BCNM Director Tom McEnaney Co‑Authors New Punk Archives Book

Tom McEnaney, Director of BCNM and Associate Professor of Comparative Literature and Spanish & Portuguese at the UC Berkeley, has co‑authored a new book celebrating punk culture, We’re Having Much More Fun: Punk Archives for the Present from CBGB to Gilman and Beyond, with Judith A. Peraino of Cornell University.

We’re Having Much More Fun explores how punk communities have built and documented their own creative networks since the mid-1970s, forming alternative worlds through music, art, fashion, and writing. Spanning multiple generations and scenes across the United States, the book highlights the people who sustain punk culture. Featuring more than 400 color images of rare flyers, photographs, zines, letters, and other ephemera, it captures the movement’s creative and political energy. Interviews and essays from artists and musicians (including Aaron Cometbus, Anna Joy Springer, Ian MacKaye, Jayne County, Martín Sorrondeguy, Orlando Xavier, Victoria Ruiz, and others) reveal the stories behind the images, music, and communities that shaped punk’s past and continue to inspire its future.

We’re Having Much More Fun: Punk Archives for the Present from CBGB to Gilman and Beyond can be purchased through Cornell University Press.

Panel & Book Launch: Moe’s Books (Berkeley)

• Monday, March 30 at 6:00PM
• Confirmed participants include Anna Joy Springer (Blatz; The Gr’ups; Cypher in the Snow), Orlando Xavier (Special Forces; United Blood), and Suzanne Onodera (artist and flyer maker). Tommy Gear may also appear.

Reading & Discussion: City Lights Reading (San Francisco)

• Tuesday, March 31 at 7:00PM
• Confirmed speakers include Anna Joy Springer, Orlando Xavier, Suzanne Onodera, and Tommy Gear.
• Learn more about the Reading & Discussion.