Dan Lรณpez: Since I Laid My Burden Down deals with some pretty serious
issues but the tone remains light throughout. How do you find the humor, and
how important was it to cultivate that voice?
Brontez Purnell: I think all comedy is based in tragedy – the two are forever
linked. It can be a sugar pill for things too, which I have varying degrees of
uncomfortableness with. I think it’s a learned behavior too, from my family and
the circle of friends I ran with since I was young. We have to be able to laugh
at ourselves and the absurd mess of the human condition. Otherwise I don’t know
how to present a real 3D picture of the world. I think it sucks too how a lot
of tight asses in the world don’t view comedy with intellectual rigor. I find
that view rigid and unforgiving and also just fucking lame.
DL: Something
that really strikes me about your writing is its capacity for forgiveness. Your
characters have suffered and in many cases continue to suffer, yet you find a
way for them to shed their victimhood and move forward. Is this something that
you wanted to highlight or did it come out naturally in the writing?
BP: Both. When we
forgive I think it’s not so much to absolve others. Forgiveness is also this
spell that gives one the courage to move forward. It’s a way of throwing away a
lot of baggage.
DL: You’ve
spoken about how you wrote your first book (Johnny Would You Love Me If MyDick Were Bigger) in spurts of time and how for Burden you took
advantage of a grant. How did the different processes affect the final product?
BP: I
think Johnny has a frantic, funny, “I
just got off of work at 5am” mania that I think added to the urgency of that
book. Burden is a more collected type
of frantic. They both I think carry an appropriate tone for what they
are.
DL: You
write that DeShawn was a man “that liked things feeling ‘equal,’ things coming
full circle.” Can you talk a little bit more about that idea?
BP: I
like the idea of symmetry – like something revisited that’s finally dealt with
and put into its proper place. The whole theme of the book is reconciling so
it’s important to me that all issues are dealt with and not like some forever-spiraling
narrative like fucking Game of Thrones
with 90 plot twists every 9 seconds that go nowhere. That shit bugs the fuck
outta me.
DL: At
your book party the other night, you joked that you sometimes like to start
drama with your loved ones just for fun. I’m curious about how you see the
utility of provocation in literature and in a public persona. What do you gain
and what are the risks?
BP: The
main risk is being labeled a drama queen but we already knew that! I don't know
– I have lots of friends and lots of friends where the emotional pitch is
static, but I guess I’m just a fucked up person cause sometimes I enjoy
connections with a high emotional pitch. Probs residue from growing up in a
super big messy family. I dunno...
DL: In
many ways, the book centers on the theme of men withholding their love from
DeShawn. He wonders what he would’ve gained had these men instead taken the
opportunity to love him. Can that question ever be resolved for DeShawn?
BP: I
think ultimately a character like DeShawn has to realize that these shitty men
not loving him back was a blessing in disguise. He’s the type of guy who is
looking for his inner boyfriend and sometimes the type of men we pick is a
metaphor for how we feel about ourselves. Or sometimes you can have all the
self love in the world, and the universe (seemingly just to fuck with you) will
deliver you one fuck boy after another – I’ve been on all sides of this
situation.
DL: You’re
known as a bit of a creative Renaissance Man. How has simultaneously pursuing
multiple projects informed your creative process?
BP: It
adds a kind of complexity that can’t be found sitting in a room doing one thing
alone. Like dance as a body based practice teaches you how to emote/express
without using words, which can give you a whole analytical arsenal in turn –
it’s funny how it works.
DL: Do
you find that some forms are better suited for certain types of expression? For
instance, your books are super funny but, while still fun, I wouldn’t describe
your music as “funny.”
BP: In
music I get to be a truly cheesy poet that I sometimes need the license to be!
With book writing, you have to explain yourself more cause it’s not like this 3
min format where you have to get all the plot points in such a limited space.
DL: What’s
one thing that you’d like to see more of in contemporary novels?
BP: DICK PICS!
DL:
And finally, let’s play bookseller. What are three titles that you’d shit
yourself to hand-sell to people?
BP: "REASONS TO KILL YOUR EVIL STEP-FATHER"
"EVERY FAG AT THIS
GAY BAR IS HUSBAND MATERIAL...LOL"
"ALL WHITE MEN ARE
EVIL (EXCEPT MY BOYFRIEND)"
