In the midst of the 20th century, also known as the “Atomic Age”, there were a group of writers that included Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg who rebelled against social norms. These “Beatniks”, as they were called, represented an literary moment and ideology that was nonconformist against the current mindset of society. While the older, post-WWII generation were being seduce by advertisers into believing that happiness was found in church, marriage and possessing material things, like new cars and kitchen appliances, beatniks found a greater happiness in solitude, spiritual enlightenment and individualism. Through their prose and poetry they expressed their feelings of anti-materialism and dissatisfaction with the world around them.
During the 1970’s and 80’s while the rest of the music world were creating clones of popular Rock and Roll music that appeased the Big Labels who opened the gates to airplay on the radios, there were underground bands like the Ramones, Sex Pistols and the Clash who were packing in pubs and clubs all over England and America. Unlike most bands who strived to imitate the trendy tunes of well-established bands, these creative and cutting-edge musicians produced a new type of music that was shorter, faster and more gruff than what the rest of the world was used to. And thus, the genre of “Punk Rock” was birthed. From their quick tempo-ed music cords to their leather clothes and spiked hair, punk rockers yelled and scream anti-authority, self-expression at all costs and flipped a musical middle finger to the establishment.
With the new millennia came an innovative group of forward-thinking seers who escaped back into the Victorian age and imagined what today would be like without the invention of electricity and other modern marvels like gas-powered motors and jet-propulsion airplanes. From their mystical minds came a new subculture of fashion, art and literature called “Steampunk”.Through the process of morphing clogs, gears and gages with vintage fashion, weaponry and modes of transportation, steampunks crank out a futuristic-retro factory of fabulous costumes, artwork that appeases the eyes and stimulates the imagination and literature that takes it readers on incredible sci-fi airship adventures filled with mysteries, twists and turns. Just like real clogs and gears.
Today, as we enter into the second decade of the 21stcentury dominated by political correctness, gender-fluidity and social media mentality there’s a new breed of writers and bloggers who circumvent the status quo of conventionality and write without the fear of rejection or the need for reward or recognition. They are known as“Typepunks”. You won’t often see the works of typepunks published on the printed pages of mainstream magazines or in literary journals. You’re more likely to see quotes extracted from their stories tattooed on inner thighs or spray-painted on old abandoned buildings. Typepunks slice their literary wrists and let the rest of the world see their words bleed out against the masses who are asses. They humorously mock society’s hypocrisy and enjoy spinning stories that depict how the world today is spinning down its own swirling shit-hole. There is no age, sex, race or religious restrictions to those who call themselves typepunks. Just as there is no age, sex, race or religious restrictions on who will bear the blunt of their jokes, stories and offenses.
The phrase “typepunk” and its genre was created by writer, Harry Sneed, with the publication of his humorous and edgy short story series titled: ‘Rory Rande; Typepunk”. It’s main character, Rory Rande, is a middle-aged, white man who despises his job as a state prison correctional officer (CO). His dream is to become a full-time writer and travel the literary symposium circuit as a guest speaker. But unlike all the other authors on the panel who are either gay, Muslim or female, Rory is the odd-man-out. The. Rebel. The brash, in-your-face, and often offensive CO that tells it like it is. To Rory, writing isn’t about getting a message out or changing the world. To write is to make money, get revenge on the ex-girlfriend and to avoid the possibility of killing a douchbag traffic-butter on his way to work.
His follow-up story “Cry On Baby, Cry On”. Is an auto-biographical account of Rory’s last days spent with a possibly innocent rapist and murderer on death row. This poignant and touching story is about Johnny B. Good Hamilton, aka “Chirp”, a musical genius and entertaining celebrity in prison but a long forgotten convicted rapist and murderer to the rest of the world. That is, until his final appeal before he’s sentence to death. Rory’s ability to capture the emotions and vulnerability of both prison guard and prisoner has movie producers already vying for the rights to turn “Cry On, Baby, Cry On”into a movie.
Harry is currently working on more stories to add to the “Rory Rande:Typepunk”series. You can read “Typepunk” for FREE and get notified to more stories as they come out by joining his “Cult Reading Followers” email subscription HERE. Since the release of “Rory Rande: Typepunk” other authors have picked up the vibe and counter-culture style of typepunk literature and are spreading their stories in blogs, on bodies and in abandoned buildings across the world.