Thom Metzger


Thom Metzger 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 of western New York State. As Leander Watts, he has published five YA novels.
Metzger was born and raised in Rochester, NY, son of Robert G. and Lois M. Metzger.
He attended Gates-Chili High School before earning a BA and MLS at the State University of New York at Geneseo (where he studied four-dimensional geometry and quantum physics with Rudy Rucker.

Career

Metzger's writing career began with the publication of the avant-shock novel Big Gurl in 1989. His association with Autonomedia commenced with inclusion of his work in the Semiotext U.S.A. issue, at the invitation of Peter Lamborn Wilson. His work appeared in Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed and other journals. Blood and Volts: Edison, Tesla, and the Electric Chair, and 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 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 in as well as 55 installments of his column. He has been called “The Poet Laureate of the Burned Over District,” by . 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 singing.

Novels

  • Big Gurl
  • Shock Totem
  • Drowning in Fire
  • Stonecutter
  • Wild Ride to Heaven
  • Ten Thousand Charms
  • Beautiful City of the Dead
  • Hydrogen, Sleep and Speed
  • Meet Me in the Strange
  • ''Flaherty’s Wake: Abortionist, Boxer, Lawyer, and Priest''

Short Fiction Collection

  • ''This is Your Final Warning''

Non-Fiction

  • Blood and Volts: Edison, Tesla and the Electric Chair
  • The Birth of Heroin and the Demonization of the Dope Fiend
  • Select Strange and Sacred Sites
  • Undercover Mormon: a Spy in the House of the Gods
  • Big Noise on the Astral Plane
  • Hakim Bey: Real and Unreal
  • ''Strong Songs of the Dead: The Pagan Rites of Sacred Harp''