Joannie Penderwick is a staff writer for PopMatters. She focuses on music (rock), mental illness (schizophrenia), and culture (the whole sparkly swamp).
Her writing has also appeared in Slate, Forge, Slackjaw, and The Startup, among other publications.
At the moment her favorite songs are “Someday Baby” by R.L. Burnside, “Consoler of the Lonely” by the Raconteurs, and the Butthole Surfers’ cover of “Summer in the City.” Her favorite album is always The Madcap Laughs by Syd Barrett.
In books, she likes memoirs and epic Dickensian tragicomedies. So, John Irving.
Here’s her all-time favorite quote: “Don’t ask me why I obsessively look to rock ‘n’ roll bands for some kind of model for a better society. I guess it’s just that I glimpsed something beautiful in a flashbulb moment once, and perhaps mistaking it for prophecy have been seeking its fulfillment ever since.”
– Lester Bangs
Here’s her second: “What in the wide world of fuck are you wearing?”
– Selina Meyer, VEEP
Some of her writing
“The New Old Flower-Power Fantasy of Greta Van Fleet” (PopMatters)
“I’ve Struggled With Schizophrenia, and This Pandemic Is Messing With My Sense of Reality” (Slate)
“How to Talk to Someone With a Mental Illness” (Forge)
“This Is Not the Whole Story” (The Startup)
Stray things
– Jo-annie, not Joan-ie
– She does not write reviews
– And is, blissfully, not on Twitter
– Those who aren’t buttbags are welcome to send their non-buttbag messages to: joanniependerwick@gmail.com
