Maggie Estep

Maggie Estep is an American poet and writer. She has published six books and released two spoken word albums: Love is a Dog From Hell and No More Mr. Nice Girl.

Estep was born in 1963 in Summit, New Jersey. As a poet, she emerged in the early 1990s when grunge was the height of fashion and her "direct, aggressive and uncompromisingly modern"^[1] poetry was highly accessible.

Estep appeared on MTV's Spoken Word Unplugged,^[2] PBS's The United States of Poetry^[3] and most recently on Season 3 of HBO's Def Poetry. Her video for her spoken word track "Hey Baby" received moderate rotation on MTV and was highlighted on MTV's Beavis & Butt-head. She also contributed vocals to two songs on Recoil's 1997 album Unsound Methods, including the single "Control Freak".

Estep went on to write several novels, including the Ruby Murphy mystery novels, Gargantuan and Hex. Hex was named New York Times Notable Book for 2003.^[4]

Discography

• No More Mr. Nice Girl(1994)(Mercury)
• Love is a Dog From Hell(1997)(Mercury)

Bibliography

• Diary of an Emotional Idiot: A Novel(1997)(Harmony)
• Soft Maniacs: Stories(1999)(Simon & Schuster)
• Hex: A Ruby Murphy Mystery(2003)(Three Rivers Press)
• Love Dance of the Mechanical Animals: Confessions, Highly Subjective Journalism, Old Rants and New Stories(2003)(Three Rivers Press)
• Gargantuan: A Ruby Murphy Mystery(2004)(Three Rivers Press)
• Flamethrower: A Ruby Murphy Mystery(2006)(Three Rivers Press)
• Alice Fantastic(2009)(Akashic Books)

References

1. ^ Aptowicz, Cristin O'Keefe. (2008). Words in Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam. New York City: Soft Skull Press, 66. ISBN 1-933-36882-9.
2. ^ http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88/spoken-word-per-james.html| New York Times Caryn James review of Spoken Word Unplugged
3. ^ http://www.worldofpoetry.org/usop/love7.htm| United States of Poetry website: Maggie Estep's "I'm an Emotional Idiot"
4. ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940CE4DF113AF934A35751C1A9659C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=25| New York Times Notable Books, December 7, 2003.