Join us for a canonizing, bold, and urgent anthology setting a new precedent for Black Punk Lit, created by generations of Black punks—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 give punks—especially the Black ones—a wider frame of reference. It shows all of the strains, styles, and identities of Black punk that are thriving, and gives newcomers to the scene more chances to see themselves.
Curated from the perspective of Black writers with connections to the world of punk, the collection mixes media as well as generations, creating a new reference point for music-lovers, readers, and historians by capturing the present and looking towards the future. With strong visual elements integrated throughout, this smart, intimate collection is demonstrative of punk by being punk itself: underground, rebellious, aesthetic but not static—working to decenter whiteness by prioritizing other perspectives.
Edited by graphic novelist and filmmaker James Spooner, and author Chris L. Terry, contributors to the collection include critic Hanif Abdurraqib and Mars Dixon, conversations with Brontez Purnell, and a roundtable of all femme festival organizers.
JAMES SPOONER is known for directing the seminal documentary Afro-Punk (2003), and co-creating the Afro Punk Festival. His graphic memoir The High Desert, about being Black in small-town California and finding salvation in punk, came out in 2022.
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 Slate and Kirkus Reviews. Born in 1979 to a Black father and white mother, Terry spent his late teens and early twenties touring as the vocalist for different Richmond, Virginia punk bands. He has a Creative Writing MFA from Columbia College Chicago, and now lives and teaches in Los Angeles. His recent work has appeared in Pitchfork, Stereogum, Razorcake, Very Smart Brothas/The Root, Catapult and theLAnd Magazine.
Ashaki M. Jackson is a social psychologist and writer whose literary work appears in Prairie Schooner, Midnight Breakfast, Bettering American Poetry, and Obsidian among other publications. She is the author of two chapter-length poetry collections, including SURVEILLANCE (Writ Large Press, 2016), "an examination of videos capturing police killing civilians and the public's consumption of these videos." She currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
Marcus Clayton is a multigenre Afrolatino writer from South Gate, CA, with an M.F.A. in Poetry from CSU Long Beach. Currently, he pursues a PhD in Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Southern California, studying intersections between Black literature, Latinx literature, decolonization, and punk rock. Marcus also has a book of mixed-genre prose titled ¡PÓNK! forthcoming with Nightboat Books in February 2025.
With over a decade of experience, Morgan Rhodes has music supervised some of the most groundbreaking series in television including Queen Sugar (OWN) Dear White People (Netflix) Unprisoned (Onyx/Hulu), Run The World (Starz) and Sony Pictures Animated forthcoming Young Love, as well as seminal films Selma (Paramount), Space Jam 2 (WB) and The Color Purple (WB) slated for release on Christmas Day 2023. With her background in music that began with a DJ stint at tastemaking station KCRW, Morgan has earned a reputation as a crate digging music supervisor with a keen ear for hidden gems. Her onscreen work is a testament to her deep musical knowledge and a commitment to research. Her work's been nominated for a Guild of Music Supervisors Award and a Grammy and has been highlighted in Variety magazine and The LA Times. She co-hosted the prolific music podcast Heat Rocks and spent 3 years as one of the featured music critics on KPCC's "Tuesday Reviewsday". She's a graduate of Clark Atlanta University
Event date:
Thursday, November 2, 2023 - 7:00pm
Event address:
1818 N Vermont Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027