Margaret Ann "Maggie" Estep (March 20, 1963 – February 12, 2014) was an American writer and poet, best known for coming to prominence during the height of the

spoken word Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an oral tradition, ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetic ...

and

poetry slam A poetry slam is a competitive art event in which poets perform spoken word, spoken word poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. Poetry slams began in Chicago in the 1980s, with the first slam competition designed to move poetry rec ...

performance rage. She published seven books and released two spoken word albums: '' No More Mr. Nice Girl'' and '' Love is a Dog From Hell''.

Biography

Margaret Ann Estep was born in 1963 in

Summit, New Jersey Summit is the northernmost City (New Jersey), city of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located within the New York metropolitan area. Situated on a ridge in north Jersey, northern–central Jersey, centra ...

. As a poet, she emerged in the early 1990s when grunge was the height of fashion and her "direct, aggressive and uncompromisingly modern"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. . poetry was highly accessible. Estep appeared on Lollapalooza's third stage in 1994, and featured on MTV's ''Spoken Word Unplugged'',''New York Times'' review of ''Spoken Word Unplugged''
writing.upenn.edu; accessed January 12, 2018. PBS's ''The United States of Poetry'', and on Season 3 of HBO's ''

Def Poetry ''Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry'', better known as simply ''Def Poetry Jam'' or ''Def Poetry'', was a spoken word poetry television series hosted by Mos Def and airing on HBO between 2002 and 2007. The series features performances by estab ...

''. Her video for her spoken word track "Hey Baby" received moderate rotation on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

and was highlighted on MTV's '' Beavis & Butt-head''. She also contributed vocals to two songs on Recoil's 1997 album ''

Unsound Methods ''Unsound Methods'' is the fourth studio album by Recoil, released in 1997. It was recorded at Alan Wilder's home studio, The Thin Line, in Sussex, during sessions that lasted from September 1996 to March 1997. The album was produced by Alan Wil ...

''. In 2003 she wrote sleevenotes for the

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads

box set '' Once in a Lifetime''. Estep went on to write many novels, including ''Diary of an Emotional Idiot'', the Ruby Murphy mystery trilogy, ''Gargantuan'', ''Hex'' and ''Flamethrower'', and ''Alice Fantastic''. ''Hex'' was named ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Notable Book for 2003.''New York Times'' Notable Books, December 7, 2003.
/ref> She had, for several years, been at work on ''The Angelmakers'', a novel about 19th Century female gangsters and the founding of animal rights.

Death

Estep suffered a heart attack on February 10, 2014, at her home in

Hudson, New York Hudson is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in and the county seat of Columbia County, New York, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, it had a population of 5,894. On the east side of the Hudson River, f ...

, and died from complications two days later in an Albany hospital, aged 50. She was survived by her mother and three half-siblings.Updated: RIP Maggie Estep
evgrieve.com; accessed January 12, 2018.

Discography

;Studio albums * '' No More Mr. Nice Girl'' (1994, NuYo/Imago) * '' Love is a Dog From Hell'' (1997, Mouth Almighty Records/Mercury) ;Compilation appearances * ''Skid Row Wine, on compilation Kicks, Joy, Darkness: A Tribute to Jack Kerouac'' (1997) ;Music videos * "Hey Baby" (1994, dir.

Mark Pellington Mark Pellington (born March 17, 1962) is an American film director, writer, and producer. Life and career Pellington was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Bill Pellington, an All-Pro linebacker who played American Football, football with t ...

) * " Vicious" (1997, dir.

Steve Buscemi Steven Vincent Buscemi (,As stated in interviews by Buscemi himself. It is not uncommon for people to pronounce his name or instead. ; born December 13, 1957) is an American actor. He is known for his work as an acclaimed character actor. Mul ...

)

Bibliography

* ''Diary of an Emotional Idiot: A Novel'', Harmony, 1997, ; Counterpoint LLC, 2003, * ''Soft Maniacs: Stories'', Simon & Schuster, 1999, * ; Crown Publishing Group, 10 March 2010, 978-0-307-53082-0 * ''Love Dance of the Mechanical Animals: Confessions, Highly Subjective Journalism, Old Rants and New Stories'', Three Rivers Press, 2003, * ; Crown Publishing Group, 24 March 2010, * ; Crown Publishing Group, 31 March 2010, * ; Akashic Books, 2013, 978-1-61775-005-2

References

External links

*
"Lollapalooza Tour Diaries," a memoir in Sensitive Skin magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Estep, Maggie 1963 births 2014 deaths American women novelists American women singers Singers from New Jersey American women poets Writers from Summit, New Jersey American spoken word poets American alternative rock singers American women mystery writers 20th-century American poets 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers Musicians from Summit, New Jersey Novelists from New Jersey 21st-century American women