I Was A Punk Before You Were A Punk

Interview with Author Chris Walter

Vancouver writer Chris Walter is well-known for his prolific work. With 11 books in 8 years, his stories range from the squeegee kids of Boozecan to his own personal history as a drug addict in I Was A Punk Before You Were A Punk and I'm On the Guest List.

Walter reads excerpts at his book launches and punk rock shows. His 6' tattooed frame is an unlikely look for someone who crafts hilarious and poignant stories through his own publishing company, Gofuckyerself Press.

Chris Walter's Early Work

"This is going to sound very melodramatic," says Walter, "but I started writing because I thought I was going to die and I wanted to leave something behind." Walter overdosed twice on heroin in 1998; he then wrote Beer on paper his girlfriend stole from work.

He didn't have a computer so his mother in Winnipeg typed out his writing. Walter fashioned a crude book with ring-coil binding, 8.5" x 11" and printed on one side of the page.

"We were like cavemen carving tablets out of stone," Walter jokes. "I made the covers myself. They were so ugly. I remember selling my first copy to a kid at China Creek Skate Park. I'd given away and sold a few copies to friends, but that was my first actual sale. It was weird--an amazing feeling to have a stranger buy something I wrote. For an addict like me there was no turning back."

Walter's girlfriend bought him a laptop and print for $100. The colour was broken, but it was a big step up from sending handwritten pages to his mother. As he wrote, the laptop went back and forth to his drug dealer as collateral. Things got worse and Walter found himself shooting drugs in a hotel room on the Downtown Eastside, homeless.

Walter Hits Rock Bottom, Stops Drugs

Walter's girlfriend kicked him out because he was doing drugs instead of watching their 5-month-old son. In 2001, halfway through Mosquitoes and Whiskey, Walter cleaned up and moved back in. "I was worried I was going to relapse and worried about being a father," Walter says.

One of Walter's concerns was he wouldn't be able to write without drugs or alcohol. He believed they fueled his creativity much the same way they did for Bukowski or Hunter S. Thompson.

To his surprise, he found that it was actually easier to write. His thoughts were clearer and he didn't have to get his laptop back from the dealer. His productivity and focus went up, and instead of doing drugs he wrote for 16 hours a day.

Subjects of Walter's Novels

Walter writes about junkies, prostitutes, drunks and punks. "It just seemed obvious because it was right in front of me and I didn't have to make anything up," he says. "Stable people, people with money, are boring.

"I know other addicts read my books because they disappear from the Carnegie Library whenever I donate them. Through my writing, I want people to realize that homeless people, drunks, junkies and punks are not just vile, wretched creatures, but that they're human like everyone else, with hopes and aspirations and feelings."

Walter's Small Press

Gofuckyerself Press came about when Walter had 2 books he thought would be published, but at the last minute they were dropped. Frustrated, he decided to go it alone. He liked the amount of control over his product and the autonomy.

"At first, I was hoping a large publisher would come and offer me millions of dollars, but now this is my livelihood and I'm happy where I am. I like riding through rainstorms to proof covers. I love delivering books during blizzards. I'm happy to mail books to Halifax and wait six months for a cheque. I didn't know that I had such a strong work ethic, but if you're doing something you like doing it doesn't really feel like work."