Steven "Jesse" Bernstein (December 4, 1950 – October 22, 1991) was an American underground writer and performance artist who is most famous for his recordings with Sub Pop Records and close relationship with William S. Burroughs. Bernstein's substance abuse issues and mental illness contributed to his provocative local celebrity, though they ultimately culminated in his suicide.

Contents 1 History 2 Bibliography 3 Discography 4 Filmography 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

Steven Jay Bernstein was born in Los Angeles, California.^[1] He moved to Seattle, Washington in January, 1967, where he adopted the moniker Jesse, and began performing and self-publishing chapbooks of his poetry (the first chapbook was Choking On Sixth, 1978). Bernstein would become something of an icon to many in Seattle's underground music scene. Notable fans included Kurt Cobain and Oliver Stone. Though often noted for his connection to grunge and punk music, Bernstein saw himself primarily as a poet and his live performances in Seattle, such as his regular readings at Dogtown poetry theater and Red Sky Poetry Theater were extremely influential on the Seattle poetry scene and he is credited as a major influence by many local poets from his era. Bernstein's mental illness was not as alarming as it might have been off the stage, as his drug-reinforced manic episodes were harnessed and channeled into engrossing, often perverse, entertainment. According to one Seattle newspaper, he opened for music acts such as Nirvana, Big Black, Soundgarden, U-Men, and The Crows:

“

He read poems from a stage with a live rodent in his mouth, its tail twitching as baseline punctuation. He tried to cut his heart out in order to hold it in his hands and calm it down. He once urinated on a heckler and tended to throw things: beer bottles, manuscripts, drumsticks, his wallet, a sandwich.[2]

”

The concept for the Bernstein album Prison was for Jesse to do a raw, live performance at Monroe, Washington State Penitentiary Special Offenders unit in 1991. Jesse went with his manager Barbara Buckland, Bruce Pavitt from Sub Pop Records, Grant Alden (then with Seattle's Rocket Magazine, now known as the co-founder of No Depression Magazine), photographer Arthur S. Aubry, and various tech people. None of the session except for the photos taken by Aubry was usable. SubPop later contracted Steve Fisk to finish the project. The album was intended to be produced along the same lines as Johnny Cash's At Folsom Prison,^[3] but Fisk later decided to score the recordings with jazz and ambient music. The album was only partially completed when Bernstein committed suicide by stabbing himself in the throat three times. He was 40 years old when he died - about a month and a half before his 41st birthday.

Prison was released on April 1, 1992.^[4] In 1994, one of these recordings, Me and Her Outside (No No Man),was used in the film Natural Born Killers.^[5]

I am Secretly an Important Man, a collection of poetry, short stories, and spoken performances, was released in March of 1996 by Zero Hour Publishing.

His song "A Little Bit Of Everything (That Brought Me Down To This)" was also included on the two-cd set "Home Alive", the proceeds from which benefited women's self-defense groups in the Seattle area.

[edit] Bibliography

• Choking On Sixth (1978, 2nd Edition 1979)
• A Ghost Of His Former Self (1979)
• A Well-Ordered Room (1980) - A one woman play written for Lori Larsen.
• The Wraith (1981)
• Hermione (1982)
• Feast (Spring 1983) - 9 page excerpt of "The Wraith"
• Bumbershoot Anthology (1984) - "Choking on Sixth"
• Swale (November 1984) - "The Housefire"
• Swale (August 1985) - "Face"
• Faux Pas (1987) - "A Cough In The Wrong Place"
• Critics (1988) - Theatrical work written with Susy Schneider.
• Moms (1990) - Theatrical work written with Susy Schneider.
• Semiotext(e) USA edition (1987) - "Main Street USA"
• Skyviews Vol. II No. 3 (1987) - "It Is Fake Statuary"
• Skyviews Vol. II No. 7 (1987) - "Hendrix"
• Skyviews Vol. II No. 9 (1987) - "What Is Poetry, Art Or Anarchy"
• Skyviews Vol. II No. 10 (1987) - Letter to the editor concerning good and bad poetry.
• Skyviews Vol. III No. 2 (1988) - Article concerning the influence of Wiliiam S. Burroughs.
• Skyviews Vol. III No. 3 (1988) - "Notes On The Audience"
• Pop-Tart, Magazine of Instant Art, Vol. 1 No. 7 (1988) - 1st Installment of unpublished novel "Personal Effects".
• Pop-Tart, Magazine of Instant Art, Vol. 1 No. 8 (1988) - 2nd Installment of unpublished novel "Personal Effects".
• Worcs (Aloud Allowed) #18 (October 1988) - "Taboo"
• The Rocket (newspaper) (July 1988) - "Criminal Mind: Jesse Bernstein interviews William S. Burroughs"
• The Rocket (newspaper) (October 1988) - "Aids And The Needle User"
• Personal Effects (1989)
• Zero Hour No. 2 - (Spring 1989) - "Scrap Junkie: Poem For Executive Toy"
• The Rocket (newspaper) (August 1989) - "She Has Lots Of Tattoos: Steven J. Bernstein interviews Kathy Acker"
• The Rocket (newspaper) (June 1990) - "A Conversation With TAD: Steven J. Bernstein interviews TAD"
• Discrete Ephemera (1990) - "Face"
• The Onion As It Is Cooked (October 1990) - "The Onion As It Is Cooked" (Poem printed on pasta)
• Strip Poker (October 1991) - "Strip Poker" (Poem presented inside a wine bottle)
• Noise (1991) - "More Noise, Please!"
• Talking Raven, A Journal of Imaginative Trouble Vol. 3 No. 3 (1993) - "In This Place"
• Bamboo (1994) - "Murdered In The Middle Of The Dance"
• Good To Go (1994) - "Sissies Suck It Up (Bad Boys Gulp It Down)"
• Rapture (1995) - "Car Accident"
• I Am Secretly An Important Man (1996)
• More Noise, Please! (1996)

[edit] Discography

• Words and Music: Steven Jesse Bernstein and Pete Leinonen (cassette) (Original Cast 1984, 1993)
• Sub Pop 200 - "Come Out Tonight" (Sub Pop 1988)
• The Sad Bag (cassette) (Trigger Recordings 1990)
• The Sport/No No Man (12") (Sub Pop 1992)
• Prison (Sub Pop 1992)
• National Public Radio and Interview Excerpts (cassette) (Sub Pop 1992)
• Afternoon Delight! - "This Clouded Heart" (Sub Pop 1992)
• Revolution Come And Gone - "No No Man Pt.2" (Sub Pop 1992)
• Home Alive-The Art Of Self Defense - "It's Just A Little Bit Of Everything (That's Brought Me Down To This)" (Epic Records 1996)

[edit] Filmography

Actor
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1987	Gorefest	The Gorehound	Unreleased and unedited splatter film shot on VHS with a cast consisting of avant garde and underground Seattle artists.
1989	Birthright	Dr. Steiner	Is the head of an asylum in the future where deviants are reconditioned.
1990	Shredder Orpheus	Axel	Lost the use of his hips during an apocalyptic war and sits on a skateboard through the entire film.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Seattle Weekly article
• Official Tribute Site
• A legacy of poetic provocation
• The Wire's 100 Records That Set The World On Fire (When No One Was Listening)
• Birthright
• Discogs