Bay Area Reporter :: Books News

Fight the power: Ron Goldberg's 'Boy With the Bullhorn'

November 26, 2022 | by Jim Piechota

In this new memoir, activist Ron Goldberg candidly and dramatically shares his experiences on the front lines of the ACT UP AIDS protest movements in New York City three and a half decades ago.

Manuel Muñoz's short story collection "The Consequences"

by Tim Pfaff
Nov 22, 2022

Migrant Valley, one of America's most hidden regions —though it's right there at the side of the highway for anyone to see— is vividly portrayed in Manuel Muñoz's new short story collection "The Consequences" (Graywolf Press).

Invitation to a Feast: 'A Sturdy Yes of a People: Selected Writing by Joan Nestle'

by Yeva Johnson
Nov 22, 2022

Joan Nestle's "A Sturdy Yes of a People: Selected Writings" showcases her body of work as a writer, academic, activist, and mentor who has contributed so much to the liberation of lesbians, queer people and their allies, and many other peoples.

Dale Boyer: novelist and poet on his writing

by Gregg Shapiro
Nov 20, 2022

The gay writer discusses his work in novel, poetry and children's books, and his part in the Chicago literary community.

Dr. Patricia Grayhall's 'Making the Rounds'

by Laura Moreno
Nov 8, 2022

Beginning with her earliest memories of trying to fit in, 'Making the Rounds: Defying Norms In Love & Medicine' is an interesting memoir and Grayhall's first book.

Semiotext(e)'s new and recent translated books

by Mark William Norby
Nov 8, 2022

You can build a compact, power-packed little library of books translated for the first time into English and released by Semiotext(e) this fall or in recent years. Each work seems to touch the vast cosmos of French arts and letters.

'Diaghilev's Empire' - how the Ballets Russes rocked the dance world

by Tim Pfaff
Nov 1, 2022

In 'Diaghilev's Empire: How the Ballets Russes Enthralled the World,' Rupert Christiansen's absorbing new chronicle of one of history's most influential dance companies documents a gay producer's influence on the early 20th-century arts scene.

'Vampire Cinema: The First One Hundred Years'

by David-Elijah Nahmod
Oct 25, 2022

In his new book "Vampire Cinema: The First One Hundred Years," author and film historian Christopher Frayling recounts a century of blood-sucking cinematic (and small screen) masterpieces and camp classics.

Vincent Paterson: choreographer on making iconic moves for Madonna, Michael Jackson and many others

by Jim Provenzano
Oct 18, 2022

While you may not recognize his name, you definitely know his work. Vincent Paterson has choreographed some of the most iconic dances for pop music in the 20th century, plus musicals, operas and more, all shared in his new memoir.

Nonetheless: Andrew Sean Greer's "Less Is Lost" is less than "Less"

by Tim Pfaff
Oct 18, 2022

Andrew Sean Greer's last novel, "Less," was a uproarious surprise hit. If you loved it, snap up "Less Is Lost," the sequel. But in what could be called a second act, the follow-up is —literally, sadly— less.

John D'Emilio's 'Memories of a Gay Catholic Boyhood'

by Brian Bromberger
Oct 18, 2022

One of the preeminent queer historians instrumental in helping establish Gay and Lesbian Studies as an academic discipline, John D'Emilio's memoir, "Memories of a Gay Catholic Boyhood," details his coming of age from the 1960s to Stonewall.

Moody blues: Stephan Ferris' 'Blue Movie: Scenes from the Life of a Sexual Outlaw'

by Jim Piechota
Oct 14, 2022

Former gay porn actor Stephan Ferris's debut memoir that chronicles his life in 77 unflinching and graphically depicted scenes. Ferris (aka Blue Bailey) considers the experiences that shaped his early years as "dangerous and potentially deadly."

Love and losses in K.M. Soehnlein's 'Army of Lovers'

by Jim Piechota
Oct 11, 2022

For his latest novel, celebrated Lambda Literary Award-winning novelist K.M. Soehnlein channeled his personal history as a New York City AIDS activist in the 1980s to lend the story authenticity and heartfelt emotion.

Gerard Cabrera: gay author discusses his novel, 'Homo Novus'

by Gregg Shapiro
Oct 11, 2022

In his debut novel, 'Homo Novus,' gay writer Gerard Cabrera takes us back to the late 1980s, a time when AIDS was still a death sentence and the pedophile priest scandal that shook the foundation of the Catholic Church.

'Strange Inheritance of Leah Fern' - novelist Rita Zoey Chin's inspiring tale

by Laura Moreno
Oct 11, 2022

Chin's truly luminous writing delivers the unexpected at every turn. The themes of the story are derived from her own childhood and are recounted with plenty of suspense, culminating with a dramatic yet hopeful ending.

Arts & Culture :: Books