Please enjoy this encore interview with the fabulous and talented Iris Berry

Punk Globe: When did you begin writing, Iris?

Iris: When I was 7. I grew up in a pretty wild household. When things got crazy, I’d go in my room and write.

Punk Globe: Any favorite authors and poets?

Iris: Chandler, Hammett, Elroy, Bukowski, Baudelaire.

Punk Globe: Could you tell us about writing your latest collection of poems "All that Shines". What inspired these poems?

Iris: My writing has always been on the dark side and I wanted to step out of that. Being a native Angeleno I’ve seen many people come here with a dream and an idea of what Hollywood means to them. I’ve seen a lot of things. A lot of dreams go a lot of different ways. I wanted to show a different side of Hollywood. My idea of what Hollywood means to me. All That Shines Under The Hollywood Sign is my way of paying tribute to the place where I grew up.

Punk Globe: You have a few film's to your credit. Could you tell us about this? Why did You decide to appear in films?

Iris: It all started at Dukes Coffee Shop at the Tropicana Motel in 1984. I used to work there as the to go girl, and Alison Anders discovered me there and put me in her first film, Border Radio. The perfect Hollywood story…

Punk Globe: Could you tell us about writing "Daughters of Bastards", Iris? It is autobiographical. 

Iris: It’s all true and really personal. Initially, it was the impetus for Punk Hostage Press.  A. Razor and I started the press to just do two books, mine and his, The Daughters of Bastards and his book, Better Than a Gun in a Knife Fight. By the end of 2020, we’ll have published 40 books. As with any creative project I’ve ever done, the press has taken on a life of its own and Daughters is a big part of it.

Punk Globe: What will your next book be about?

Iris: I’m working on my next book as we speak, it’s called The Pink Mansion, which was this old Hollywood noir mansion I lived in the early 80s. And did I mention that it was haunted? It was originally published as a short story in The Daughters of Bastards.  

Punk Globe: Are there any poets, artists, musicians that you met, that left an impression on you?

Iris: All the writers on Punk Hostage Press. Every artist and band I’ve loved, and everyone in all the bands I’ve ever been in.  I’ve always been surrounded by so many talented people. I’d have to be dead not to be influenced by them all.