Author Event: The Punk Rock Queen of the Jews: A Memoir by Rossi

We are so excited to welcome Rossi, author of the memoir THE PUNK ROCK QUEEN OF THE JEWS. This presentation will be in conversation with ABC Board President, Allyson Crystal. All are welcome!

The $5 General Admission ticket will reserve your seat and you will recieve the $5 back in the form of a coupon to use at the time of the event. The $17.95 ticket is your RSVP and includes a copy of The Punk Rock Queen of the Jews: A Memoir.

Learn about the book: THE PUNK ROCK QUEEN OF THE JEWS: A MEMOIR

Officially designated a “rebel” by The New York Times and “the wildest thing this side of the mason Dixon line” by Zagat, Rossi has released “The Punk Rock Queen of the Jews” (She Writes Press, April 23, 2024), her outrageous, queer coming-of-age story. Rossi was taught only to aspire to marry a nice Jewish boy and to be a good kosher Jewish girl. At 16 she flowers into a rebellious punk-rock rule-breaker who runs away to seek adventure. Her freedom is cut short when her parents kidnap her and dump her with a Chasidic rabbi — a “cult buster” known for “reforming” wayward Jewish girls — in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Rossi spends the next couple of years in a repressive, misogynistic culture straight out of the nineteenth century, forced to trade in her pink hair and Sex Pistols T shirt for maxi skirts and long-sleeved blouses and endure not only bone crushing boredom but also outright abuse and violence. “The Punk Rock Queen of the Jews” is filled with wonderfully rich characters, hilarious dialogue, and keen portraits of the secretive hothouse Orthodox world and the struggling New York City of the 1980s: dirty, on the edge, but fully vital and embracing.

Learn about the author: ROSSI

Rossi has been published in outlets including The Daily News, The New York Post, Time Out New York, and Mcsweeney’s, to name a few. She has been the food writer of the “Eat Me” column for Bust magazine since 1998, hosts her own hit radio show on WOMR and WFMR in Cape Cod called Bite This, now in its nineteenth season, has been featured on The Food Network and NPR and has been a popular blogger for The Huffington Post. Her first memoir, “The Raging Skillet: The True Life Story of Chef Rossi” was published by The Feminist Press to rave reviews. In addition to memoir, Rossi has written two full-length plays (“Miss New Jersey” and “Queen of the Jews.”) , a number of one-act comedies, a one-woman stage adaptation of Queen of the Jews, and launched the Raging and Eating podcast. Find out more about her at www.theragingskillet.com.

Praise for THE PUNK ROCK QUEEN OF THE JEWS:

"I thought I'd heard everything until I read Rossi's memoir. It's a story of resilience, acceptance, food, love, chosen family and the chosen people. What more could you want? "—Judy Gold, comedian, actress, author, and two-time Emmy winner
“When Rossi was sixteen her small-minded parents, terrified of her queerness, sent her to live with Lubavitchers in pre-gentrified Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Because she escaped with her humor and integrity intact, we have this fascinating memoir unveiling the interior life of this cult-like religious Jewish community. While the expected bullying and misogynistic elements are revealed in detail, we also see the misfit subculture of Chasidim. Rossi encountered the Lubavitcher queers, the dopers, the dealers, the thrill-seeking and free-thinking men and women living on the edges of this ultra-conformist society. Her ride is a fascinating one, not only to a lesbian life but also perhaps the more difficult path of challenging the anti-Black racism of both her parents and the religious Jews. A page-turner.” —Sarah Schulman, author of “Let the Record Show” and “Conflict Is Not Abuse”
“Somehow, despite finding herself in tremendously challenging, oppressive, and at times dangerous situations, Rossi holds onto her strength, her rage, her humor, her joy, her neshama (soul) and her heart. . . . This wild ride of a memoir pays tribute to the human spirit. It is an amazing book; I couldn’t put it down.” —Lesléa Newman, author of “A Letter to Harvey Milk” and “Heather Has Two Mommies”

Event Venue

Asbury Book Cooperative, 644A Cookman Avenue, Asbury Park, United States

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