Chris Stroffolino (born 20 March 1963 in Reading, Pennsylvania) is an American poet, writer,[1] musician,[2][3][4] critic,[5] performer, and author.
Stroffolino co-edited The Painted Bride Quarterly from 1988–1990, worked on the local anarchist zine, Talk Is Cheap, and co-founded the underground punk warehouse, KillTime Place in 1989 while organizing reading series at The Schmidt-Dean Gallery and Borders Books.
In the meantime, he published Cusps (Edge Books, 1995), Light As A Fetter, (1997) and Stealer's Wheel (1999), performing his work from the Lollapalooza tour alongside Jeffrey McDaniel and David Baratier to SUNY-Buffalo's New Coast Conference.
Stroffolino joined David Berman and Steve Malkmus to play on The Silver Jews' American Water; his keyboard and trumpet can be heard most prominently on "The Wild Kindness" and "Random Rules".
In the 21st century, Stroffolino has recorded or performed with Brian Glaze, Greg Ashley, Steve Albini, Jolie Holland, Hudson Bell, and members of Essex Green, Drunk Horse, and Flipper.
In 2000, Stroffolino collaborated with conceptual artist Christine Hill and recreated Anne Sexton's rock band for the Poetry Society of America.
In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, he returned to the style of his first book with his controversial piece, "You Haven't Done Nuthin'", a rant-like poem often performed backed by a loud improvising rock band.