Vol. VII No. 3 · March
29, 2007
ROBERT McALMON lived from 1895 until 1956.
He left his homeland in the Dakotas, found himself in Greenwich
Village after the First World War, where he met Winifred Ellerman,
later known as the writer Bryher. They married and headed off to
Paris. Bryher was an heiress; her father was Sir John Ellerman.
He owned shipping interests and London property. Sir John liked
McAlmon and Sir John's cash made their lives easier.
While in Paris, McAlmon set up Contact Editions,
which published Hemingway, Stein and others. When he left Paris,
after the fun of the 20s was over--though McA stayed up until 1940--he
wrote the wonderful memoir BEING GENIUSES TOGETHER,
which his friend Kay Boyle brought back into print in 1968, adding
her own meditations.
Brand new in print is THE NIGHTINGHOULS OF PARIS,
which was edited and introduced by SANFORD J. SMOLLER This
book is a thinly fictionalized account of the darker side of the
ex-pat life in gay Paree in the fabulous 20s. It starts in 1928
when McAlmon befriended two Canadian youths, John Glassco and Graeme
Taylor, who were out to establish their careers as writers. McA
guides them through the cafes and bistros and the nightclubs, introducing
them to his circles of friends: Kay Boyle (she had a fling with
Glassco), Bill Bird, Djuna Barnes, Claude McKay, Hilaire Hiler,
Peggy Guggenheim, Hemingway, the usual inter-war crew.
McAlmon fled France in 1940. Along the way, he lost
his notebook manuscripts for THE NIGHTINGHOULS OF PARIS.
He rewrote the text from memory. It remained as a typescript at
Yale all these years. Smoller's introduction gives the reader a
good set-up for the book. Also included is a Roster of Major Characters,
taking the roman a clef and making it more a reality show.
McAlmon is an important minor American writer and a publisher of
significance.
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Featured
in the picture right are: l to r: Graeme Taylor, John Glassco
and McAlmon, in Nice 1929
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THE NIGHTINGHOULS OF PARIS is a hardcover
from the University of Illinois Press, $40.00
Other titles available by Robert McAlmon are:
MISS KNIGHT AND OTHERS, foreword by GORE VIDAL,
$12.95
VILLAGE: AS IT HAPPENED THROUGH A FIFTEEN YEAR PERIOD,
$12.95
I remember remarking to Gore Vidal that he should
read VILLAGE. Both McAlmon and Gene Vidal, Gore's Dad, grew
up in Madison, South Dakota. McAlmon was very much smitten with
Gene Vidal. After Gore read VILLAGE, he wrote that it was
just like hearing conversations over the breakfast table; he had
already heard it before!
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 I
grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. So did Doris Day. Her last name, in movie-land,
Day, was, of course, not her birth name. Doris had a proper, if heavy-duty,
German-American (well, actually, German) surname. But the time she got
to Hollywood, she already had a failed marriage and a male child.
Her career in show business was spectacular and enduring. In the motion
picture biz, she was the leading female box-office draw longer than
any other star. Her recording career was substantial. And then there
was the work in television. I recall my second step-father, who
was a river rat and had a boat which he took out on the Ohio River every
weekend (weather permitting), told me that at some time--perhaps the
1950s, I didn't press him--Doris Day was also on a boat on the river
and there had been an accident and my step-father, though he wasn't
then, jumped into the mighty Ohio River and rescued Doris Day from the
drink.
This story does not appear in TOM SANTOPIETRO's charming
new book, CONSIDERING DORIS DAY, but Tom does detail, in a comprehensive
manner, the depth of Day's entertainment catalogue. Was she best working
with Hitchcock? Shall I confess how much I like her work with Rock Hudson
on those wonderful silly movies? We all have our favorites. "Quer Sera,
Sera." Santopietro is also author of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING BARBRA.
CONSIDERING DORIS DAY is a hardcover from St. Martin's Press,
$25.95
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 BOY
CULTURE, author MATTHEW RETTENMUND's first novel, was originally
published in 1996. It was well-received and he went on to write other
titles. Something very nice happened to Rettenmund--someone developed
his novel into a movie! I think BOY CULTURE (the movie) is set
for general release this spring. A new edition of the book has just
been published as a tie-in with the film's launch.
Here's the set-up: X, as he is known, is a savvy hustler. He finds
himself gored on the horns of a dilemma. He's sweet on his roommate
Andrew, a guy confused about his sexual preference. Meanwhile, there's
the other roommate, a smart 17-year-old party boy, who is falling for
X in a big way. Can this ménage a trois work out? All three have tart
tongues and can toss around savage one-liners. This novel is a snapshot
of love and lust among three very different gay men.
This new edition of BOY CULTURE is from St. Martin's Griffin,
$13.95
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 TENNESSEE
WILLIAMS wrote every day. He wrote in his notebooks, he wrote short
stories, he wrote his plays, he wrote letters. He was a writer.What's
interesting about this new title, TENNESSEE WILLIAMS NOTEBOOKS,
edited by MARGARET BRADHAM THORNTON, is how comprehensive it
is. Williams lived from 1911 to 1983. In his notebooks, he detailed
his fears, obsessions and his contradictions. In the early days, he
was a little short on change and he writes about deprivation. This book
is full of photos, manuscript reproductions, maps, the works. TW's entries
are extensively notated, in fact the notations are longer than the entries,
identifying every person he mentions and, of course, as happens with
a book like this, the notes are the heart of the book. For someone my
age (59), I regret that the type point is so tiny, I suspect 9 or even
8 point type. Like the OED, the publisher might have offered the option
to buy this volume with a magnifying glass. Still, it is fascinating,
as was TW's life.
NOTEBOOKS is a hardcover from Yale University Press. It is
828 pages, $40.00
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 Colm
Tóibín
wrote that CALL ME BY YOUR NAME: "is a beautiful and wise book,
written with both lightness and concentrated care for the precise truth
of every moment in its drama. It will rest artfully on the shelves between
James Baldwin's GIOVANNI'S ROOM and Edmund White's A BOY'S
OWN STORY." The press reviews have been enthusiastic. Stacey
D'Erasmo, writing the the Sunday TIMES Book Review, said: "This
novel is hot...an exceptionally beautiful book." Author ANDRÉ
ACIMAN has hit a home run.This is the story of a romance between
a teen boy and a summer guest at his parents' cliffside mansion on the
Italian Riviera. The guest was booked for only six weeks, but what they
share will last, for both of them, the rest of their lives. The story
takes the pair for a languid evening in Rome and they find something
they may never find again--total intimacy.
CALL ME BY YOUR NAME is a hardcover, published by Farrar,
Straus and Giroux, $23.00
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 There's
a new edition of NANCY GARDEN's popular 1982 novel, ANNIE
ON MY MIND. I'm pretty sure this title has stayed in print for
a quarter century, a remarkable achievement. Garden is a thoughtful
and prolific writer, with more than two dozen titles to her credit.
ANNIE ON MY MIND is the story of two young women who love each
other. Liza Winthrop meets Annie Kenyon at the Metropolitan Museum of
Art and she understands that this is something special between them.
But can falling in love only be wonderful, or can it also be confusing
and difficult?
ANNIE OF MY MIND is a trade paperback from Farrar, Straus
and Giroux, $8.00
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 GAVIN
EDWARDS wants to have some fun. And fun he has in IS TINY DANCER
REALLY ELTON'S LITTLE JOHN? MUSIC'S MOST ENDURING MYSTERIES, MYTHS,
AND RUMORS REVEALED.Did Mama Cass really die from choking on
a ham sandwich, as reported? Did any of the Beach Boys hang out
with Charles Manson? Did Mick Jagger and David Bowie ever sleep together--I
think Angela Bowie may have started that one. La Triviata of the pop
music world can be overwhelming. But in that world, there truly
is no such thing as bad publicity. Edwards is a contributing editor
for ROLLING STONE and has had his ear to the ground for the pop
buzz for years. TINY DANCER is fun light reading.
IS TINY DANCER REALLY ELTON'S LITTLE JOHN is a trade paperback
from Three Rivers Press, $13.95
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 Pedro
Almodóvar emerged from Madrid's
La Movida subculture in the 1970s. Early on, he created a series of
low-budget movies, including PEPI, LUCI, BOM,
DARK HABITS, and WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS? These
established his flirty, funny and impious voice.
MATADOR had a funny take on Spanish machismo. LAW OF DESIRE
was his most homoerotic film. His breakthrough title was WOMEN ON
THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN. He was compared to the great "women's
directors" of the 1940s.
ALMODÓVAR ON ALMODÓVAR
is a collection of interviews with FREDERIC STRAUSS, who edited
these lengthy conversations for this book. PA offers his views of his
creative process, his films, his influences and his relationships with
so many of his actors, including Carmen Maura and Antonio Banderas.
This is the revised edition. There are black and white photos throughout
as well as a filmography and an index.
ALMODÓVAR ON ALMODÓVAR
is a trade paperback from Faber and Faber, $15.00
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 MARC
HOLLAND's novel is MARK STONE: SECRET AGENT. His story is
set in the shadowy world on international espionage. There we find one
man who stands between western civilization and the evil forces set
to destroy it. He's a man with drop-dead good looks and bedroom eyes.
His weapon is always loaded and he knows exactly when to use it. He
works for British Intelligence; they deny he even exists, but he's the
first they call when the action stirs up.He's a man who protects
the Queen and country from looming attacks. The breaking story is that
the famous German chemist Heinz Kriechbaum has been abducted by the
revolutionary Crimson Army; they also nabbed his secrets and threaten
to use a little chemistry to annihilate select populations. This is
a job for Mark Stone.
MARK STONE: SECRET AGENT is a trade paperback from Starbooks,
$16.95
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 NOËL
ALUMIT's first novel was LETTERS TO MONTGOMERY CLIFT. It
won a Stonewall Book Award and a Violet Quill Award. His new title is
TALKING TO THE MOON. Jory
Lalaban, a Filipino postman, is the victim of a racially motivated shooting;
he is forced to confront long-buried memories of life in the Philippines.
This involves his recollections of why he abandoned the priesthood to
become a worshipper of the Moon. There are also his memories of his
youth in an orphanage after WWII. As well as the "curse" that forced
him and his bride, Belen, to flee their homeland for the USA.
The shooting incident makes international headlines.
The family Lalaban then comes to face its secrets and fears. Emerson,
a son, talks to his dead brother on the phone but cannot express himself
to the man he loves. Belen hears the voice of the Blessed Virgin.
Alumit's novel was inspired by an actual event.
He had created a rich and witty book that takes on the most explosive
topics facing America today: race, religion and sexuality.
TALKING TO THE MOON is a trade paperback
published by Carroll & Graf, $14.95
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FRIDAY 13 April
at 7 PM
 
The Rev. MICHAEL S. PIAZZA is a pastor,
author and social justice activist. He is the founder and
President of Hope for Peace & Justice. He also serves as
Dean and National pastor of the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas,
Texas. An earlier title of his is HOLY HOMOSEXUALS.
He has two recent titles: QUEERIES: QUESTIONS LESBIANS
AND GAYS HAVE FOR GOD and THE REAL ANTICHRIST: HOW
AMERICA SOLD ITS SOUL. Rev. Piazza will read from his
work and lead a discussion on Friday, 13 April at 7 PM.
FRIDAY 20 April
at 7 PM
KEVIN SESSUMS will read from his
new memoir, MISSISSIPPI SISSY. Michael Cunningham
wrote: "MISSISSIPPI SISSY is a book I've been
waiting for most of my life...We have, as it turns out,
been sorely missing a book by a writer who is equally at
home with Flannery O'Connor and Jacqueline Susann, who understands
that Eudora Welty and Johnny Weissmuller are not only members
of the same species but intricately related..."
FRIDAY 27 April
at 7 PM
BRIAN MALLOY will read from
his latest novel, BRENDAN WOLF, Friday 27
April at 7 PM. This is Malloy's second novel; his first,
THE YEAR OF ICE, was well received
FRIDAY 18 May
at 7 PM
 Local
author JOHNNY DIAZ will read from his novel
BOSTON BOYS CLUB on Friday, 18 May, at 7 PM.
DIAZ is a reporter for the Boston GLOBE
and his book will be published in late April.
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FEATURED DVDs
 EROPHILIA
begins with an unusual premise. Young Luke discovers he's a
Zerophiliac; he has an extra "Z" chromosome and that allows
him to change between being a male and a female at will. This
is a coming-of-age comedy that's part horror movie, and teen
sex farce, starring TAYLOR HANDLEY, $34.95
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 SHORTBUS
was an indie fave. From the director of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY
INCH. SHORTBUS is an ensemble production, following
a group of young New Yorkers as they explore love and sex. This
is a movie with considerable sexual explicitness, $29.95
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BARGAIN BOOKS
 LES
WRIGHT edited THE BEAR BOOK II: FURTHER READINGS
IN THE HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF A GAY MALE SUBCULTURE.
This is the 2001 trade paperback from Harrington Park Press,
$8.95
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 THE
CRIMSON LETTER is DOUGLASS SHAND-TUCCI's
account of HARVARD, HOMOSEXUALITY AND THE SHAPING OF
AMERICAN CULTURE. This is the 2004 trade paperback edition
from St. Martin's Griffin, $8.95
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RE:PAST
Out-of-print, first editions or
curios from the Calamus collection
Call (617) 338-1931 for ordering information
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