Punch Me Up to the Gods
AuthorBrian Broome
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreMemoir
PublisherHoughton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date
May 18, 2021
Media typePrint

Punch Me Up to the Gods is a memoir, written by Brian Broome and published May 18, 2021 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The book won the Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction (2021),[1][2] as well as the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Memoir or Biography (2022).[3][4]

Punch Me Up to the Gods chronicles Broome's experience growing up as a queer Black boy in rural Ohio. The New York Times explained that with this book, "Broome hopes to counter the force of that punch by exploring the beauty of queer Black manhood, while offering a new way to write about that beauty."[5]

Background

Broome began writing Punch Me Up to the Gods "while in a drug and alcohol rehab facility in Washington, PA."[6] Unable to sleep, Broome contemplated what had led him to the facility. He wrote down formative experiences in his life, which eventually shaped Punch Me Up to the Gods.[6]

Working with his agent, Danielle Chiotti, Broome started piecing together his writing in February 2018.[6] Broome originally thought of the book as a collection of short, autobiographical stories. However, he soon recognized that the Gwendolyn Brooks’ 1959 poem “We Real Cool” " fit perfectly with the themes emerging."[6]

Punch Me Up to the Gods was sent out for to publishers in October 2019, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt purchased the rights the following month.[6] Although the major themes of the book remained unchanged, Broome's editor, Rakia Clark, helped alter the book's format.[6]

Reception

Punch Me Up to the Gods was well-received,[7] including starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews,[8] Library Journal,[9] and Publishers Weekly.[10] Library Journal's Siobhan Egan called it a "compelling memoir bursting at the seams with raw power,"[9] and Kirkus Reviews referred to it as "a stellar debut memoir."[8] Publishers Weekly explained, "There are no easy victims or villains in Broome’s painful, urgent telling—his testimony rings out as a searing critique of soul-crushing systems and stereotypes."[10]

The Chicago Review of Books's Dana Dunham called the memoir "visceral," explaining, "Broome’s stories may take us many places, but they reliably return us to his body. ... Broome writes about his body in a way that you will feel in your own."[11]

Writing for the Porter House Review, Tess Coody-Anders noted that Punch Me Up to the Gods "reads as a series of essays in which voice, time, and even point of view shift in service of evocative, unflinching storytelling."[12]

The memoir also received positive reviews from The New York Times Book Review[13][14] and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.[15][16]

Kirkus Reviews,[8] Library Journal,[17] and Publishers Weekly[18] named Punch Me Up to the Gods named one of the best nonfiction books of 2021. The New York Times included the book on its list of the "100 Notable Books of 2021."[19]

Awards and honors
Year Award/Honor Result Ref.
2021 Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction Winner [1][2]
2022 Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award Honor [20]
Lambda Literary Award for Gay Memoir or Biography Winner [3][4]
Randy Shilts Award for Gay Nonfiction Winner [21]

References

  1. 1 2 Liebetrau, Eric (September 13, 2021). "Meet the 2021 Kirkus Prize Nonfiction Finalists". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
  2. 1 2 "2021 Winners". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  3. 1 2 Schaub, Michael (2022-06-13). "Lambda Literary Award Winners Are Revealed". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  4. 1 2 Segal, Corinne (2022-06-13). "Congratulations to the winners of the 2022 Lambda Literary Awards!". Literary Hub. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  5. ↑ Moore, Darnell L. (2021-05-18). "In a New Memoir, the Miracle of Black Queer Self-Creation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Brewer, Robert Lee. "Brian Broome: On Letting Other Genres Inspire You". Writer's Digest. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  7. ↑ "Book Marks reviews of Punch Me Up to the Gods: A Memoir by Brian Broome". Book Marks. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  8. 1 2 3 "Punch Me Up to the Gods: A Memoir". Kirkus Reviews. March 20, 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
  9. 1 2 Egan, Siobhan (May 1, 2021). "Punch Me Up to the Gods". Library Journal. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
  10. 1 2 Chiotti, Danielle (2021-02-10). "Nonfiction Book Review: Punch Me Up to the Gods: A Memoir by Brian Broome". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
  11. ↑ Dunham, Dana (2021-05-24). "The Powers of Kinesthetic Communication in "Punch Me Up to the Gods"". Chicago Review of Books. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
  12. ↑ Coody-Anders, Tess (May 17, 2021). "Brian Broome's Punch Me Up to the Gods | Porter House Review". Porter House Reviews. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
  13. ↑ Moore, Darnell L. (2021-05-18). "In a New Memoir, the Miracle of Black Queer Self-Creation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
  14. ↑ "12 New Books We Recommend This Week". The New York Times. 2021-06-10. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
  15. ↑ Norman, Tony (May 18, 2021). "Review: 'Punch Me' a harrowing memoir of survival in small-town Ohio and Pittsburgh". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
  16. ↑ Pitz, Marylynne (May 18, 2021). "Brian Broome fights, redefines Black masculinity in searing memoir". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
  17. ↑ Sendaula, Stephanie (2021-12-06). "Best Memoir & Biography of 2021". Library Journal. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
  18. ↑ "Best Books 2021: Publishers Weekly Publishers Weekly". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
  19. ↑ "100 Notable Books of 2021". The New York Times. 2021-11-22. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
  20. ↑ Chapman, Monica (2022-02-01). "2022 Barbara Gittings Literature Award and Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award of the Stonewall Book Awards announced". News and Press Center. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
  21. ↑ "Here Are the Winners of the 2022 Publishing Triangle Awards". The Publishing Triangle. 2022-05-11. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
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