Black Punk

Black Punk reflects the creative genius of playwright Kenneth "Baba" Grimes, a national-class pioneer in African American theater. This previously unpublished masterwork smolders with constructive subversion and a deep, lingering emotional impact. Amid settings of urban and social decay, its young multiracial characters grapple with their struggles for love and identity in the punk world they've chosen. Written in 1989, this first-ever published edition is a testament to Ken Grimes' legacy in Denver's, and our nation's, Black theatre and cultural movements.

"We struggle as a country to acknowledge any emotion of sadness at our missed opportunities to welcome the wonderfully varied gifts of our cultural and racial communities. Ken Grimes' takes us through a fearless, surreal, punk-era journey that moves us past our divisive angers to experience deeply and without judgment the feelings we need to begin a journey to our national healing." - David Engelken

"Black Punk is the magnum opus of Ken Grimes playwriting career." - Lewis A. Garber

Also from The Humboldt Street Writers Group
For more from Ken Grimes, explore Black Punk's companion book, An Anthology from Another Bunch of Writers You Never Heard Of: The Humboldt Street Writers Group in Action. As a long-time member of the group, Ken's work is featured proudly alongside poetry, fiction, and nonfiction from his peers and collaborators.