Brontez Purnell (born July 2, 1982) is an American writer, musician, dancer, and director based out of

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. 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 The Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction is an annual literary award, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation to a work of fiction on gay male themes. As the award is presented based on themes in the work, not the sexuality or gender of the ...

, and the

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

zine A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to writ ...

''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 The Chitlin' Circuit was a collection of performance venues throughout the eastern, southern, and upper Midwest areas of the United States that provided commercial and cultural acceptance for African American musicians, comedians, and other enterta ...

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 Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s, when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrume ...

band

Gravy Train!!!! Gravy Train!!!! were an electroclash band from Oakland, California. The band released material on the labels S.P.A.M. Records, Cold Crush, Kill Rock Stars, Cochon Records, and Retard Disco. The band had four members (represented by the four excl ...

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 The Jim Duggins Outstanding Mid-Career Novelists' Prize is an American literary award, presented to two writers, one male and one female, from the LGBT community to honour their body of work. First presented by the Saints and Sinners Literary Festi ...

from the

Lambda Literary Foundation The Lambda Literary Foundation (also known as Lambda Literary) is an American LGBTQ literary organization whose mission is to nurture and advocate for LGBTQ writers, elevating the impact of their words to create community, preserve their legaci ...

.Leah Rachel Van Essen
"Announcing The Winners of the 2021 Lambda Literary Awards"
''Book Riot'', June 2, 2021.

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)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purnell, Brontez 1982 births Living people American punk rock musicians Musicians from Alabama Writers from Alabama American gay musicians LGBT people from Alabama American gay writers African-American LGBT people 21st-century American LGBT people Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction winners