Valerie Solanas (1936–1988) was a writer and artist. She completed SCUM Manifesto in 1967 and her play Up Your Ass in 1965; the latter was never published in her lifetime. As a result of her attempt to assassinate Andy Warhol in 1968, Solanas was involuntarily committed to psychiatric hospitalization. She was institutionalized a number of times in the years that followed, always living radically on the fringes of society.
