Th. (Thom) Metzger (born Sept. 2, 1956) is an American writer, musician, and historian. The author of both fiction and non-fiction, he is best known for his exploration of the esoteric and little known history of the

Burned Over District Burned or burnt may refer to: * Anything which has undergone combustion * Burned (image), quality of an image transformed with loss of detail in all portions lighter than some limit, and/or those darker than some limit * ''Burnt'' (film), a 2015 ...

of western New York State. As Leander Watts, he has published five YA novels. Metzger was born and raised in

Rochester, NY Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in Wes ...

, son of Robert G. and Lois M. (nee Mercel) Metzger. He attended Gates-Chili High School before earning a BA (1978) and MLS (1979) at the State University of New York at Geneseo (where he studied four-dimensional geometry and quantum physics with

Rudy Rucker Rudolf von Bitter Rucker (; born March 22, 1946) is an American mathematician, computer scientist, science fiction author, and one of the founders of the cyberpunk literary movement. The author of both fiction and non-fiction, he is best known f ...

Career

Metzger’s writing career began with the publication of the avant-shock novel ''Big Gurl'' in 1989. His association with

Autonomedia Autonomedia is a nonprofit publisher based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn known for publishing works of criticism. Staffed by volunteers, they have published over 200 books, usually with 3,000 of each run. Its most renowned book is Hakim Bey's essays o ...

commenced with inclusion of his work in the Semiotext(e) U.S.A. issue, at the invitation of

Peter Lamborn Wilson Peter Lamborn Wilson (October 20, 1945 – May 23, 2022) was an American anarchist author and poet, primarily known for his concept of Temporary Autonomous Zones, short-lived spaces which elude formal structures of control. During the 1970s, Wils ...

. His work appeared in '' Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed'' and other journals. ''Blood and Volts: Edison, Tesla,and the'' Electric Chair'', a''nd ''This is Your Final Warning'' were also published by Autonomedia''.'' By direct transmission from Hakim Bey, Metzger was authorized to found the Ziggurat Lodge of the

Moorish Orthodox Church The Moorish Orthodox Church of America is a Syncretism, syncretic, Religious pluralism, non-exclusive, and Religious anarchism, religious anarchist movement originally founded in New York City in 1965 and part of the burgeoning psychedelic church ...

in 1993. During the 1990s, when the subculture of zines flourished, he edited nine issues of ''The Moorish Science Monitor''. From 1999 until 2005, Metzger published over a hundred feature articles i
Rochester’s ''City Newspaper''
as well as 55 installments of hi
Way Below Radar
column. He has been called “The Poet Laureate of the Burned Over District,” b
The Poet’s Press
As such, he was a featured speaker in the BBC-4 documentary “ Secret History: the Chair” and will be featured in the forthcoming documentary ''Burned Over'', produced by East Bend Films.

Performance

Metzger has been a founding member of various avant garde musical groups, among them: Health and Beauty, the Fabulous Rectotem, Ziggurat Prison Ministries, and the Badenovs. Since 1999, he has been an active participant in the subculture of

Sacred Harp Sacred Harp singing is a tradition of sacred choral music that originated in New England and was later perpetuated and carried on in the American South. The name is derived from ''The Sacred Harp'', a ubiquitous and historically important tune ...

singing.

Bibliography

Novels

*''Big Gurl'' (

Penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

1989) *''Shock Totem'' (

1990) *''Drowning in Fire'' (

1992) *''Stonecutter'' (

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults. The company is based in the Financial Dist ...

2002) *''Wild Ride to Heaven'' (

2003) *''Ten Thousand Charms'' (

2005) *''Beautiful City of the Dead'' (

2006) *''Hydrogen, Sleep and Speed'' (The Poet's Press 2011) *''Meet Me in the Strange'' (Meerkat Press 2018) *''Flaherty’s Wake: Abortionist, Boxer, Lawyer, and Priest'' (Ziggurat 2023)

Short Fiction Collection

*''This is Your Final Warning'' (

1992)

Non-Fiction

*''Blood and Volts: Edison, Tesla and the Electric Chair'' (

1996, Underworld Amusements 2024) *''The Birth of Heroin and the Demonization of the Dope Fiend'' (

Loompanics Unlimited Loompanics Unlimited was an American book seller and publisher specializing in nonfiction on generally unconventional or controversial topics. The topics in their title list included drugs, weapons, survivalism, anarchism, sex, conspiracy theories ...

1998) *''Select Strange and Sacred Sites'' (Exit 18 Books 2002) *''Undercover Mormon: a Spy in the House of the Gods''
Roadswell Editions
2012) *''Big Noise on the Astral Plane'' (Ziggurat 2021) *''Hakim Bey: Real and Unreal'' (mogtus-sanlux 2023)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, Leander American children's writers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American male novelists