It Starts with Anger: A Punk Beginning. an Afropunk Ending.

It Starts with Anger: A Punk Beginning. an Afropunk Ending. - Hardcover

$32.00
$32.00
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It Starts with Anger: A Punk Beginning. an Afropunk Ending.
  • It Starts with Anger: A Punk Beginning. an Afropunk Ending.
It Starts with Anger: A Punk Beginning. an Afropunk Ending. - Hardcover

It Starts with Anger: A Punk Beginning. an Afropunk Ending. - Hardcover

by James Spooner
$32.00
$32.00

Book Overview

From the award-winning filmmaker and graphic novelist comes the untold origin story of the multimillion-dollar AFROPUNK Festival--beginning not with big stages or brand sponsorship, but with one Black kid's search for belonging in the nineties New York City punk scene

"A memoir that belongs in the canon of punk history. . . . Thrilling." --Kathleen Hanna, author of Rebel Girl

"Vital. . . . Should live in the archives as both a corrective to misunderstood history, and a manifesto for a path forward." --Hanif Abdurraqib, author of A Little Devil in America

In 1991, fifteen-year-old James Spooner arrives in the West Village, hopeful that he's finally escaped the extremist racism of his Southern California desert town, yet unsure what New York City will make of a tartan-plaid-and-leather-clad biracial kid with a mohawk. In the city's legendary rock clubs, squats, and DIY art spaces, he finds his way to creating zines, starting a record label, and promoting parties, while falling further in love with punk rock's distorted guitars and politically progressive lyrics. Still, he must navigate the hostile bigotry of mainstream society, as well as a largely white underground conspicuously silent on issues of race.

Intent on carving out a space for young, Black, politically radical punk rockers like himself, Spooner undertakes a whirlwind tour of the country, collecting the stories that will become his acclaimed documentary, Afro-Punk, and eventually lead to the wildly successful music festival of the same name. But what begins as a way to chronicle the joys and heartaches of being Black and punk rock soon spirals into a multimillion-dollar corporate endeavor. Spooner is forced to ask himself: In setting out to galvanize an underground movement, has he in fact given rise to the least punk rock thing of all--a brand?

Illustrated with a vibrant mix of comics, spot art, and punk ephemera throughout, It Starts with Anger is at once a coming-of-age story about found family, a compelling capitalist cautionary tale, and a raucous celebration of the indelible, rebellious spirit of Black punks.
ISBN9780593701386
Author James Spooner
PublisherPantheon Books
GenreBiography, Comics & graphic novels, and Other
FormatHardcover
PublishedAugust 2026
LanguageENG- English
Pages384
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceAdults
Print SizeStandard Print

Related Subjects

Biography & Autobiography Comics & Graphic Novels Music Nonfiction

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More by James Spooner

It Starts with Anger: A Punk Beginning. an Afropunk Ending.

It Starts with Anger: A Punk Beginning. an Afropunk Ending. - Hardcover

It Starts with Anger: A Punk Beginning. an Afropunk Ending. - Hardcover

By James Spooner

About James Spooner

JAMES SPOONER is an accomplished tattoo artist, illustrator, and filmmaker. He directed the seminal documentary Afro-Punk. Spooner is also the co-founder of the Afro-punk Festival. Spooner's work has appeared in NPR, Vice, The Village Voice, The New Yorker, Vibe, Fader, MTV, NBC News, and Variety. He is an ongoing guest curator for the Broad Museum in Los Angeles, and previously programmed for the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

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