Join the Library for a rich conversation w ith James Spooner and Chris Terry\, editors of the anthology Black Punk Now. Spooner and Terry will discuss this colle ction of essays\, stories and comics that explore the lives and experience s of the Black punk community.
\nBooks will be available for sale an d signing after the discussion. \;
\nA canonizing\, bold\, and urgent anthology setting a
new precedent for Black Punk Lit\, created by generations of Black punks&m
dash\;featuring both new voices and those from the not-so-recent past
Black Punk Now \;is an anthology of contemporary nonfiction\, fiction
\, illustrations\, and comics that collectively describe punk today and gi
ve punks&mdash\;especially the Black ones&mdash\;a wider frame of referenc
e. \; It shows all of the strains\, styles\, and identities of Black p
unk that are thriving\, and gives newcomers to the scene more chances to s
ee themselves.
Curated from the perspective of Black writers with con
nections to the world of punk\, the collection mixes media as well as gene
rations\, creating a new reference point for music-lovers\, readers\, and
historians by capturing the present and looking towards the future. With s
trong visual elements integrated throughout\, this smart\, intimate collec
tion is demonstrative of punk by being punk itself: underground\, rebellio
us\, aesthetic but not static&mdash\;working to decenter whiteness by prio
ritizing other perspectives.
Edited by graphic novelist and filmmaker
James Spooner\, and author Chris L. Terry\, contributors to the collectio
n include critic Hanif Abdurraqib and Mars Dixon\, conversations with Bron
tez Purnell\, and a roundtable of all femme festival organizers.
CHRIS L. TERRY \;is the author of the novel \;Black Card\, one of NPR's best books of 2019 . Terry's debut novel \;Zero Fade \;was on Best of 2013 lists by&n bsp\;Slate \;and \;Kirkus Reviews. Born in 1979 to a Black father and white mother\, Terry spent his late teens and early twenties touring a s the vocalist for different Richmond\, Virginia punk bands. He has a Crea tive Writing MFA from Columbia College Chicago\, and now lives and teaches in Los Angeles. His recent work has appeared in \;Pitchfork\, \;S tereogum\, \;Razorcake\, \;Very Smart Brothas/The Root\, \;Cat apult \;and \;theLAnd Magazine.
\n
JAMES SPOONER \;
is known for directing the seminal documentary \;Afro-Punk \;(2003
)\, and co-creating the Afro Punk Festival. His graphic memoir \;The H
igh Desert\, about being Black in small-town California and finding salvat
ion in punk\, came out in 2022.