Arts & Culture :: Books

'The Bars Are Ours' — Celebrating the spirit of bars and community spaces

'The Bars Are Ours' — Celebrating the spirit of bars and community spaces

  • by Michael Flanagan
  • Dec 5, 2023

Lucas Hilderbrand seeks to redress the notion that in the early days, queer culture only happened at places like The Black Cat in North Beach and the Stonewall Bar in New York by introducing us to bars throughout the country.

Robert Glück's 'About Ed'

Robert Glück's 'About Ed'

  • by Jim Piechota
  • Dec 5, 2023

Captivating and bittersweet, local San Francisco poet and author Robert Glück has written a poignant and multifaceted tribute to his friend and distinguished painter Ed Aulerich-Sugai, whom he first met in 1970 as they became lovers and life partners.

Calling queer comic artists: Pride in Panels seeks exhibitors

Calling queer comic artists: Pride in Panels seeks exhibitors

  • by Jim Provenzano
  • Dec 4, 2023

We're drawn to queer comics, and the upcoming inaugural Pride In Panels: SF Queer Comics Festival will certainly draw plenty of artists and fans. The organizers are actively seeking participants at the free event in February.

Fariha Róisín's 'Survival Takes a Wild Imagination' — on being Queer and Muslim

Fariha Róisín's 'Survival Takes a Wild Imagination' — on being Queer and Muslim

  • by Laura Moreno
  • Dec 4, 2023

Poet, cultural critic and multidisciplinary artist Fariha Róisín (pronounced 'roh-zhin') has written a powerful collection of poems in "Survival Takes a Wild Imagination," her second book of poetry.

'My Name is Barbra' — long-awaited Streisand memoir tells all

'My Name is Barbra' — long-awaited Streisand memoir tells all

  • by David-Elijah Nahmod
  • Nov 28, 2023

At age 81, after more than 60 years in show business, superstar Barbra Streisand's long-awaited memoir is finally out. In interviews, Streisand has said that she worked on the book for the better part of ten years. It was a massive undertaking.

Nancy Spada's biography of musician Thomas Schippers

Nancy Spada's biography of musician Thomas Schippers

  • by Tim Pfaff
  • Nov 28, 2023

Nancy Spada's new "Beyond the Handsomeness: A Biography of Thomas Schippers" hits a sour note. Spada breezes past one thing people who know little else about Schippers know: his versatile sexuality.

Doubleplus '1984' — Aurora Theatre's stage adaptation of Orwell's classic

Doubleplus '1984' — Aurora Theatre's stage adaptation of Orwell's classic

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Nov 21, 2023

If you're more interested in holding tight to the things you're thankful for than in cranking up the amperage of your holiday cheer, the Aurora Theatre's production of "1984" may be just the ticket for you.

Book 'em: page-turning gifts

Book 'em: page-turning gifts

  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • Nov 21, 2023

Books really and truly are the gifts that keep on giving. From the reissue of classics to highly anticipated memoir, and even a nostalgic nightclub ephemera picture book, we've got a few fun selections for your gifting that are sweet.

'Chasing Bright Medusas' — Benjamin Taylor's new biography of Willa Cather

'Chasing Bright Medusas' — Benjamin Taylor's new biography of Willa Cather

  • by Tim Pfaff
  • Nov 14, 2023

Benjamin Taylor's "Chasing Bright Medusas: A Life of Willa Cather," like his other biography on Marcel Proust, integrates the subject's homosexuality, communicating its centrality in the authors' lives.

Vichet Chum's 'Kween' — playwright's debut novel delights and educates

Vichet Chum's 'Kween' — playwright's debut novel delights and educates

  • by Laura Moreno
  • Nov 14, 2023

"Kween" is the welcome new novel by debut author, playwright and actor Vichet Chum, the Texas-born, Lowell, Massachusetts-bred son of Cambodian immigrants.

Andrew Rannells' 'Uncle of the Year' — hilarious, heartbreaking essays from a funny gay actor

Andrew Rannells' 'Uncle of the Year' — hilarious, heartbreaking essays from a funny gay actor

  • by Brian Bromberger
  • Nov 7, 2023

In his candid new book of essays "Uncle of the Year," successful actor Andrew Rannells wonders why he still feels like an anxious twenty-year-old climbing his way toward solid ground.

JD Doyle's '1981: My Gay American Road Trip'

JD Doyle's '1981: My Gay American Road Trip'

  • by Michael Flanagan
  • Oct 31, 2023

"1981: My Gay American Road Trip," a journal of music and queer culture historian JD Doyle's cross-country trip to 29 cities in 24 states, shares a bounty of stories from our collective past, including San Francisco's pre-AIDS heyday.

Roz Chast: Graphic novelist's dream come true

Roz Chast: Graphic novelist's dream come true

  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • Oct 24, 2023

Roz Chast's new book, the wonderful "I Must Be Dreaming," is as dreamy as the title suggests. Dedicated "to the Dream District of our brains," Chast shares her own dreams — recurring, lucid, cartoon-idea, and body horror, among others.

Ryan Pfluger's 'Holding Space: Life and Love Through a Queer Lens'

Ryan Pfluger's 'Holding Space: Life and Love Through a Queer Lens'

  • by Mark William Norby
  • Oct 24, 2023

In Ryan Pfluger's "Holding Space: Life and Love Through a Queer Lens," his series of portraits show how intersectional queer relationships really are and how effective in them we can actually be.