Vol. VIII No. 3 ˇ April
22, 2008
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 ANDREA
WEISS has been an independent filmmaker for over twenty-five years.
She is also the author or PARIS WAS A WOMAN: PORTRAITS FROM THE LEFT
BANK and VAMPIRES AND VIOLETS: LESBIANS IN FILM. Her latest book
is IN THE SHADOW OF THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN: THE ERIKA AND KLAUS MANN STORY.
Erika and Klaus were the oldest children, of six, of Thomas Mann and his
wife. Both were fiercely rebellious, talented, openly homosexual, anti-fascist
and devoted to each other. Their father's fame helped them in life, and
was also a hindrance. Klaus seemed to enjoy provoking his very bourgeois
father. Klaus became addicted to drugs, which, with the other strains on
family relationships, led to an estrangement. The Manns all wound up in
the USA, where Thomas reigned over the colony of German émigrés in the 1940s.
Erika had married Wystan Auden in 1935 (pictured here, right),
 which
gave her UK citizenship; the Manns were on the Nazi list for harassment.
When Klaus was in LA, the FBI was also on his case and created a big file.
Klaus committed suicide in 1949 in France.
The story of the family Mann is a vast canvas; the genius of Weiss's
book is that she has parsed the saga through the storylines of Erika and
Klaus. There are black and white photos throughout; also extensive notes
and an index. IN THE SHADOW OF THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN is a hardcover
from the University of Chicago Press, $27.50
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 JEANETTE
WINTERSON's latest novel is THE STONE GODS.We start with the
chat of the airwaves, all about the talk of the new blue planet, lovely
and habitable for humans. Off the air, Billie Crusoe and the renegade robo-sapian
Spike are falling in love. The two of them, along with Captain Handsome
and Pink, are assigned to colonize the new planet. But en route, there is
a technical glitch, and the mission backfires. What should have been Billie
and Spike's flight into the future turns into a surprising return to the
distant past.
This is an interplanetary love story--of Billie and Spike, of the past
and the future; a traveler's tale and a hymn to the beauty of the world.
What begins as a witty, satirical futurist adventure deepens into a brilliant
exploration of our relationship to the environment, to power and technology,
and to what defines us as humans.
THE STONE GODS is a hardcover from Harcourt, $24.00
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 KEVIN
SESSUMS had a critical and sales success when the hardcover of his memoir,
MISSISSIPPI SISSY, was published. His memoir is a candid recounting
of his growing up in the American South in the 1960s and 70s. His story
is in the great tradition of the Southern narrative. There are the sweet
moments, there is the racial divide, some horrible things happen, and then
there is that fact that Sessums was a little gay boy growing up in a conservative,
traditional culture. It gives his story a lot of edge. He had the early
gay creds--liked Arlene Francis and Erik Estrada. And still wound up on
the high school football team (but only for one year). Later came his move
to the Jackson area and his discovery of the small but vibrant gay culture
there--and a date with a famous black football player! Sessums later found
his way to New York City and worked in the magazine world--think Truman
Capote and Harper Lee and others. A lot of bright boys and girls come out
of the South, and the brighter they are the faster they came; clearly this
was true for Sessums. His memoir is sassy and sad and significant and very,
very satisfying.MISSISSIPPI SISSY is new in paperback, published
by Picador, $14.00
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 OUT
PLAYS: LANDMARK GAY AND LESBIAN PLAYS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY was edited,
and has an introduction, by BEN HODGES. The foreword is by HARVEY
FIERSTEIN.Plays included are: BOYS IN THE BAND by Mart Crowley;
FIND YOUR WAY HOME by John R. Hopkins; THE RITZ by Terrance
McNally; GEMINI by Albert Innaurato; FIFTH OF JULY by Lanford
Wilson; LAST SUMMER AT BLUEFISH COVE by Jane Chambers;
TORCH SONG TRILOGY by Harvey Fierstein, and THE BALTIMORE
WALTZ by Paula Vogel.
OUT PLAYS is a trade paperback from Alyson Books, $21.95
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 ANGELO
PEZZOTE is the author of STRAIGHT ACTING: GAY MEN, MASCULINITY AND
FINDING TRUE LOVE.Drawing on his years of experience as a gay psychotherapist
and advice columnist, Pezzote offers practical and thoughtful relationship
strategies--a new phrase for me--exploring developmental points like coming
out, dating, how to avoid manipulative relationships, and how to get and
maintain a satisfying sexual life. His big point is his insight on the importance
of ditching the macho act and learning to be true to yourself.
STRAIGHT ACTING is a trade paperback from Kensington, $15.00
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 I
find short novels have their charms. This is certainly the case with
STEPHANIE GRANT's second novel, MAP OF IRELAND.It's 1974 and
Ann Ahern is starting her junior year in high school, in South Boston. The
city of Boston is in turmoil, what with the school desegregation mandate
ordered by the Federal court. Ann has a freckled face--told she has a face
that is the map or Ireland--and Ann has a crush on Mademoiselle Eugénie,
her French teacher, who is from Paris and of African descent. Ann's adolescent
passion is spurned, and her gumption leads her on adventures outside South
Boston, through the fringes of the Black Power movement, toward love, and
ultimately to the truth about herself.
This is a fast-paced and ambitious novel, with a narrator who is gutsy,
daring and charming.
MAP OF IRELAND is a hardcover from Scribner, $22.00
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  Joan
Crawford was born Lucille LeSueur in San Antonio, Texas, in the year of
1908--just like Bette Davis, her centenary. Through the magic of the Hollywood
studios, she became a screen icon. But was she ever a great actress? Perhaps
it didn't matter. She had a fabulous life. She was married to Douglas Fairbanks,
Jr., Franchot Tone, Phillip Terry and then to Pepsi king Alfred Steele.
CHARLOTTE CHANDLER gives us an informative and entertaining ride
of the Crawford career in her new bio, NOT THE GIRL NEXT DOOR: JOAN CRAWFORD:
A PERSONAL BIOGRAPHY. Crawford raised four adopted children and, though
Christina would famously publish her memoir taking her mother to task, Chandler
has interviewed others, including daughter Cathy, who give us a warmer and
more compassionate Crawford.
 NOT THE GIRL NEXT DOOR is a hardcover from Simon & Schuster,
$26.00
Charlotte
Chandler is the author of several biographies of actors and directors, including
Groucho Marx, Federico Fellini, Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock, Bette Davis,
and Ingrid Bergman. She is a member of the board of the Film Society of
Lincoln Center and lives in New York.
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 FLIGHTS
OF ANGELS: MY LIFE WITH THE ANGELS OF LIGHT is by ADRIAN BROOKS,
with photographs by DANIEL NICOLETTA.Brooks came of age as a Quaker
civil-rights and anti-war activist. He moved to New York and drifted through
the art gallery and Warhol scenes. Then he moved to San Francisco. He became
a pivotal member of The Angels of Light, a performance group that pretty
much grew out of the Cockettes. The Angels were famous for putting on trashy,
fantastical stage productions in a town that was in the golden days of the
first wave of gay liberation. Brooks was there, saw it all, and recounts
so many wonderful stories in his memoir. The black and white and color photographs
included are a delightful complement to Brooks' story. Brooks also includes
some poems at the end of the book. This book is wonderfully evocative of
a place and a time and a group of people all doing something for the first
time.
FLIGHTS OF ANGELS is a hardcover from Arsenal Pulp Press, $27.95
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  CHRISTOPHER
RICE's fourth novel is BLIND FALL.John Houck is a Marine hero.
But he failed to notice an explosive that ended up maiming his captain,
a man who had nearly sacrificed his life to save John's. Back from Iraq,
John goes to visit his former captain, only to discover he has been murdered.
He chases a man from the murder scene; this is Alex, who is not the murderer,
but is in fact the late captain's lover, and, quite likely, the killer's
next prospective victim.
John figures out that the local law enforcement has direct connections
to the murder. He feels it his obligation to teach Alex how to protect himself,
even if that means teaching him how to kill. This also makes him confront
the painful truth about his failure with his siblings.
BLIND FALL is a hardcover from Scribner, $26.00
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 STEVEN
SAYLOR's most recent novel is ROMA: THE NOVEL OF ANCIENT ROME.
The myth of Rome is that it started as a trading post, in the days of prehistory,
where traders and merchants established a way station among the seven hills.
Saylor's epic story follows the rise and decline of the Roman Republic through
the tragedies and triumphs of generations of two of Rome's most prominent
families. The author is a master of historical fiction and ROMA is
a substantial achievement.
ROMA is new in paperback from St. Martin's Griffin, $15.95
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IORY ALLISON will be reading and signing her latest book,
NAUGHTY ASTRONAUTESS
GLAMOUR GALORE: BOOK TWO
at Calamus Bookstore ˇ
This Friday, April 25th, 7 PM
NAUGHTY ASTRONAUTESS is a
trade paperback from iUniverse, $17.95
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FEATURED DVDs
 SOCKET
is an erotic sci-fi fantasy. Dr. Bill is struck by lightning. His
sexy hospital intern Craig has survived a similar event. They find
their way to an underground group that uses electricity to find
pleasure. Written and directed by SEAN ABLEY, $19.99
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 BULLDOG
IN THE WHITE HOUSE is a political satire. The set-up is that
the current Bush administration is a cabal of lustful and corrupt
homosexual men who are too busy with their active sex lives to notice
the empire crumbling around them, $29.95
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BARGAIN BOOKS
 COMING
UP FROM THE DOWN LOW: THE JOURNEY TO ACCEPTANCE, HEALING, AND
HONEST LOVE by J.L. KING (with COURTNEY CARRERAS)
mad a big splash when it was first published. This is the 2005
hardcover edition, $7.95
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 DAVID
LEAVITT notes in his introduction to his COLLECTED STORIES
that these were written over twenty years while he lived in
California, New York City, Long Island, London and Rome. This
is the 2003 trade paperback edition, $8.95
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RE:PAST
Out-of-print, first editions or curios
from the Calamus collection
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 VISIT
TO A SMALL PLANET AND OTHER TELEVISION PLAYS by GORE VIDAL
includes eight teleplays that Vidal wrote for The Golden Age of
Television. This is the 1957 hardcover edition, $15.95
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 TIME
REMAINING: STORIES by JAMES McCOURT is perhaps
his best book. This is the 1993 hardcover first edition from Knopf,
$25.00 |
 RAT
& THE DEVIL: JOURNAL LETTERS OF F. O. MATTHIESSEN AND RUSSELL CHENEY,
edited by LOUIS HYDE, covers their relationship from 1924
to 1945. This is the 1978 hardcover from Archon press, $19.95 |
 JOHN
COONEY's 1984 bio, THE AMERICAN POPE: THE LIFE AND TIMES
OF FRANCIS CARDINAL SPELLMAN, was a subject of controversy,
as it should have been,when it was first published, as Spellman
was the scandal of his church. This is the hardcover from Times
Books, $19.95 |
Call (617) 338-1931 for ordering information
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