Peter Sotos (born April 17, 1960) is an American writer and musician. In his books, Sotos examines

sadistic Sadism may refer to: * Sadomasochism, the giving or receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation * Sadistic personality disorder, an obsolete term proposed for individuals who derive pleasure from the s ...

sexual criminals and sexually violent pornography, particularly involving children. His writings are interpreted by some as commenting on media hypocrisy around these issues. His books are often first person narratives, taking on the

point of view Point of view or Points of View may refer to: Concept and technique * Point of view (philosophy), an attitude how one sees or thinks of something * Point of view (literature) or narrative mode, the perspective of the narrative voice; the prono ...

of the

sexual predator A sexual predator is a person seen as obtaining or trying to obtain sexual contact with another person in a metaphorically "predatory" or abusive manner. Analogous to how a predator hunts down its prey, so the sexual predator is thought to "hunt" ...

in order to explore sadistic and

pedophilic Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...

sexual impulses.

Early life

Sotos is a graduate of Holy Cross High School. He attended

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...

for one year and studied at the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew into the museum and ...

for four years.

''Pure'' magazine and after

In 1984, while the

day care sex abuse hysteria Day-care sex-abuse hysteria was a moral panic that occurred primarily during the 1980s and early 1990s, and featured charges against day-care providers accused of committing several forms of child abuse, including Satanic ritual abuse. The coll ...

phenomenon was sweeping the nation and while attending the

, Sotos began producing the controversial magazine ''Pure'', notable as the first

zine A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very s ...

dedicated to

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

lore. The original publications are now collectors' items. In addition to offering many details about the crimes of serial killers and Nazis, the text in the magazine praises them, describing them using such terms as "genius", "glorious", "exemplary", and "illustrious". The text is juxtaposed with pictures and newspaper clippings relevant to the crimes discussed, showing that the media also abuses the victims. A short manifesto introducing the first issue says the magazine "satiates and encourages true lusts." A photocopy from a magazine of

child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a ...

was used as the cover of issue #2 of ''Pure'' which led to Sotos pleading guilty to possession of child pornography, receiving a suspended sentence. A copy of the magazine was found by Scotland Yard in Edinburgh, in the home of a suspect in a series of child abductions, murders and grave robbings, which led to Sotos' arrest. Despite his early legal troubles, Sotos continues to garner support for his ideas and literary output: in the foreword to the French edition of ''Index'' (1999) the publisher

Jean-Jacques Pauvert Jean-Jacques Pauvert (8 April 1926 – 27 September 2014) was a French publisher, notable for publishing the work of the Marquis de Sade in the early 1950s and as the first publisher of the '' Story of O'' (1954) and the first edition of Kenneth ...

compared him to Marquis de Sade; the American author Bruce Benderson has been analyzing his writings for ''

La Nouvelle Revue Française LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

''; in 2012 Sotos joined

Dennis Cooper Dennis Cooper (born January 10, 1953) is an American novelist, poet, critic, editor and performance artist. He is best known for the ''George Miles Cycle'', a series of five semi-autobiographical novels published between 1989 and 2000 and describe ...

for a lecture at the Centre Georges Pompidou; in 2015 the German contemporary art magazine ''

Texte zur Kunst ''Texte zur Kunst'' is a German contemporary art magazine. History ''Texte zur Kunst'' was founded in 1990 in Cologne by art historian Stefan Germer and art critic Isabelle Graw. It has been published in Berlin since 2000. Since the death of ...

'' published “Proxy: Peter Sotos in Conversation”.

Books

*''Lazy'' (1999) examines the public fascination with sex crimes, and their influence on artworks such as the painting ''Myra'' by

Marcus Harvey Marcus Harvey (born 1963 in Leeds) is an English artist and painter, one of the Young British Artists (YBAs). Exhibitions Harvey has shown work internationally in many exhibitions including "The Führer's Cakes" at Galleria Marabini in Bologna ...

. *''Selfish, Little'' (2004) recounts the murder of Lesley Ann Downey by British

Moors Murderers The Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around Manchester, England. The victims were five children—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey, and Edward E ...

Ian Brady The Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around Manchester, England. The victims were five children—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey, and Edward E ...

and

Myra Hindley The Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around Manchester, England. The victims were five children—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey, and Edward E ...

in 1964. *''Predicate'' (2005) explores the

Dunblane Massacre The Dunblane massacre took place at Dunblane Primary School in Dunblane, near Stirling, Scotland, on 13 March 1996, when Thomas Hamilton shot dead 16 pupils and one teacher, and injured 15 others, before killing himself. It remains the deadlie ...

in Scotland in 1996 and the motives and life of its perpetrator Thomas Watt Hamilton. Other topics covered include

Operation Ore Operation Ore was a British police operation that commenced in 1999 following information received from US law enforcement, which was intended to prosecute thousands of users of a website reportedly featuring child pornography. It was the United ...

, the

Wonderland murders The Wonderland murders, also known as the Four on the Floor Murders or the Laurel Canyon Murders, are four unsolved murders that occurred in Los Angeles, California, United States, on July 1, 1981. It is assumed that five people were targeted ...

, Russian orphanages,

Megan's Law Megan's Law is the name for a federal law (and informal name for subsequent state laws) in the United States requiring law enforcement authorities to make information available to the public regarding registered sex offenders. Laws were creat ...

, and non-nude teen websites. *''Comfort and Critique'' (2005) explores the hidden motives of reporters and citizens as shown by their reactions to sexual crimes. *''Show Adult'' (2007) investigates the experience of pornography. The book also analyzes the TV shows ''

Supernanny ''Supernanny'' is a British reality television programme about parents struggling with their children's behaviour, mealtime, potty training, etc. The show features professional nanny Jo Frost, who devotes each episode to helping a family wh ...

'' and ''

To Catch a Predator ''To Catch a Predator'' is an American reality television series in the television news magazine program ''Dateline NBC'' featuring confrontations with host Chris Hansen, partly filmed with a hidden camera, of adult men arriving at a sting h ...

'' as publicly acceptable forms of child pornography. *''Lordotics'' (2008) deals with sex offenders and the art of photography. *''Pure Filth'' (2012) details transcripts of the

gonzo Gonzo may refer to: People * Gonzo (nickname), a list of people with the nickname * Radislav Jovanov Gonzo (born 1964), Croatian music video director Radislav Jovanov, also known as Gonzo * Matthias Röhr (born 1962), German musician whose sta ...

movies porn star

Jamie Gillis Jamie Gillis (born Jamey Ira Gurman; April 20, 1943 – February 19, 2010) was an American pornographic actor, director and member of the AVN Hall of Fame. He was married to the porn actress Serena. Early life Gillis was born Jamey Ira Gurman ...

produced during the 1990s. Gillis adds an introduction to each transcript. Sotos, who was a friend of Gillis, brings his own perspective to these records. The book was completed a few days before Gillis died in February 2010. *''Desistance'' (2014) is focused on the works of French photographer Antoine D'Agata. *''Ingratitude'' (2018) is a monologue. *''Lionel Maunz Peter Sotos'' (2021) is a collaboration with the titular contemporary artist.

Musical career

From 1983 to '' Bird Seed'' released in 2003, Sotos was a member of the British

power electronics Power electronics is the application of electronics to the control and conversion of electric power. The first high-power electronic devices were made using mercury-arc valves. In modern systems, the conversion is performed with semiconducto ...

group

Whitehouse Whitehouse may refer to: People * Charles S. Whitehouse (1921-2001), American diplomat * Cornelius Whitehouse (1796–1883), English engineer and inventor * E. Sheldon Whitehouse (1883-1965), American diplomat * Elliott Whitehouse (born 1993), ...

. In 1992, Sotos released the solo album ''Buyer's Market'', which consisted of

sound collage In music, montage (literally "putting together") or sound collage ("gluing together") is a technique where newly branded sound objects or compositions, including songs, are created from collage, also known as montage. This is often done throu ...

s of spoken word samples from parents, law-enforcement officers and victims of sex crimes. The album was produced by

Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal ...

. Sotos then released ''Proxy'' and ''Waitress'' in 2005. Jamie Stewart from

Xiu Xiu Xiu Xiu ( ) is an American experimental band, formed in 2002 by singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart in San Jose, California. Currently, the line-up consists of Stewart (the only constant member since formation) and Angela Seo. The band's name co ...

often mentions Sotos as an influence.

Discography

Art

Peter Sotos makes video collages. He notably presented ''Waitress I'', ''II'' and ''III'' at the

Palais de Tokyo The Palais de Tokyo (''Tokyo Palace'') is a building dedicated to modern and contemporary art, located at 13 avenue du Président-Wilson, facing the Trocadéro, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The eastern wing of the building belongs to ...

in April 2005. A selection of Sotos' paper archives has been shown for the first time in 2017 at the New Galerie in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

In popular culture

In his movie ''Love'' (2015), the Argentine film director

Gaspar Noé Gaspar Noé (, ; born 27 December 1963) is an Argentine filmmaker based in Paris, France. He is the son of Argentine painter, writer, and intellectual Luis Felipe Noé. In the early 1990s, Noé along with his wife Lucile Hadžihalilović were ...

shows ''Lazy'', one of Sotos' books, in the hero's bookshelves. The American writer is also thanked in the closing credits.''IMDb'': ''Love'' by Gaspar Noé
/ref>

Works

* ''Pure'', 1984-1985, Self-published and released two issues, with a third having been completed before controversy of publication led to a now-infamous trial. * ''Parasite'', 1993-1995, Self-published twenty issues. * ''Total Abuse: Collected Writings, 1984-1995: Pure, Tool, Parasite'', 1995 (Goad to Hell Enterprises, ) * ''Index'', 1996, Printed in 1998 (Creation Books, ) * ''Special'', 1998 (Rude Shape, ) * ''Lazy'', 1999 (Creation Books, ) * ''Tick'', 2000 (Creation Books, ) * ''Selfish, Little: The Annotated Lesley Ann Downey'', 2004 (Void Books, ) * ''Proxy: Peter Sotos Pornography 1991-2000'', 2005 (Creation Books, ). A compendium of five of Sotos' works (''Tool'', ''Special'', ''Tick'', ''Index'' and ''Lazy''). First edition, with CD by Sotos and

. * ''Comfort and Critique'', 2005 (Void Books, ) * ''Predicate'', 2005 (Creation Books, ) * ''Waitress'', 2005 (Creation Books). Came as an extra for those who preordered a copy of ''Predicate'' from Creation Books. * ''Show Adult'', 2007 (Creation Books, ) * ''Waitress'', 2007 (Creation Books). Separate volume from the one included with ''Predicate''. Came with orders of ''Show Adult'' in hardcover. * ''Lordotics'', 2008 (Creation Books, ) * ''Perfect: The Collected Peter Sotos Volume One'', 2009 (Creation Books, ) * ''Waitress'', 2009 (Creation Books). Third in a series of additional material offered in limited editions from Creation. Came with pre orders of ''Perfect''. * ''Public: The Collected Peter Sotos Volume Two'', 2009 (Creation Books, ) * ''Waitress'', 2009 (Creation Books) Fourth in a series of additional material offered in limited editions from Creation. Came with pre orders of ''Public''. * ''Private: The Collected Peter Sotos Volume Three'', 2009 (Creation Books, ) * ''Waitress'', 2009 (Creation Books). Fifth in a series of additional material offered in limited editions from Creation. Came with pre orders of ''Private''. * ''Kept: The Collected Peter Sotos Volume Four'', 2010 (Creation Books, ) * ''Waitress'', 2010 (Creation Books). Sixth in a series of additional material offered in limited editions from Creation. Came with pre orders of ''Kept''. * ''Mine'', 2011 (Creation Books, reprinted in paperback by Nine-Banded Books in 2013, ) * ''Pure Filth'', 2012 ( Feral House, ) with

. * ''Tool'', 2013 (Nine-Banded Books, ). First printing as a stand-alone volume. * ''Home'', 2013 ( Kiddiepunk) with images by Michael Salerno. * ''Desistance'', 2014 (Nine-Banded Books, ) * ''Ingratitude'', 2018 (Nine-Banded Books, ) *''Lionel Maunz Peter Sotos'', 2021 (Nine-Banded Books & Amphetamine Sulphate, ) *''Missed. Better Still.'', 2022 (Amphetamine Sulphate)

Texts featuring Peter Sotos

* ''Apocalypse Culture'', edited by

Adam Parfrey Adam Parfrey (April 12, 1957 – May 10, 2018) was an American journalist, editor, and the publisher of Feral House books, whose work in all three capacities frequently centered on unusual, extreme, or "forbidden" areas of knowledge. A 2010 '' S ...

, interview with Peter Sotos by Paul Lemos (Amok Press, 1987, ) * ''Apocalypse Culture II'', edited by

, chapter by Peter Sotos (Feral House, 2000, ) * ''The Gates of Janus'' by

, afterword by Peter Sotos (Feral House, 2001, ) * ''Straight to Hell: 20th Century Suicides'', edited by Namida King, contributed to by Peter Sotos (Creation Books, 2003, ) * ''.45 Dangerous Minds: The Most Intense Interviews from'' Seconds Magazine, edited by

Steven Blush Steven Blush is an American author, journalist, record collector and film maker who is best known for his book ''American Hardcore'' and the movie of the same name. Blush has written five books, is the founder of ''Seconds'' magazine and has w ...

and

George Petros George Lawrence Petros (born 11 January 1955) is an American art designer, author, editor, interviewer and illustrator. From 1984 through 1992 he published and edited ''EXIT'', a punk-inspired art and science fiction magazine he founded with Adam ...

(Creation Books, 2005, ) * ''Pornocracy'' by

Catherine Breillat Catherine Breillat (; born 13 July 1948) is a French filmmaker, novelist and professor of auteur cinema at the European Graduate School. In the film business for over 40 years, Catherine Breillat chooses to normalize previously taboo subjects ...

, afterword by Peter Sotos (Semiotext(e), 2008, ) * ''The Gates of Janus: Expanded Edition'' by

, new afterword by Peter Sotos: ''Bait'' (Feral House, 2015, )

References

External links

Nine-Banded Books

Feral House

Laurence Viallet

Peter Sotos: A Case Study in Lust and the Unconditioned
by Michael Lujan
Fucked in the Head
by

Travis Jeppesen Travis Jeppesen is an American novelist, poet, artist, and art critic. He is known, among other works, for his novel '' The Suiciders''; a non-fiction novel about North Korea, ''See You Again in Pyongyang''; and for his object-oriented writing wo ...

Peter Sotos : Aucun autre crime que l'amour du crime
by

Christophe Bourseiller Christophe Bourseiller (; born Christophe Gintzburger; born 27 September 1957 in Paris) is a French actor, writer, freemason and journalist. He began as a child actor and starred in Yves Robert's '' War of the Buttons'' (''La Guerre des boutons'') ...

Instinct, Drive, and Reality: An Interview with Peter Sotos
(''The Hoover Hog'')

by

Interview with Peter Sotos
by Brandon Stosuy (''Fanzine'')
Tesco Fest 2011, Brooklyn NY

''Natt&Dag'' (May 2011)

The Putrid Voyeurisms of Peter Sotos
by Blake Butler (''Vice'')
Basilica Soundscape 2013, Hudson NY
(''Pitchfork'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Sotos, Peter 1960 births Living people American crime writers Musicians from Chicago Writers from Chicago School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni American writers of Greek descent Obscenity controversies in literature American industrial musicians American noise musicians American sound artists Northern Illinois University alumni Music controversies Whitehouse (band) members