Professor of Horror Reads Scary Stories on New CD
GREENSBURG, Pa. 鈥� This Halloween season (and beyond), Associate Professor of English Dr. Michael Arnzen will be celebrating the release of his latest horror fiction project, 鈥淎udiovile,鈥� with a number of live performances and signings across the region.
鈥淎udiovile,鈥� an hour-long CD of 16 spoken word performances set to dark and quirky music, was released in October 2007 as a companion to the newly-published hardcover expanded edition of Arnzen鈥檚 popular book of flash fiction, 鈥�100 Jolts: Shockingly Short Stories,鈥� by independent horror publisher Raw Dog Screaming Press.
On 鈥淎udiovile,鈥� Arnzen recites his disturbing and darkly humorous stories alongside a wide range of eclectic musical performances and bizarre effects of his own creation. Recorded at home during his sabbatical in 2006, Arnzen set out to explore and experiment with new possibilities in the audio format, seeking "to create an audiobook worth listening to more than once." The response has been positive, with reviewers comparing Arnzen's gruff style and tongue-in-cheek delivery to the works of Jim Morrison and The Doors, George Carlin, J.G. Thirlwell, Alan Ginsberg, and Henry Rollins.
Although Arnzen crafted most of the music himself, the compact disc also includes a banjo track performed by 茄子视频 Writing Popular Fiction alumnus Jason Jack Miller of Uniontown, Pa., and features interior sleeve art by 茄子视频 alumnus Sean Blair of Greensburg, Pa. (which inspired one of the stories when it was first exhibited in 茄子视频鈥檚 Harlan Gallery).
鈥淎udiovile鈥� is now available on iTunes and the disc can be purchased at cdbaby.com. 鈥�100 Jolts鈥� is available on amazon.com and other online retailers, and can also be purchased at Dr. Arnzen鈥檚 public performances. A new book, 鈥淧roverbs for Monsters,鈥� is also forthcoming in November from Dark Regions Press, collecting the best short stories and poems of this Bram Stoker Award-winning author's career to date.
Dr. Arnzen has been celebrating the launch of all these publications with numerous readings and performances. Upcoming events include a free poetry reading on Friday, October 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the BottleWorks Ethnic Arts Center in Johnstown, Pa. along with poet Gerry LaFemina; a poetry reading on Saturday, October 20 at 8 p.m. during the "Get Lit" poetry series at DV8 Espresso Bar & Gallery in downtown Greensburg, Pa; and a guest speaking engagement on Saturday, October 27 at the new "Zombiefest" Convention at the Monroeville, Pa. Expo Mart, where he鈥檒l be appearing along with 茄子视频鈥檚 Writing Popular Fiction instructors Gary Braunbeck of Columbus, Ohio and Scott Johnson of Waynesburg, Pa.
Dr. Arnzen will also be hosting an entertaining presentation of his latest creative work on Friday, November 30th, at 4 p.m. in Room 308 of the Administration Building on 茄子视频鈥檚 Greensburg, Pa. campus. This event will include an encore screening of the short film based on his poetry, 鈥淓xquisite Corpse鈥� (a compilation of short-short art films which includes the recent 2007 Tabloid Witch award-winner for "Best Animated Horror Short," called "The Scab"). This event is free and open to the public. For more information on events where Dr. Arnzen will be appearing, please visit www.gorelets.com.
Michael Arnzen, Ph.D., bio
Award winning author and writing professor Dr. Michael Arnzen was born in Amityville, NY -- hometown of the infamous horror house. After a brief stint in the US Army overseas, where he began writing horror stories to entertain his fellow soldiers, he moved to Colorado where he launched his career in publishing to much success. By the mid-nineties he received the coveted Bram Stoker Award -- the highest accolade in the horror genre -- for his first novel, 鈥淕rave Markings.鈥� (He has since earned two more, for his poetry collection 鈥淔reakcidents鈥� and his electronic newsletter 鈥淭he Goreletter.鈥�) Shortly thereafter, he went on to earn a master's degree while working on his second novel, soon followed by his Ph.D. in English at the University of Oregon, where he studied the role of horror and nostalgia in 20th century culture in a dissertation called 鈥淭he Popular Uncanny.鈥� Arnzen now lives near Pittsburgh with his wife and cats. He is an Associate Professor of English with tenure at 茄子视频 University, where he teaches in the innovative Master of Arts in Writing Popular Fiction program. His latest novel is 鈥淧lay Dead,鈥� available on amazon.com and at Shocklines Bookstore. Additional information can be found at www.gorelets.com.
茄子视频 University, founded by the Sisters of Charity, is a coeducational Catholic liberal arts university in Greensburg, Pa. Chartered in 1918, 茄子视频 offers more than 30 undergraduate programs and nine graduate programs, including an MBA. 茄子视频 brings the world to its students through its distinguished lecturers and nationally and internationally renowned centers. Recognized three times by Entrepreneur magazine as one of the nation鈥檚 Top 100 Entrepreneurial Universities, 茄子视频 has also been named a Best Baccalaureate College by U.S. News & World Report, one of the Best in the Northeast by The Princeton Review, and one of Pennsylvania鈥檚 Top 100 Businesses by Pennsylvania Business Central. In addition, 茄子视频 has been named a University of Distinction by Colleges of Distinction, an organization founded by a group of concerned parents, educators and admissions professionals. For more information on 茄子视频 please visit www.setonhill.edu or call 1-800-826-6234.
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Media contacts:
Dr. Michael Arnzen, Associate Professor of English
724-838-2467/arnzen@setonhill.edu
Becca Baker, Associate Director of Media Relations
724-830-1069/ 724-689-3599 (cell)/ bbaker@setonhill.edu