Английская Википедия:Brontez Purnell

Содержание

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Brontez Purnell (born July 2, 1982) is an American writer, musician, dancer, and director based out of Oakland, California. He is the author of several award-winning books, including Since I Laid My Burden Down (2017), 100 Boyfriends (2022), which won a Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction, and the punk zine Fag School. Purnell is the frontman for the punk band The Younger Lovers and is the founder of the Brontez Purnell Dance Company.

Early life and education

Purnell grew up in Triana, Alabama. His great-grandfather, "Hard Rock" Charlie Malone, an accomplished bottleneck guitarist who played the Chitlin' Circuit from Chattanooga to Chicago in the 1930s, was the father of the musician J.J. Malone. Purnell created his first zine, Schlepp Fanzine, at the age of 14.

Work

After moving to Oakland at 19, he created Fag School out of "wanting there to be a Sassy for gay boys." "I hadn't really seen a zine or at least a personal gay zine that dealt with the difficult subject of gay sex with both humor and frank talk. It covered some real issues."

His electro rock band Gravy Train!!!! gained national prominence for their live shows. His punk band The Younger Lovers started in 2003 as a bedroom demo project.

On July 19, 2023, Purnell released his solo album No Jack Swing. When asked to describe the album, he said, "I’m a 40-year-old gay, Black man who plays pop punk. I feel like I did something wrong—like, aren’t I supposed to be a house DJ or something? Either way, during quarantine I wanted to make a “dub” record—like old-school Jamaican style. I had friends in places like Oakland, Paris, Los Angeles, and New York record many of the parts on their phones, in their bedrooms. I layered it all together but then, I dunno, the early effects felt a little too DIY and scrappy, and I wanted to go FUCKING MAXIMAL. No Jack Swing in my head was supposed to be like Kid Cudi meets Meredith Monk, but somewhere along the way I ditched the pretensions and allowed myself to just be a pretty Black boy making a pop record—and like, why the fuck shouldn’t I?"

Awards

In 2018, Purnell was awarded a Whiting Award for fiction.

In 2022, Purnell was awarded the Robert Rauschenberg Award for Performance Art/Theater, and the Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Fiction.

Themes

Much of his work focuses on sex and sexuality. "In my work I try to use 'sex' or the body as this thing that does not create boundaries or separation with an audience, but instead gives my audience back their humanity." He is gay.

On June 1, 2021, he was named a winner of the Jim Duggins Outstanding Mid-Career Novelists' Prize from the Lambda Literary Foundation.

Bibliography

• The Cruising Diaries (2014)
• Johnny Would You Love Me if My Dick Were Bigger (2015)
• Since I Laid My Burden Down (2017)
• 100 Boyfriends (2021)
• 10 Bridges I've Burnt (2024)