalist who stumbles onto what
may be a very big story.
Quitting the Nairobi Trio
A memoir of Jim's 6-month incarceration in a locked Minneapolis psych
ward after a suicide attempt. Available at Amazon in hardback
or trade
paperback.
Slackjaw
Jim's first book. A classic. Can be purchased as a hardback,
paperback,
or German translation from Amazon.com.
The
Mayor of Hostile City -- Cover story about Jim Knipfel
that appeared in the June 1, 2000, issue of the Philadelphia City
Paper.
From the former editor of the NY Press:
"Jim 'Slackjaw' Knipfel suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, an
incurable, irreversible degenerative eye disease. While considered
legally blind now, he can still see enough to hold down a job and
read the occasional novelization. He can still also enjoy many delightful
shows on the television. His doctors tell him that he will be completely
blind in a few short years. Knipfel also has left temporal lobe brain
damage (from a severe blow to the head he received in 1985), resulting
in the occasional 'rage seizure.' The braces he wore on his legs as
a child didn't completely do the trick either, leaving his left foot
still a bit twisted. The variety of medications he takes has left
him with a liver the size of a football. He has also been diagnosed
as clinically depressed, and no one much doubts that he's a drunk.
He is also an idiot."
Photo by Morgan Intrieri
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