Reclaiming Gay Fiction
Book Review of 'Fresh Men: New Voices in Gay
Fiction'
Volume four, Issue 8 | February 24 - March
2,
2005BOOKSFRESH
MEN: NEW VOICES IN GAY
FICTIONEdited by Donald Weise
Selected by Edmund
WhiteCarroll &
Graf349 pages;
$14Reclaiming Gay
FictionA new
anthology confirms gay life’s dark side, especially for the
youngBy SETH J.
BOOKEYDuring the gay publishing boom of
the last decade, short-story anthologies were a dime a dozen, ranging from the
venerable “Men on Men” series to hastily thrown-together affairs
that gathered gay stories together on the flimsiest of
connections––for example, all the stories were “boy meets
boy” tales. Separating the wheat
from the chaff started to get difficult. This even affected the higher end of
the spectrum. But, quality is
unquestionably back, with “Fresh Men: New Voices in Gay Fiction.”
Inspired by the original “Men on Men” anthology, first edited by the
late George Stambolian almost two decades ago, editor Don Weise shares
Stambolian’s “missionary zeal” when it comes to reaching new
audiences with new fiction. And in this noble pursuit, Weise has made literary
excellence a top priority, resulting in 20 truly well written stories. Even the
one I really disliked is well written.
Another criterion Weise and judge Edmund
White used when whittling more than 100 submissions down to this collection was
to only include authors who have not yet had their own anthologies or novels
published. But while the subtitle indicates “new” voices,
don’t mistake this label to mean that everyone is painfully young and
brilliant. Weise told Gay City News that the final 20 writers represent a range
of men starting at 20-something right up through their 50s.
Currently creaking into middle age
myself, I quite enjoyed the sublimely silly and simultaneously insightful
submission by Jason Shilts. “Some Speculations on the Bob
Uncertainty” brings us a sagging middle-aged man who finds himself
enjoying an affair with a supple younger man who shows no signs of bolting, and
who indulges the narrator’s harmless excesses.
Also unexpectedly joyous is “Acqua
Calda,” the story of a man suffering perilously with HIV who is given a
chance to return to acting via a Sicilian theater production. His professional
revival is met with a sexual one as well when an admirer makes his intentions
known while the acting troupe takes a trip to the sulfur hot springs nearby.
Not all the stories are quite so upbeat.
Many reflect the depression and dysfunctions of both the current day and the
times during which these authors grew up. But what does unify so many of these
stories, beyond their interesting storytelling techniques, is a sense of loss
and missed opportunities. William Sterling Walker’s “Desire”
is reminiscent of pre-AIDS “gay guys hanging out” stories, but the
moody, atmospheric story is about a missed connection.
In “The Inadvertent
Headshot,” Robert J. Hughes shows a gay couple’s decline while the
storyteller’s alcoholic parents, both actors, are finally getting their
act together, and are not quite so dependent on their responsible son anymore.
Joel Barraquiel Tan’s “Rondo” follows a drug-fueled evening in
which a bisexual young man, grappling with his sexual identity, might have
offended the obese gay man who secures drugs for him. The oddly constructed
“Postpone” by Seth Silberman Clark shows a man with a preoccupation
with detail, who nonetheless misses the many, many warning flags from his latest
paramour. Editor Weise points out that
many of these writers are reclaiming sexualities marginalized by AIDS and HIV,
and re-imagining that they have a future. While AIDS literature is important,
gone here is the speculation of “will I live to see 40?” Even in Bob
Guter’s “The Enemy at Bay,” where a gay couple in 1989 meet a
new friend, who has HIV, via the personals, the fact the man has AIDS is not the
point. Instead, it is that something is missing in this perfect Upper West Side
couple’s life. But with this
reclamation of life and sexuality comes a lot of rumination––many of
the authors mine their pasts, but Weise and White maintain that this collection
does not comprise coming-out tales, “silly boyfriend” stories or
remembrances of things past by bitter old queens. In several stories, the onset
of gay sexual desire is crossed with abuse, causing the victims to feel both
pain and guilt. In “First Sex” by Will Fabro, a nine-year-old boy
faces ostracism when repeatedly raped by a cousin, only to feel dejected when
his rapist finds a girlfriend and the previously unwanted, negative attention
stops. In Patrick Ryan’s
“Ground Control,” the narrator is introduced to gay sex by someone
using subterfuge rather than seduction, also abusively, shaming him rather than
inspiring him. All this is set against the panorama of his disjointed family.
Robert Williams’ “Taking Pictures,” has an adolescent’s
desire clouding what’s really happening when the cool teacher at his high
school turns out to be an equal-opportunity pedophile.
Perhaps most disturbing of all is
“Wave,” by James Hannaham, where a young black man compartmentalizes
his gay life, and in doing so, endangers his future when coming out could clear
up false charges made against him. The story makes it plain how coming out in
some communities is deemed unworthy, even when it might be necessary.
What’s most exhilarating about
“Fresh Men” is that the stories all step outside convention, as
Weise notes. The opening story, Vestal McIntyre’s “ONJ.com”
plays a narrative trick on the reader, twisting the story about the lonely
straight girl who resolves to make friends with a gay guy, into a story about
how gay men think they are perceived by others. In Philip Huang’s
“American Widow,” the story reads like something out of Sylvia
Plath, with a woman ruminating on her loses; but it reads gay as she thinks
about how pointless her losses seem, especially compared to gay men who’ve
lost lovers to AIDS, and at least could be “part of a movement,” and
history. Plans for “Fresh Men
2,” are in the works, with an eye to a Fall 2005 release date.
Writers interested in
submitting their stories for a subsequent issue of “Fresh Men”
should contact Don Weise at Carroll & Graf, 245 West 17th St., New York, NY,
10011.
Posted: Thu - February 24, 2005 at 11:07 PM
|
Quick Links
Calendar
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat
|
Categories
Archives
XML/RSS Feed
Statistics
Total entries in this blog:
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Jun 20, 2009 07:04 PM
|