Adam Parfrey

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Adam Parfrey
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Born (1957-04-12)April 12, 1957
New York City, U.S.
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Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Occupation Journalist, editor, publisher
Known for Feral House, Process Media, Amok Press, EXIT magazine
Spouse(s) Jodi Wille (m. 2006–11)
Parent(s) Woodrow Parfrey, Rosa Ellovich
Relatives Jessica Parfrey (sister)

Adam Parfrey (12 April 1957 – 10 May 2018) was an American journalist, editor, and the publisher of Feral House books,[1] whose work in all three capacities frequently centered on unusual, extreme, or "forbidden" areas of knowledge. A 2010 Seattle Weekly profile stated that "what Parfrey does is publish books that explore the marginal aspects of culture. And in many cases—at least back when his interests were almost exclusively transgressive—he sheds light on subjects that society prefers to leave unexplored, carving a niche catering to those of us with an unseemly obsession with life's darkest, most depraved sides."[2]

Parfrey was born in New York City, but during childhood moved to Los Angeles with his parents. After graduating high school, he attended the University of California, Santa Cruz,[3] and UCLA, before dropping out[4] to move to San Francisco, where he began a short-lived experimental magazine, IDEA.[5] That publication folded after two issues. In 1983 he wrote and performed in a play about Gilles de Rais, “The Wickedest Man in the World".

That year, Parfrey moved east to Hoboken, New Jersey, and began working at New York City's Strand Bookstore. In 1984, with Kim Seltzer and Strand co-worker George Petros, Parfrey launched EXIT Magazine; he collaborated on three of the six published issues before leaving the publication in 1987.

Amok Press

In 1987, Parfrey co-founded Amok Press in New York with Kenneth Swezey. (Amok Press should not be confused with Amok Books, founded by Swezey's brother Stuart later that same year.) Amok Press's first title was an English translation by Joachim Neugroschel of Joseph Goebbels's 1929 novel Michael,[6] followed by the groundbreaking and controversial Apocalypse Culture,[7] a collection of articles, interviews, and documents that explore various marginal aspects of culture. (It has been reprinted twice: in 1990, and in 2001 by Parfrey's next imprint, Feral House.) The partnership of Parfrey and Swezey published eight books, including You Can't Win, by Jack Black,[8] The Grand Guignol: Theatre of Fear and Terror, by Mel Gordon,[9] and Boxcar Bertha, with an intro by Kathy Acker.[10]

Feral House

Parfrey moved back to the west coast and while living in Portland, Oregon, founded another independent imprint, Feral House, in 1989.[11] Over the years Feral House published titles by Steven Blush, Joseph P. Farrell, Phillip Thomas Tucker, John Zerzan, Alain Saury, Jennifer Robin, John Sinclair, and others, as well as many titles Parfrey wrote or edited.[12]

Tim Burton’s bio-picture of B-movie director Ed Wood, Jr., featuring Johnny Depp in the title role, was based upon the 1991 Feral House book Nightmare of Ecstasy, a biography of Wood by Rudolf Grey.[13]

In 2000, Apocalypse Culture II, a sequel to the 1987 book, was published. The book was widely campaigned against and has been banned in many countries.[14] In 2005, Parfrey co-founded the independent publishing company Process Media with Jodi Wille of Dilettante Press.[15]

Parfrey left Portland and lived in Los Angeles for a time before decamping permanently to Port Townsend, Washington, where he resided for the remainder of his life. He died in Seattle on May 10, 2018, following complications from a series of strokes.[16][17]

Works

  • Apocalypse Culture edited by Adam Parfrey (Amok Press, 1988, ISBN 0-941693-02-3)
  • Rants and Incendiary Tracts edited by Bob Black and Adam Parfrey (Amok Press, 1988, ISBN 0-941693-03-1)
  • The Manson File compiled by Parfrey, credited to Nikolas Schreck (Amok Press, 1988, ISBN 0-941693-04-X)
  • Apocalypse Culture: Revised and Expanded edited by Adam Parfrey (Amok Press, 1990, ISBN 0-922915-05-9)
  • Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. by Rudolph Grey, edited by Parfrey (Feral House, 1994, ISBN 0-922915-24-5)
  • Cult Rapture: Revelations of the Apocalyptic Mind by Adam Parfrey (Feral House, 1995, ISBN 0-922915-22-9)
  • End Is Near!: Visions of Apocalypse, Millennium and Utopia by Stephen Jay Gould, Roger Manley, Adam Parfrey, Dalai Lama, foreword by Rebecca Hoffberger (Dilettante Press, 1998, paperback ISBN 0-9664272-7-0, 1999, hardcover ISBN 0-9664272-6-2)
  • Muerte!: Death in Mexican Popular Culture by Harvey Stafford, edited by Adam Parfrey, illustrated by J. G. Posada, photographs by the ¡Alarma! Staff (Feral House, 2000, ISBN 0-922915-59-8)
  • Apocalypse Culture II edited by Adam Parfrey (Feral House, 2000, ISBN 0-922915-57-1)
  • Extreme Islam: Anti-American Propaganda of Muslim Fundamentalism edited by Adam Parfrey, introduction by Tamim Ansary (Feral House, 2002, ISBN 0-922915-78-4)
  • Lexicon Devil: The Fast Times and Short Life of Darby Crash and the Germs by Brendan Mullen, Adam Parfrey, and Don Bolles (Feral House, 2002, ISBN 0-922915-70-9)
  • It's a Man's World: Men's Adventure Magazines – the Postwar Pulps edited by Adam Parfrey, material by Josh Alan Friedman, Mort Künstler, David Saunders, Bill Devine (Feral House, 2003, ISBN 0-922915-81-4)
  • War Is a Racket: The Anti-War Classic by America's Most Decorated General by Smedley D. Butler, with introduction by Adam Parfrey (reprinted in 2003 by Feral House, ISBN 0-922915-86-5)
  • Two Thousand Formulas, Recipes, and Trade Secrets: The Classic Do-It-Yourself Book of Practical Everyday Chemistry by Harry Bennett, Adam Parfrey (Feral House, 2003, ISBN 0-922915-95-4)
  • SIN-A-RAMA: Sleaze Sex Paperbacks of the Sixties by Britany A. Daley, Adam Parfrey and Lydia Lunch (Feral House, 2004, ISBN 1-932595-05-8)
  • Secret Source by Maja D'Aoust, Adam Parfrey, Jodi Wille (Feral House, 2007, ISBN 978-1-934170-07-6)
  • Propaganda and Holy Writ of the Process Church of the Final Judgement (Feral House, 2011)
  • Ritual America: Secret Brotherhoods and Their Influence on American Society, A Visual Guide by Adam Parfrey, Craig Heinbichner (Feral House, 2012)

Awards

  • Winner: Independent Publisher Awards Best History Book of 2012 Silver Medal: Ritual America: Secret Brotherhoods and Their Influence on America Society, by Adam Parfrey and Craig Heimbichner[18]

Recordings

Film

Writings

References

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  2. Conklin, Ellis E., "For Adam Parfrey, Publishing the Unabomber's Book Is All In a Day's Work", Seattle Weekly, November 23, 2010
  3. Roberts, Sam, "Adam Parfrey, Publisher of the Provocative, Dies at 61", The New York Times, May 14, 2018
  4. Conklin, Ellis E., "For Adam Parfrey, Publishing the Unabomber's Book Is All In a Day's Work", Seattle Weekly, November 23, 2010
  5. Conklin, Ellis E., "For Adam Parfrey, Publishing the Unabomber's Book Is All In a Day's Work", Seattle Weekly, November 23, 2010
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  7. Apocalypse Culture, A. Parfrey (ed.) (Ekaterinburg: Ultra.Kultura), 2005. ISBN 0-922915-05-9
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  11. Feral House website: About Us
  12. Feral House catalog at Feralhouse.com
  13. Nightmare of Ecstasy at Feral House website
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External links