In Wormwood, the unflappable Brite weaves tales of subtle homoerotica, stereotype horror redux, goth culture, all in contemporary settings where drugs pass hands, loud guitars wail into the night, eyes peer from the shadows. Her self-proclaimed splatterpunk style was just what horror fiction needed at the time –– it was cardio-pulmonary resuscitation for a horror fiction genre in steep decline. Brite’s narrative prose proved quite addictive, and her public readings were attended by a vast array of stereotypes, from chain and leather-clad biker types to gothic youths draped in black lace and fishnet stockings. Brite’s use of metaphor, poetic language, eye for detail, and uncanny character portrayal was quietly being lauded at the time, and Wormwood’s publication and reception would cement her reputation as horror’s pre-eminent practitioner. Also the author of horror novels Lost Souls and Drawing Blood, Poppy Z. Brite was a rising horror fiction writer at the time her collection of stories, Wormwood, was published.
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