Arts & Culture :: Books

'Solid Ivory: Memoirs' - gay filmmaker James Ivory's career told

'Solid Ivory: Memoirs' - gay filmmaker James Ivory's career told

  • by Brian Bromberger
  • Dec 28, 2021

Prolific gay film director James Ivory's candid, urbane, and meandering book is a pastiche scrapbook of letters, diary entries, travelogue, magazine articles, sketches of famous show business personalities, and reflections on his childhood.

Tripping through history: 'The Letters of Thom Gunn' as a roadmap to San Francisco's past

Tripping through history: 'The Letters of Thom Gunn' as a roadmap to San Francisco's past

  • by Michael Flanagan
  • Dec 22, 2021

'The Letters of Thom Gunn' is both an intimate portrait of the poet and a window on the development of what would become gay and leather culture, and the rise of the hippies and drug culture.

Ashes to Ink: moving memoir recalls life with gay dad

Ashes to Ink: moving memoir recalls life with gay dad

  • Dec 21, 2021

In Ashes to Ink, Lisa Lucca has written a moving memoir in which she recalls coming to terms with her gay dad. Lucca not only learns to accept who her father is, she comes to the realization that she and her dad loved each other as best they could.

Hidden Mercy: untold stories of Catholic care in the AIDS epidemic

Hidden Mercy: untold stories of Catholic care in the AIDS epidemic

  • by Brian Bromberger
  • Dec 14, 2021

Even before its publication, gay Catholic journalist Michael O'Loughlin's book 'Hidden Mercy,' about the ministry of Catholics during the height of the AIDS crisis, has generated publicity via his open letter to Pope Francis.

Deadly entertainment: James Han Mattson's 'Reprieve'

Deadly entertainment: James Han Mattson's 'Reprieve'

  • by Jim Piechota
  • Dec 14, 2021

James Han Mattson's new book is a thinking person's horror novel and encompasses themes of race, identity, greed, prejudice, and sexuality, all playing out within the dark dingy confines of a Nebraska "full-contact" haunted attraction.

Kal Penn's engaging yet incomplete memoir

Kal Penn's engaging yet incomplete memoir

  • by Brian Bromberger
  • Dec 7, 2021

In his new memoir, South Asian film and TV actor and Obama administration advisor Kal Penn shares funny and touching tales of racism in Hollywood, and misadventures in The White House, but turns shy in discussing his life as a gay man.

New views of Oscar Wilde

New views of Oscar Wilde

  • by Tim Pfaff
  • Nov 30, 2021

Will we ever catch up to the genius of Oscar Wilde? Two new books, an expansive biography, and the letters the author wrote to Lord Alfred Douglas, offer new discoveries.

American dreamer: 'App Kid' author Michael Sayman

American dreamer: 'App Kid' author Michael Sayman

  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • Nov 23, 2021

Young, groundbreaking, queer tech wizard Michael Sayman's memoir 'App Kid: How a Child of Immigrants Grabbed a Piece of the American Dream' is the kind of book that has something for almost everyone, not just tech nerds.

Visual AIDS: 'Up Against the Wall: Art, Activism, and the AIDS Poster'

Visual AIDS: 'Up Against the Wall: Art, Activism, and the AIDS Poster'

  • by Jim Provenzano
  • Nov 23, 2021

'Up Against the Wall: Art, Activism, and the AIDS Poster' documents selected graphic art posters used as preventative advice or protest art through the AIDS pandemic.

Art as a cause: John R. Killacky's book of essays

Art as a cause: John R. Killacky's book of essays

  • by Jim Provenzano
  • Nov 15, 2021

In his concise collection of essays and interviews, John R. Killacky's book offers behind-the-scenes perspectives on his decades of arts administration, and his own struggle to deal with physical limitations.

50 years in 50 weeks: 'Queer Crips' in 2003

50 years in 50 weeks: 'Queer Crips' in 2003

  • by Jim Provenzano
  • Nov 15, 2021

In the B.A.R.'s November 13 issue, John R. Killacky shares his experience in becoming disabled, and how using a wheelchair helped him gain more freedom than using a cane at age 51.

Hollywood interviews: Ruthe Stein's celebrity-filled book

Hollywood interviews: Ruthe Stein's celebrity-filled book

  • by David-Elijah Nahmod
  • Nov 9, 2021

Ruthe Stein's new book, 'Sitting Down With the Stars: Interviews with 100 Hollywood Legends,' is packed with selected interviews from her lengthy journalism career, including a number of Oscar winners.

Leonard, Larry & Tim: gay comics legend Tim Barela

Leonard, Larry & Tim: gay comics legend Tim Barela

  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • Nov 2, 2021

Known for his witty comic series, "Leonard & Larry," Tim Barela, whose final comic strip ran in print almost 20 years ago, is celebrated in a new book, 'The Complete Leonard & Larry Collection,' with subjects that still resonate today.

Personal pieces: Drew Pisarra's 'You're Pretty Gay'

Personal pieces: Drew Pisarra's 'You're Pretty Gay'

  • by Jim Piechota
  • Nov 2, 2021

In queer author and poet Drew Pisarra's second collection of short stories, he really wants you to know all about his feelings, his life, his history, and every nuance in between.