Book Briefs
September, 1991
GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE
Page 19
by Bob Downing
Two books from San Francisco's GLB Publishers are definitely for men only. Rogues to Remember and Leather Rogues are described on the cover as "one-hand books for two-fisted men." This gives you an excellent idea of the material inside. These books are among the best of their class. Author Bill Lee is a master of leatherbiker stories. (Contact GLB, P.O. Box 78212, San Francisco, CA 94107.)
Samuel M. Stewart, Ph.D., has published through Harrington Park Press an unusual book called Bad Boys and_Tough_Tattoos. This is a social history of the tattoo, complete with gangs, sailors and street-corner punks. This book is an excellent review of the subject, if that's your interest. The author is much better known by his pseudonym, Phil Andros. Stewart has been an English professor, a tattoo artist (for 18 years) and has written several books and hundreds of stories appearing in European magazines.
Lavender Press has an excellent publication by author David Day. Things_They_Never Told You in Sunday School is a primer for the Christian gay man or lesbian. This publication gives us fresh insight into the "traditional" explanations of Sodom (what had Gomorrah done?), Chapter 6 of 1 Corinthians and other biblical issues. Sherre Boothman, president of Samaritan College, said, "This book should
Report Anti-Gay Violence
This includes homophobic verbal abuse, threats, vandalism, and police abuse, as well as physical assault. If hate crimes aren't reported, authorities won't know that they happen often.
Call the police at 911, if they aren't already involved. Let them know this is a hate crime.
Call the Center at 781-6736 or 522-1999. Their Maryann Finegan Project will help you with police, prosecutors, and courts; and give counseling and support.
Call the U.S. Justice Dept.'s Hate Crimes Hotline, at 800347-4283. Federal law requires them to keep statistics on antigay crimes-numbers which can be used to prove the need for legislation.
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be read by anyone who takes the Bible seriously." (Contact Lavender Press, P.O. Box 453, S. Norwalk, CT 06856-0453.)
Also good reading for gay Christians is a book from Alamo Square Press. In_God's_Image is written by Robert Warren Cromey, the rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in San Francisco. This author came to national attention when he publicly blessed a gay relationship. His book virulently attacks the bigotry and self-righteousness of the establishment churches and offers a path to bring about change.
Cromey says, "Be impatient. Don't allow people to tell you to go slowly, be patient, give it time. We Christians believe we are saved and justified right now by God's saving action in Christ. The job of reconciliation of homosexual people is already done in the action of Christ. Arrogant, discriminatory rules and narrow minds stand in the way of full freedom for gays and lesbians in our church and society `right now.' (Alamo Square Press, P.O. Box 14543, San Francisco, CA 94114.)
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If you have never read any books by David Rees, you should. I read recently that he was not going to publish any more novels. I was really upset with this, since I have what I believe to be a complete collection of his "gay" novels and eagerly await the next release. He has written other material, but I have been unable to get copies of that.
I recently acquired a book published in 1990 by Third House Publishers in England called Letters to Dorothy, a collection of short stories. After reading this, I see why Rees may not write another novel. He is dealing with his own HIV infection, and he reveals how he is coping and living with the problems of AIDS. His dealing with this
situation is typical of his writing: moving, funny, campy, and serious without hiding the despair and resignation. I will miss Rees' writing, and hope someone publishes all his works in one set for the serious collector of gay literature.
When I started to write this column, I said I would not review books because I do not feel qualified to criticize authors. I will make an exception in the case of The Gay Cliche by Tony Lang. This promised to be a light-hearted look at gay fashion by an author who has written (among other things) for the TV series Soap. Don't buy this book! It is full of sarcasm, poor taste and, worst of all, Cleveland jokes! Boo-hiss to St. Martin's Press for publishing this tripe.
There is a set of books called Men On Men, published by Penguin Books' Plume Editions and edited and collected by a professor of French literature and gay studies at Wellesley College, George Stambolian. These publications are a collection of gay fiction by contemporary American writers. The first collection appeared in 1986, and several of the short stories have since been published as complete novels. The same is true of the second and third collections.
Some of the authors are well-known for already published works, and others are seen in print for the first time in these editions. In the third edition, there is a dedication to the memory of Robert Ferro, Michael Grumley and George Whitmore, all gay authors who died recently of illnesses related to AIDS. The three were members of an early workshop for gay writers-the Violet Quill. Other members of that group who are actively writing fiction include Andrew Holleran, Felice Picano and Edmund White, and they are represented here.
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