John Maynard Keynes is a somewhat awkward queer icon. In his youth he had numerous gay affairs and was a member of the Bloomsbury Group, but he ultimately married a woman: the Russian ballerina, Lydia Lopokova. Throughout his life, it
Advice to President Biden from a Queer Icon Read More »
Funeral Diva is the self-portrait of a woman who our society does its very best to ignore: black, queer, statuesque, outspoken. But this particular woman, Pamela Sneed, will not be silenced. There is a fierce urgency to these pages. To
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Though portrayed by the popular culture as a joyous, carefree time, childhoods are often far from that–particularly for those who are sensitive and different. For these people, childhood isn’t the happiest time of their lives. Precisely the opposite. Because it
Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain is Heartbreaking, Unforgettable. Read More »
It was of course, F. Scott Fitzgerald who wrote that authors have “two or three great and moving experiences” in their lives:
“…experiences so great and moving that it doesn’t seem at the time anyone else has been so caught
Another Garth Greenwell Novel Read More »
Yesterday it was announced that Jericho Brown’s The Tradition won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Rarely has a collection displayed the depth and breadth of poet’s talent as well as this volume does. Blackness plays a big role in
Jericho Brown’s The Tradition Wins the Pulitzer Prize. Read More »
Girl, Woman, Other is an important feminist novel. It tells the stories of twelve women in an experimental style that is both readable and entirely fitting for these characters. Reading this Booker Prize-winning novel is an edifying experience. But it
Girl, Woman, Other is Surprisingly Entertaining. Read More »
In some respects the literary award season isn’t all that different from the film award season. The most recent releases have an advantage. And sometimes those released earlier are forgotten. As this year’s queer lit award season approaches, queer reader
Don’t Forget Patsy. Read More »
It’s astonishing how good How We Fight For Our Lives is. Though the title implies a polemic, Saeed Jones’s latest book is oh, so much more than that. It is a lyrical memoir: an important book that will be read–and
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In September it was announced that Ocean Vuong had been awarded the MacArthur Foundation’s “Genius Award”. Queer Reader has never described an author as a “genius”, but in this case the word is entirely appropriate. Ocean Vuong is a brilliant
Why Ocean Vuong Matters Read More »
It’s awards season again. Soon lists will be released of the best books of last year. We will know shortly whether Stephen McCauley, the author of so many consistently superb novels, will be rewarded for his efforts. It remains a
Stephen McCauley’s My Ex-Life is the Best Novel of 2018 Read More »