016: James Spooner - Cartoonist, The High Desert

James Spooner is the author of The High Desert out now from Harper Collins, available here - https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-high-desert-james-spooner?variant=40828374777890

Set in the late eighties and starring James as a teenager discovering punk rock and as the book's synopsis says, "Mixed race, acutely aware of his Blackness, James doesn't know where he fits until he meets Ty, a young Black punk who introduces him to the school outsiders—skaters, unhappy young rebels, caught up in the punk groundswell sweeping the country."

It's a memorable coming-of-age tale with the rebellious nature of punk rock driving the pining teens seem to universally feel, that yearning to discover themselves and to go somewhere else.

James also made the documentary Afro-Punk, a look at the reality of being a black punk told through the lives of people who live it.

We talk about how the tagline of his book came about - Black. Punk. Nowhere. - how he focused on writing characters with unique voices, the challenge of moving past pain when writing memoir, and even when exactly the narration boxes were added to his story.

Also, we talk about two of the best punk shows he's ever been to and the magnificent joy of being at a punk show and experiencing it with a crowd.

I loved The High Desert and talking to James was a blast. Go to spoonersnofun.com to check out all his work. Pre-order the anthology he co-edited with Chris L Terry called Black Punk Now. https://softskull.com/dd-product/black-punk-now/

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Check out my work on austinRwilson.com, at https://austinrwilson.medium.com/ and https://medium.com/shibboieth. Thank you for listening and sharing!