Jon Leon

Jon Leon is an American poet and social critic. His debut full-length collection, The Malady of the Century (2012), was selected for publication by Futurepoem in 2012. The editorial panel consisted of Wayne Koestenbaum, Anne Waldman, and Lytle Shaw. Other books include The Arrivistes (2015), Elizabeth Zoë Lindsay Drink Fanta (2011), The Hot Tub (2009), and a number of privately issued titles and special editions.

Writing for The Quietus in 2015 Sam Riviere notes, "It might be more tempting than usual to wonder to what extent the poetry corresponds to life, but it’s pretty much impossible to measure any gap between intent and effect here; Leon has maintained an unlikely level of obscurity, when most writers are engaged in direct forms of self-exposure. Rumoured to be living in several different cities, approached cautiously even by his devotees, there is something precarious about his public identity, a deliberate reluctance to intrude on the work with an authorial perspective."

Writing for The Thousands in 2012 Wilfred Brandt notes, "Other biographical insights gleaned from him and former editors tell tales of an unconventional, spontaneous, rough-and-tumble intellectual who sites Avital Ronell’s Crack Wars as an influence then name checks The Hand That Rocks The Cradle and Drake's 'Crew Love'."

He has said that models are the only true artists.

Creating one’s self
is arguably no different from
creating a sculpture
or some other fine abstraction.'''
-- Jon Leon, "There's Only 1 U"

Bibliography

  • The Arrivistes (Manchester: Dostoyevsky Wannabe, 2015) ISBN 978-1515041139
  • Sheets of Mist (New York: Karma, 2015) ISBN 978-1938560835
  • Mankind (aka Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows) (New York: Agioteurs, 2012)
  • The Malady of the Century (New York: Futurepoem, 2012) ISBN 978-0982279861
  • Elizabeth Zoë Lindsay Drink Fanta (New York: Content, 2011) ISBN 978-1933254906
  • Kasmir (Los Angeles: High Street, 2010)
  • The Hot Tub (New York: mal-o-mar, 2009) ISBN 978-0578030371
  • Hit Wave (New York: Kitchen Press, 2008)
  • Alexandra (Iowa City: Cosa Nostra, 2008)
  • Diphasic Rumors / Chiacchiere difasiche, trans. Gherardo Bortolotti (Milan: La Camera Verde, 2008)

Selected Works

Select Permanent Collections

  • Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, NY
  • Qatar National Library, Doha, Qatar
  • Zentralbibliothek, Zurich, Switzerland
  • Yale University Beinecke Library, New Haven, CT
  • Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
  • The British Library, London, UK
  • University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Author Website
Haikool by Jon Leon
Summertime Happiness: Jon Leon Interviews L.A. Artist Alex Israel
The Coral, 2013
Two Poems in The Brooklyn Rail
An essay on Lindsay Lohan at Blonde Art Books
Jon Leon reading in the Segue Series, NYC, February 11, 2012