Brontez Purnell

‘One true sentence feels like a bump of a very expensive drug,’ says the poet and performer. ‘Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt: A Memoir in Verse’ includes an ode to his editor and a poem called ‘Diversity Hire.’

Describe your ideal reading experience (when, where, what, how).

It could only be in fantasy scenarios. Like everyone else, my attention span is garbage. And long-form reading? OMG — it takes a MUSCLE these days! I don’t trust people who say they read eight books a week. LIAR!!! That’s not reading! That’s composting word salad! Also, I get too distracted by words. No matter how “ideal” the setting. One true sentence feels like a bump of a very expensive drug — it totally sends me into a transcendental state!

But back to the fantasy scenarios. I have often wondered what it would be like to read in a zero-gravity environment. Or in the gardens of Versailles, prerevolution.

What’s the last book that made you cry?

The newspaper is the only thing I read that makes me cry.

The last book that made you furious?

The newspaper is the only thing I read that makes me furious.

The most terrifying book you’ve ever read?

“Roots,” by Alex Haley. (Does it count as “reading” if I mostly skimmed it? It was brutal!)

Which writers — novelists, playwrights, critics, journalists, poets — working today do you admire most?

I would rather tell you who I call on the phone. I’ve been prank-calling Justin Torres for like two decades. I call Alejandro Varela a lot to profess my undying love and he’s always, like, “OMG, GIRL, AGAIN?!?!?” Jeremy O. Harris doesn’t answer my phone calls because he knows I’m probably pranking him. I still call 1-800-DIAL-A-POEM once a week. I call Janelle Hessig, ’cause her zine was formative to me. I call Kathleen Hanna ’cause she’s hilarious. I call Vidal Wu ’cause he’s a food journalist and I’m a fat boy. I call Jayson Buford ’cause he’s extremely handsome. I call David Bar Katz when I want to feel unjudged. Other than that I mostly know only D.J.s and dancers.

What’s your favorite book no one else has heard of ?

“The Faggots & Their Friends Between Revolutions,” by Larry Mitchell.

Do you prefer books that reach you emotionally, or intellectually?

I’m gonna be super-annoying and bring the convo to astrology (’cause I live on the West Coast and it’s the official religion here) but I’m a Cancer. Intellect and emotion are not separate to me. But if what you’re asking is, “Would you rather read ‘Pride and Prejudice’ or The Wall Street Journal,” my answer would have to be “Dear God, probably neither?”

What impact has the internet had on your writing?

Nothing good, I’m sure.

What makes a good sex scene?

Postcoital pillow talk with DEEPLY awkward confessions.

Why did you decide to write an ode to your editor in the new book?

Have you seen him?!?! He’s such a babe. Yum.

What impact did working in TV (alluded to in “Diversity Hire”) have on your writing?

Absolutely none.

You recently created a dance piece based on the writing of Sylvia Plath. Do you have a favorite Plath sentence?

“Believe me, they’ll bury you in it.”

What’s the best book you’ve ever received as a gift?

The San Francisco luminary Bambi Lake gave me a copy of Frank O’Hara’s “Lunch Poems” outside of the Eagle after she had been kicked out. I was 24; it was a formative book to read at that age.

What’s the most interesting thing you learned from a book recently?

Does Wikipedia count? I tried to read the “History of Russia” and I learned that the history of Russia is like IMPOSSIBLY DENSE. I basically gave up after the fourth paragraph.

You’re organizing a literary dinner party. Which three writers, dead or alive, do you invite?

Sappho, Anton LaVey and Maya Angelou.