WHAT IT'S ABOUT

IMPACT
I really believe this research can make a unique and groundbreaking contribution to the global discussion about ecology and the environment.  It opens doors for reading literature and other cultural productions with a fresh (and monstrous!) set of eyes for how art represents the environment and how modern people can reconnect to the ecology in which they exist.  The research is also groundbreaking in that it will be the first PhD to focus on the writings of R. A. Lafferty (1914-2002), an unjustly neglected genius admired by authors such as Neil Gaiman, Gene Wolfe, and Jeff VanderMeer.

MY STORY SO FAR
Born and raised in the American Midwest, I moved with my young family to Scotland in 2002,  where my wife (the photographer Flannery O’kafka) and I have been raising our five children together.  Over the years, I’ve been working part-time on my first undergraduate degree at the University of Glasgow whilst juggling work and family life.  In June 2015, I graduated with honours of the first class in Philosophy and English Literature and I’ve now accepted an offer to begin the PhD this October with two enthusiastic and supportive supervisors from the English department.  

I’m a lifelong monster-lover, a voracious reader of books (McCarthy and Lafferty being two of my all-time favourite authors), and, as I’ve discovered somewhat late in life, it turns out I have the right giftings and skill set to pursue an academic career.  Now I just need the funding.  Scholarships and grants for arts and humanities research are very scarce in the present economy.  We hope to raise the full tuition for all three years of the PhD, but even if this crowdfunding campaign simply helps put a real dent in those costs, we’ll be so grateful.  

P E R K S 

As I said in the video, I have a very talented family. Below you will find further details about all the perks that they have created to help fund this project. 
FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE

£5 Credit in PhD 
Your name will be credited in the PhD and forever engraved on our thankful hearts.
unlimited availability

£10 Hama bead Cthulhu by Hugo (+ credit in PhD)
Handmade Hama bead creations based on the classic H. P. Lovecraft monster - made by Dan's 9 year old son.  45 now available (colours may vary)

£15 A3 'Boomer Flats' prints by Anthony Ryan Rhodes (+ credit in PhD)

This piece, kindly donated by Anthony Ryan Rhodes, illustrates the climactic scene of R. A. Lafferty's short story 'Boomer Flats' where a town full of sasquatch people perform their annual ritual of burying themselves in the rising river to experience personal renewal.  It's a very ecomonstrous tale of humans and the land weirdly and redemptively merging.  Like all of Lafferty's work, the story is comic as well as grotesque, which Anthony's illustration captures well. (Black and white. A3 size.)

£15 A5 'Gifthorse' prints by Lydia Morrow (+ credit in PhD)
Hand-printed woodcut prints in black on white cartridge paper made by Dan's eldest daughter.  44 now available. 

CHOOSE YOUR OWN TEST PRINT
£20 (print on 12x8'' paper) 
£40 (print on 12x18'' paper)
White space around image depending on dimensions.
1. Otto's bowl  2. Blessed Heart of Olive 3. Horse & Badger 4. Before we asunder part 5. The Holy See 6. Bertha Rochester 7. Glasgow cityscape  8. The day of Rodrigo's Baptism  9. WHITE: Olive  10. WHITE: Hugo  11. Glenbrittle, Isle of Skye  12. WHITE: Lydia   13. The Bowl  14. The Catherine Wheel  15. WHITE: Jesus
Bigger photos can be viewed in the gallery here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ecomonstrous...

£20 'Meathead' A5 linocut print by sad party time (+ credit in PhD)
A print by Jack-Lewis, Dan's 16 year old son.  25 now available

£20 R.A. Lafferty paperback books
Not to Mention Camels
Okla Hannali
Past Master (2 copies)

£25 A4 'Two Years Licked' prints by Lydia Morrow (+ credit in PhD)

Hand-printed woodcut prints in black on white cartridge paper made by Dan's eldest daughter.  50 available. 

£25 Set of 5 limited edition postcard prints by Flannery O'kafka (+ credit in PhD)
These prints are from the artist's W H I T E series and were exhibited with The Hungry Ghost Collective in Chicago.  3 more sets available.

£30 A3 Risograph Monster print set by David Morrow (+ credit in PhD)
A set of two classic monster A3 risograph prints designed by David Morrow, Dan's son-in-law.  300 available.

£35  Blaster the Rocketman T-shirt
A new tee from Dan's old punk band. (+ credit in PhD) Just send us an email with your preferred size to EcomonstrousPhD@gmail.com. *Blaster t-shirt design by Joshua Guilbeau.
  

Now available in BLACK too!

£35  SADPARTYTIME T-shirt
A T-shirt from Dan's son, Jack-Lewis's clothing label (SADPARTYTIME). 1 x Small, 2 x Medium, 1 x Large. Email with your preferred size to EcomonstrousPhD@gmail.com. (+ credit in PhD)

£45 'Constellation Series' screenprints bundle (+ credit in PhD)
A series of 4 x A5 screenprinted illustrations using metallic gold ink on 350gsm black card including 'Orion the hunter', 'The Great Bear', 'Bull of Heaven' and 'The Dragon'.  26 now available

£60 GIANT fine art test print by Flannery O'kafka
WORLDWIDE SHIPPING INCLUDED
test prints on fine art paper with white border at 21x28''
The Holy See

£150 Commissioned pieces by Lydia Morrow, David Morrow or sad party time (+ credit in PhD)
A one-off piece on request from Lydia, Dave, or Jack-Lewis.  3 Available from each artist.  Please email EcomonstrousPhD@gmail.com to specify your artist after purchasing and we'll get back to you asap. Visit the Instagram accounts below for examples of work. Or find them here: Boxdog Inc , Sadpartytime , What Lydia made.

£200 Logo Design by Boxdog. Inc (+ credit in PhD)
Have your logo and business cards designed by professional designer and Illustrator, Dave Morrow of Boxdog Inc.

Dave will contact you directly after the funding deadline.

  2 now available

£250 Limited edition, signed 21''x 25'' photography print (+ credit in PhD)
Before we asunder part by Dan's wife, Flannery O'kafka.  1 available

That's all for now - but be sure to check back as we may be releasing some new perks along the way!