Our Books

The Listener graphic novel
by David Lester

Arbeiter Ring Publishing
Graphic Novel / Historical Fiction / Art & Politics
Distribution by AK Press (USA), LitDistCo (Canada), Global Book Marketing (UK)
ISBN: 9781894037488

1894037480

In a true story, The Listener reveals a tragic act of spin doctoring that changed the course of history. Complacency, art and murder collide in Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, and in the artist Louise Shearing’s search for meaning in the art of Europe after the fictional modern death of a political activist. April, 2011

The Art of Touring
edited by Sara Jaffe & Mia Clarke
Yeti Press
Jean Smith’s tour diary — observations from the road during the 9-11 attacks. “Our show in Hoboken on September 13 – and on to Philly and DC the following nights – were the first time people left their homes — and their TVs – to find their friends.”

The Ghost of Understanding
by Jean Smith
139 pages
Arsenal Pulp Press
ISBN: 1551520508
As lead singer of the two-person band Mecca Normal, Jean Smith is regarded as one of the forerunners of the Riot Grrrl movement – unapologetic, in-your-face music by women rockers who are front and center, no strings attached. Her long-awaited second novel attempts to find the razor’s edge between order and chaos in a complicated, male-dominated world. Impressionistic sound-bytes combine with colorful, hyper-aware riffs in which Claudine, the narrator, invites the reader to participate in her subjective world of memory, vision, and flashback.
 
I Can Hear Me Fine
by Jean Smith
104 pages
Get To The Point Publishing
ISBN: 0969711204
An unusual novel – about memory and dream, time and space and a woman who has a strange power over her former lover – from the lead singer and songwriter of the acclaimed band Mecca Normal.
 
The Gruesome Acts of Capitalism
by David Lester
112 pages
Arbeiter Ring Publishing
ISBN-10: 1894037308
A beautiful book full of hard numbers. Located at the intersection of the statistical and the artistic, this catalog of corporate horrors – poverty, exploitation, and injustice – is a damning indictment of capitalism created with both love and rage. One in five American children live in poverty. One hundred, thirty-five million of the world’s women and girls have undergone genital mutilation. In Bangladesh, an estimated 500,000 people are slaves. The amount of money spent on ice cream in Europe would be enough to provide reproductive health for all women in developing countries…..unfortunately, there’s a lot more to learn. Illustrated by the author and with an introduction by his Mecca Normal band-mate Jean Smith.
 
Family Swan and Other Songs
by Jean Smith
48 pages
Smarten Up & Get To The Point Publishing
ISBN: 0-9697112-5-5
Jean Smith, one half of the duo known as Mecca Normal, has published a chapbook called “Family Swan and Other Songs.” It’s a limited edition publication printed by Jean Smith and Nikki McClure at Community Print in Olympia WA. Jean Smith made the lino cuts for the illustrations.
 
Smarten Up! and Get To the Point Publishing