To be clear, Blank's goal is not to question the arguable existence of heterosexuality (prior to its being identified and given a name in 1868), but to trace its origins and examine its effects. Read More
Kate Culkin looks at the influences of spiritualism, the new feminism, the decline of Romanticism and the rise of Modernism, on Harriet Hosmer and her work. Considered the foremost woman sculptor of her time, Hosmer portrayed the image of strong women, unbowed, even when crushed under patriarchal power. Read More
Schulman is brilliant at conveying how devastating and surreal it was to live during the AIDS crisis, and in examining its impact on the living, she draws connections between the gentrification of cities like New York and the coincidental timing of the AIDS crisis... Read More
Chronicling the years when voguing exploded into public consciousness and went from uptown New York to downtown, from the ballroom to the boardroom and into people’s living rooms, Chantal Regnault’s photographs in Voguing and the House Ballroom Scene of New York City 1989-1992 (Soul Jazz Books) capture the excitement and longing of a sub-section of the city’s gay creative energy... Read More
Christopher Bram opens the introduction to this informative and highly entertaining overview of gay male writing since World War Two with, “The gay revolution began as a literary revolution.” Read More
Stephen Sondheim has a genius for remembering in painstaking detail the story of his own life. The subtle nuances of a particular memory are fully realized here with astonishing clarity... Read More
From the Marquis de Sade’s libertine sodomites to Jean Genet’s gay Parisian subculture of saintly Queens, the French literary canon has left an indelible mark on how we in America narrate and conceptualize same-sex desire. So, it may come as a surprise to some when François Cusset contends in The Inverted Gaze (Arsenal Pulp Press) that French literary criticism has largely ignored the queer possibilities of its own canon... Read More
The essays are generally filled with fascinating gossipy details and remarkable asides. They reflect White’s masterful ability to effectively pull ideas out of novels, stories, and art, while simultaneously showcasing a personalized purview of his own life and passions. Read More
There are no sacred cows in humorist David Rakoff’s world. From the faux-preciousness of Jonathan Larson’s “Rent” to the consumeristic vapidity of Disney World to Jews’ secret love of forbidden grub, Rakoff eviscerates idyllic Americana beliefs left and right in his truth-telling crusade Read More
For gay men living in gay-friendly-cities, this book is a reminder of what it’s like to be a gay man in the rest of America. For gay men—young or old—struggling to come out, stay safe, and/or handle unaccepting family members, this book may be an inspiration. Read More
