Arts & Culture :: Books

Starr-gazing - 'Remember Me, Vicki Starr: The Visual History of a Trans Renegade' uncovers an unknown history

Starr-gazing - 'Remember Me, Vicki Starr: The Visual History of a Trans Renegade' uncovers an unknown history

  • by Michael Flanagan
  • Dec 13, 2022

The 2021 photography book "Remember Me, Vicki Starr: The Visual History of a Trans Renegade" by Albert Tanquero and Lewis Rawlinson definitively answers the question of whether LGBT performers worked in historic North Beach nightclubs.

Taylor Brorby's 'Boys & Oil' - growing up gay in the heartland

Taylor Brorby's 'Boys & Oil' - growing up gay in the heartland

  • by Laura Moreno
  • Dec 13, 2022

Readers of "Boys & Oil" will relish his lyrical prose and brilliant descriptions of the land. Furthermore, he delves into the type of closed masculinity that develops in such extreme topography.

Sara Thankam Mathews' 'All This Could Be Different'

Sara Thankam Mathews' 'All This Could Be Different'

  • by Tim Pfaff
  • Dec 6, 2022

In what could be taken as her philosophy of fiction, Sara Thankam Mathews has produced a debut novel, "All This Could Be Different." Mathews controls large block of prose with a clear, involving plot and characters that make strong impressions.

YA Winter Books Round-Up

YA Winter Books Round-Up

  • by Jim Piechota
  • Dec 6, 2022

If you're a reader who loves to become lost in a good book and enjoys books featuring younger queer characters, this listing of new and upcoming fiction might be just what you're looking for.

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

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

  • by Jim Piechota
  • Nov 26, 2022

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"

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'

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

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'

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

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

'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'

'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

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"

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.