The unwavering, demented gaze of a stray dog captures the detached observation that characterizes the raw, unsettling work of photographer Daido Moriyama. The dog is caught in strong shadows against a high-contrast background, highlighting its whitened eyes and its angular, rangy pose. "Stray Dog," M

Documentary photography, Dramatic, Gritty, Moody, Tense

Irvine Welsh was born in 1958 in Leith, an area that had been incorporated into Edinburgh in much the same way that Scotland itself had been colonized by England. So his -- and his characters' -- congenital resentment towards the world in general is not too surprising. After dropping out of school at

Dystopic, Funny, Gritty, Low realism, Postmodern fiction, Profane, Slangy, Urban

Sometimes sublime and tender, sometimes raving and frightening, Janis Joplin's vocals had a raw energy unmatched by any white blues singer of her time. And Joplin lived as wildly as she sang. Although she was born into a comfortable, middle-class family in Port Arthur, Texas, she always seemed to be

Bombast, Classic rock, Gritty, Primal, Psychedelic music, Visceral

Sean O'Casey stormed the citadel of English cultural imperialism in his native Ireland with powerhouse plays promoting Irish nationalism. Born and bred in the Dublin slums, illiterate until the age of 14, and a self-taught reader, writer, and theater-goer, O'Casey maintained a strong bias towards the

Dark, Feminist, Gritty, Irish renaissance, Lyrical, Political