Vol. VIII No. 8 ·
September
22, 2008
BRIAN McNAUGHT has written a moving and very
personal account of his relationship with his husband, Ray Struble.
The book is ARE YOU TWO GUYS BROTHERS?
McNaught grew up in Flint, Michigan, Ray in Wichita,
Kansas. They met in 1976. Brian is three years older than Ray. Both
grew up in large Catholic families--each had six siblings. Mcnaught
writes: "We were exceptionally good boys with ready smiles,
polished manners, and an eagerness to please. We both were Altar
Boys, Patrol Boys, and Boy Scouts. We both dressed up as priests
at home, read the book Treasure Island and Boy's Life
magazine, and watched 'Ding Dong School' with Miss Francis, and
'Captain Kangaroo' with Mr. Greenjeans...made our First Holy Communions
in new blue suits, and later did indeed enter religious life. Regrettably,
we both would also end up in hospital emergency rooms with tubes
down our throats, having our stomachs pumped after attempting suicide.
We both would be sexually abused by adults. And we both would find
ourselves in metal folding chairs at meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous
repeatedly telling our stories to other addicts."
Both men had similar trajectories, and then they
met in 1976, and have been a couple since the mid 1970s. Their lives
have been filled with achievement and loss. McNaught tells their
story in an intimate tone and with considerable candidness. It's
a joy to read.
ARE YOU GUYS BROTHERS? is published in trade
paperback by AuthorHouse; there are black and white photos throughout,
$16.95
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 SLAVA
MOGUTIN's new book is NYC GO-GO.Mogutin was born in Siberia.
A queer activist in the late years of the now-defunct Soviet Union,
SM was tossed out of the workers' former paradise. He was granted political
asylum in the USA. His career is distinctive. His poetry and his photography
have brought him great renown.
NYC GO-GO is his collection of photos from the downtown scene
in New York, featuring young men performing in the erotic industry,
stripping, dancing and behaving with all too much irrational exuberance.
This is perfect material for Mogutin, and he documents this scene with
affection and sensitivity. It's not always pretty, but, of course, it's
not supposed to be. Thus his subject.
NYC GO-GO includes an essay by BRUCE BENDERSON.
This is a hardcover from PowerHouse Books, $35.00
 Also
available, Mogutin's charming photo book, LOST BOYS,
pictures of the young men of Russia and Eastern Europe after the
late Soviet Union imploded. Hardcover, $39.95
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 Jeannette
Howard Foster was a central figure in the creation of modern lesbian
history and culture in the USA. JOANNE PASSET tells her
story in SEX VARIANT WOMAN: THE LIFE OF JEANNETTE HOWARD FOSTER.
Foster was the first librarian at the Kinsey Institute for Sex Research.
Her 1956 book, SEX VARIANT WOMEN IN LITERATURE, was a crack in
the ceiling in Cold War Culture, and its publication established her
career. This was the first ever study of homosexuals, bisexuals and
cross-dressing characters appearing in more than three hundred works,
from ancient times to the present. It was distinguished in its scholarship
and in its critical insights. Foster's book has had a major influence
on lesbian studies, helping to define a canon of lesbian literature.
Passet's account gives us a look at life before the Stonewall revolution
and presents an informed account of the interplay between feminism and
gay and lesbian liberation. Her narrative spans the decades from the
late 19th Century to the 1970s, an era of enormous social and cultural
change.
PASSET's previous books include: SEX RADICALS AND THE QUEST FOR
WOMEN'S EQUALITY and CULTURAL CRUSADERS.
SEX VARIANT WOMAN is a hardcover from DaCapo; it includes
some black and white photographs, notes, a selected bibliography and
an index. $27.50
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 E.
LYNN HARRIS's latest novel is JUST TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.
Brady Bledsoe is a college hotshot. He is devoted to his mother, Carmyn.
She's single, a devoted church-goer, and the owner of several successful
Atlanta beauty salons. She has aimed all her ambitions on her son, hoping
him to become a professional football player. Brady has followed his
mother's instruction and joined the church's "Celibacy Circle." He's
in his senior at college and a contender for the Heisman Trophy and
up for a spot in the NFL. He's also very handsome.
Barrett, a beautiful and charming cheerleader, sets her sights on
Brady, figuring he has a multi-million dollar future ahead of him. But
Carmyn is determined to protect her son. And she's just as determined
to keep from him the secret she's been carrying all her life.
As in his previous fictions, Harris creates a sweeping family drama,
filled with romance, intrigue, friendship, faith and love. JUST TOO
GOOD TO BE TRUE is a hardcover from Doubleday, $24.95
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 THE
YOUNG AND EVIL a novel by CHARLES HENRI-FORD and PARKER
TYLER, has a special place in the history of gay Lit. Both Tyler
and Ford were children of the American South. Both wound up in New York
City. The book was written in the early 1930s and first published in
1933. It has had an underground reputation ever since.The story is
short--134 pages in its latest edition--and full of youthful vigor,
high energy, and infused with both young mens' fascination with French
surrealism, which would come to full flower when they co-edited VIEW,
an avant-garde magazine in the 1940s. THE YOUNG AND EVIL goes
in and out of print in regular cycles, and I would categorize it in
the interesting curio list rather than a classic, but I am sure others
will have their own opinions.
The current trade paperback is from The Olympia Press, $11.95
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 RODNEY
LOFTON is the author of THE DAY I STOPPED BEING PRETTY: A MEMOIR.
Lofton was diagnosed with HIV in 1993. After that, there was the
failed suicide attempt. After recovering from that trauma, he set out
to overcome racism, homophobia, his history of being a victim of sexual
abuse, and try to find love in his life, not just from others, but from
himself as well.
He came into adult life with low self-esteem. He had a harsh father
and a loving mother. He grew up in a culture of physical and emotional
abuse. After his HIV diagnosis, Lofton made it his mission to inform
the youth community about the nature of HIV, the matter of disclosure
and acceptance and how to turn a difficult personal situation into triumph.
Lofton's is the story of a gay man who is living positively, finding
the inner strength to reach out to others despite having suffered so
much rejection and scorn.
THE DAY I STOPPED BEING PRETTY is a trade paperback
from Strebor Books, $14.00
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 LESLIE
JORDAN is probably best-known for his role on WILL & GRACE
for which he was awarded an Emmy in 2006.He stands four feet
eleven inches high and has a highly-refined capacity for old-fashioned
high camp. Jordan grew up in a conservative family in Chattanooga, TN.
He left TN on a Greyhound bus, headed for LA. He started working in
commercials and in television. He also started writing for the stage;
his one-man testimonials have become cult off-Broadway hits. There was
the down side to his exciting career. He became a substance abuser,
a sex addict, has spent time in jail, and has struggled to overcome
his addictions and self-loathing.
His new book, MY TRIP DOWN THE PINK CARPET, is a fast-paced
collection of stories, laced with his famous wit and filled with biting
asides.
MY TRIP DOWN THE PINK CARPET is a hardcover from Simon & Schuster,
$21.95
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 ERICK
ALVAREZ's new book, MUSCLE BOYS: GAY GYM CULTURE,
is an inside look at the world of exercise and fitness that's become
one of the country's fastest growing and most influential gay subcultures.
Alvarez is a personal trainer on the San Francisco gay gym scene; he
has over a decade of experience.. He examines the history, sociology
and influence of bodybuilding, male body image, and beefcake media.
Alvarez did an on-line survey of nearly six thousand gay and bisexual
men for this in-depth study of gay body culture and its role in modern
gay life.
MUSCLE BOYS is a trade paperback from Routledge; it includes
notes and an index, $19.95
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 AMATEUR
COLLEGE MEN is the photo collection by CORBIN FISHER. These
are color photos of attractive young men, some solos, some duos, some
in groups shots, occasionally partially clothed, most are nude, in domestic
and outdoor settings.This is a hardcover from Bruno Gmünder,
$49.99
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BRUCE HULSE writes about his career in his new book, SEX,
LOVE, AND FASHION: A MEMOIR OF A MALE MODEL.Models use their
bodies as their primary asset. It's a tough and very competitive business.
As a young model, Hulse had the good fortune to be a favorite of photographer
Bruce Weber, just when Weber was joining the pantheon of great American
fashion photographers. Hulse got top-billing as a male model. He did
spreads for Calvin Klein and Levi's; he graced the cover of GQ. His
was a face and a body that was high on the image-mix in advertising
in the 1980s and 1990s. It was a time when the modeling world was filled
with easy sex and lots of drugs.
In his memoir, Hulse shares the many stories of working on shoots
around the world with Klein, Janice Dickinson, Herb Ritts, Cindy Crawford
and others. There is the satisfaction of making it to the top of his
profession; Hulse also writes about the painful failures he met along
the way. Hulse gives us an honest account of what life is like in the
fickle, furious and fabulous world of fashion photography.
SEX, LOVE, AND FASHION is a hardcover from Harmony Books.
There are black and white and color photos throughout, $23.95
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FEATURED DVDs
 JOHAN
was originally screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1976.
It was later given an "X" rating and disappeared from the catalogue.
Now, it's back, printed from a fresh master and with subtitles.
Considered the first French explicitly erotic gay movie. In
French with English subtitles, $29.95
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 In
BANGKOK LOVE STORY, steamy Thai nights provide the backdrop
for unbridled romance, crime and action as two men unexpectedly
develop a passionate affair. In Thai with optional English subtitles.
Not rated. $19.99
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BARGAIN BOOKS
 ALISON
BECHDEL's FUN HOUSE: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC is her
autobiography done in graphic novel form. Emotionally powerful
and cleverly executed. This is the hardcover remainder,
$8.95
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 WILLIAM
CARTER is an acclaimed biographer of Marcel Proust.
In his book, PROUST IN LOVE, Carter pursues Proust's
amorous adventures from his adolescence through his adult
years--including a duel he fought with a journalist who
had outed him in print. A life crowded with incident. This
is the 2006 Yale University Press hardcover remainder,
$10.95
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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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