Bruce McPherson

Interview conducted by Erin Zona on August 8, 2023 in New Paltz, NY

Bruce McPherson is an editor and owner of the publishing company McPherson & Co., based in Kingston, New York. McPherson and Schneemann met in 1976, beginning a romantic partnership that lasted until 1987. McPherson was the subject of Schneemann’s ABC—We Print Anything—In the Cards (1977), which narrates the transition between her ex-partner Anthony McCall’s departure and McPherson’s arrival to Schneemann’s home in upstate New York. Books published by McPherson & Co. have won literary awards such as the National Book Award for Fiction, the PEN Center USA Award for Fiction, several IPPYs (Independent Publisher Book Awards), and more.

In this excerpt, McPherson discusses the process of working with Schneemann on More Than Meat Joy: Collected Performance Works and Selected Writings, chronicling over twenty years of Schneemann’s artwork, which was published in 1979.