Anti Diva Deux

From punk icon Carole Pope, a ruthlessly honest, electrifying story of fame, love, loss, and reinvention

In Anti Diva Deux, musician and cultural provocateur Carole Pope picks up where her landmark memoir Anti Diva left off and plunges into 26 years of blazing trails across gender, sexuality, and art.

Just 10 days after arriving in New York City, Pope witnesses the 9/11 attacks and their devastation firsthand — an experience that reshapes her worldview and heralds a new reality.

The attacks and their aftermath are the beginning of a new chapter in her life that takes her to international fashion weeks in Barcelona, Madrid, Vienna; into the orbit of east village diehards and Warhol muses; into relationships that that zigged and zagged between Los Vegas, London, and Los Angeles; and deep into an obsession with theater and the punishing, exhilarating work of creating a musical.

She racks up musical bucket list items, like duetting with Rufus Wainwright and co-writing and recording Lesbians in the Forest with Peaches, proving that her voice — both literal and cultural — remains as provocative and vital as ever. Touring is a slog, but the precious time onstage off-loading raw emotions in front of an audience is … everything.

Pope also writes heartbreakingly about the loss of her musical, magical soulmate, Kevan Staples, co-creator of Rough Trade, the band that ushered Canada from punk to new wave and an international sensation.

The book crescendos with an unexpected reckoning: a documentary about her life forces Pope to confront her impact, as voices like k.d. lang, Nona Hendryx, and Sebastian Bach speak to her legacy.

Anti Diva Deux is more than a memoir — it’s a testament to artistic defiance, creative obsession, queer identity, and the price of living without compromise.