Holzer's iconic "Inflammatory Essays", produced between 1979 and 1982, were first pasted on walls throughout heavily populated metro areas including New York and other cities. Unsigned and commercially produced they subverted the conventions of both advertising, graffiti and public art. The essays shift between multiple viewpoints and do not reflect Holzer’s own views, but rather overall themes and styles taken from her inspirations. The essay's tones are declarative, aggressive, urgent, and menacing. 

Each essay (one per sheet) contains exactly 100 words in 20 lines of text. The rigidity of this contained format is juxtaposed against the extreme content exploding from the essay. It is worth emphasizing that these texts were frequently pasted on walls alongside or even covering conventional street advertising.