Queer readers have waited a long, long time for the definitive Tennessee Williams biography. Mr. Williams took a stab at it himself with his Memoirs, published in 1975. But Memoirs, while a thoroughly entertaining read, was self-serving and
John Lahr’s Tennessee Williams Biography is Insightful and Disappointing. Read More »
Edmund White’s new book is a delicious read. More than just a memoir of his years living “inside the pearl” that is Paris, it is also a peripatetic journey through France, Britain and Morocco. Along the way, the reader will
Edmund White’s New Memoir is a Delicious Read. Read More »
He gave the Beat Movement its name, witnessed its history from beginning to end and was an accomplished author in his own right, but you probably haven’t heard of him. Certainly this queer reader hadn’t heard of Herbert Huncke until
American Hipster: The Surprising Inspiration for the Beat Movement Read More »
Some of the finest non-fiction crime writing can be found in David McConnell’s new book, American Honor Killings. At it’s best, Mr. McConnell’s writing compares favorably to Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood and Norman Mailer’s Executioner’s Song. It
David McConnell’s Honor Killings is a Remarkable Literary Achievement. Read More »
There’s a conceit to most biographies. The biographer does the research, interviews the surviving witnesses and from these often disparate accounts, hobbles together a narrative that bears the imprimatur of omniscience. Cynthia Carr’s new David Wojnarowicz biography is different. In
Cynthia Carr’s Ground-Breaking David Wojnarowicz Biography is Superb. Read More »
Let’s get this out of the way first: Christopher Bram’s, Eminent Outlaws is an important book. His well-written, intelligent history of gay (male) authors in America since World War Two is meticulously researched and will probably be referred to for
Christopher Bram’s Eminent Outlaws is Intelligent and Insightful. Read More »
Edmund White’s latest book, Sacred Monsters, is a collection of short profiles of artistic figures. In many ways Sacred Monsters is reminiscent of Lytton Strachey’s Eminent Victorians, but unlike Mr. Strachey, Mr. White has no hidden or unhidden agendas
Edmund White’s Sacred Monsters is Richly Rewarding. Read More »
Proving Tolstoy’s statement that “every family is unhappy in its own way,” Alison Bechdel presents us with a uniquely unhappy family. The fact that this family is her own makes this book all the more powerful. Reading it for the
Read Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home. Read More »
I knew Vito Russo. And I suppose that’s part of the reason I shed a a few tears at the end of reading Celluloid Activist: The Life and Times of Vito Russo. I’m not going to say that I was
Celluloid Activist: Finally a Biography Worthy of Vito Russo Read More »
I’m old enough to remember a time when literally everyone I knew regularly visited a bookstore named A Different Light. I am actually referring to the first New York location–on Hudson Street. That store functioned as something of a drop-in
The End of Queer Reading as We Know It. On the Closing of A Different Light Bookstore Read More »