Brontez Purnell | |
|---|---|
 Purnell at the 2018 Texas Book Festival | |
| Born | July 2, 1982 Triana, Alabama, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Author, musician, dancer |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Notable work | Since I Laid My Burden Down |
| Awards | 2018 Whiting Award |
Brontez Purnell (born July 2, 1982)[1] is an American writer, musician, dancer, and director based out of Oakland, California.[2][3] He is the author of several award-winning books, including Since I Laid My Burden Down (2017),[4] 100 Boyfriends (2022), which won a Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction,[5] and the punk zine Fag School.[6] Purnell is the frontman for the punk band The Younger Lovers[4] and is the founder of the Brontez Purnell Dance Company.[7]
Purnell grew up in Triana, Alabama.[7] 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.[8][9] Purnell created his first zine, Schlepp Fanzine, at the age of 14.[10][3]
After moving to Oakland at 19,[11] he created Fag School[10] out of "wanting there to be a Sassy for gay boys."[6] "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."[10]
His electro rock band Gravy Train!!!! gained national prominence for their live shows.[12] His punk band The Younger Lovers started in 2003 as a bedroom demo project.[13]
On July 19, 2023, Purnell released his solo album No Jack Swing.[14] 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?"[15]
In 2018, Purnell was awarded a Whiting Award for fiction.[16]
In 2022, Purnell was awarded the Robert Rauschenberg Award for Performance Art/Theater,[17] and the Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Fiction.[18]
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."[19] He is gay.[6]
On June 1, 2021, he was named a winner of the Jim Duggins Outstanding Mid-Career Novelists' Prize from the Lambda Literary Foundation.[20]
