Acker, Kathy (1943–1997)

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Acker, Kathy (1943–1997)

American novelist and performance artist. Born Kathy Lehman, April 18, 1943, in New York, NY; grew up in Manhattan; died of breast cancer, Nov 30, 1997, at an alternative treatment center in Tijuana, Mexico; dau. of Donald Lehman and Clare Lehman; attended Brandeis University and University of California; studied poetry under Jerome Rothenburg; m. Robert Acker; m. Peter Gordon.

Influenced by Black Mountain poets, William Burroughs, and French modernists, wrote The Childlike Life of the Black Tarantula by the Black Tarantula (1975), The Adult Life of Toulouse Lautrec by Henri Toulouse Lautrec (1975), Hello, I'm Erica Jong (1982), Great Expectations (1983), Blood and Guts in High School (1984), Empire of the Senseless (1988), In Memoriam to Identity (1990), and Pussy, King of the Pirates (1995); also wrote essays and reviews for magazines; lived and worked in London (1980s).

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