# The High Desert: Black. Punk. Nowhere. - Hardcover

by **James Spooner** (Author)

**Winner of a 2022 ALA Alex Award**

**Winner of the 2023 Cartoonist Studio Prize for Print Comics**

**One of _The Washington Post_'s 10 Best Graphic Novels of 2022 \* One of NYPL's Best Books of 2022 \*A _Publishers Weekly_ "Best Book of 2022"**

**A formative coming-of-age graphic memoir by the creator of Afro-punk: a young man's immersive reckoning with identity, racism, clumsy teen love and belonging in an isolated California desert, and a search for salvation and community through punk.**

Apple Valley, California, in the late eighties, a thirsty, miserable desert.

Teenage James Spooner hates that he and his mom are back in town after years away. The one silver lining--new school, new you, right? But the few Black kids at school seem to be gangbanging, and the other kids fall on a spectrum of micro-aggressors to future Neo-Nazis. 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.

A haircut, a few Sex Pistols, Misfits and Black Flag records later: suddenly, James has friends, romantic prospects, and knows the difference between a bass and a guitar. But this desolate landscape hides brutal, building undercurrents: a classmate overdoses, a friend must prove himself to his white supremacist brother and the local Aryan brotherhood through a show of violence. Everything and everyone are set to collide at one of the year's biggest shows in town...

Weaving in the Black roots of punk rock and a vivid interlude in the thriving eighties DIY scene in New York's East Village, this is the memoir of a budding punk, artist, and activist.

### Author Biography

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.

**Number of Pages:** 368

**Dimensions:** 1.43 x 9.23 x 7.4 IN

**Illustrated:** Yes

**Publication Date:** May 17, 2022

**Award:** Alex Awards (2023)

## Details

- **Price:** 27.99 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 27.99 USD | In stock |

## Images

- The High Desert: Black. Punk. Nowhere. - Hardcover

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