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FALL ARTS 2019: BOOKS — ‘Revisiting Gilead’

‘Handmaid’s’ sequel, Van Ness and Rippon memoirs, posthumous Windsor bio, epic Sontag study and more among fall releases

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Fall Arts Books, gay news, Washington Blade
(Book covers courtesy of the publishers)

Inspirational “tell-alls” from athletes, activists and celebrities comprise many of the highly anticipated LGBT books slated for release in the coming months.

Kicking things off Sept. 3 was the release of former NFL player Ryan O’Callaghan’s memoir “My Life on the Line: How the NFL Damn Near Killed Me and Ended Up Saving My Life.” O’Callaghan’s work reveals the physical and emotional pain driving his addictions and suicidal thoughts while struggling as a closeted lineman for the New England Patriots and later the Kansas City Chiefs. His journey to self-acceptance is challenging as it detours through the hyper masculine world of professional football.

“We are Lost and Found” by Helene Dunbar is a coming-of-age story of a group of gay friends struggling to find their identities against the backdrop of the early 1980’s AIDS crisis. This YA novel provides an interesting way for youth of all backgrounds to explore a dark history that is rarely discussed. It was released Sept. 3.

Finding poetry in Drunktown, N.M., where men “only touch when they fuck in a backseat” is exactly what Jake Skeets had done with “Eyes Bottle Dark with a Mouthful of Flowers.” This debut collection finds beauty in brutal sex against an unforgiving landscape, yet also reveals unexpected love. Blending Navajo history with mining culture, Skeets’ work was selected as a winner of the 2018 National Poetry series. It was released Sept. 10.

Also released earlier this week was “The Testaments: the Sequel to the Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood. Since the hit Hulu series captured fire, Atwood opted to finally write a follow-up to her acclaimed 1985 novel upon which the series is based. It picks up Offred’s story 15 years after the first book and weaves in strands of story from the show that weren’t in the original book.

“Sontag: Her Life and Work” by Benjamin Moser explores the writing, public radicalism and private thoughts of queer activist Susan Sontag, who wrote on feminism, homosexuality, drugs and fascism long before these issues went mainstream. She was there for the Cuban Revolution, the Vietnam War and the fall of the Berlin Wall. She covered it all while enduring intense relationships with glamorous lovers. This hefty work — it’s more than 700 pages — explores her public successes and private failures with an eye toward history that makes it a must read. Out Sept. 17.

Releasing the same day is “Space Between: Explorations of Love, Sex and Fluidity” by gender-fluid actor and model Nico Tortorella, who has had roles in “Scream 4,” “The Following” and “Younger.” It investigates love, sex, gender, addiction, family, fame and fluidity through their personal story and through the lens of their nonbinary identity. This memoir tells of their dark journey through pain and addiction toward sobriety and an unconventional marriage outside the gender binary. This title is available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

“Queer Eye’s” Jonathan Van Ness’s memoir “Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love” is out Sept. 24.

Poet (and regular Blade contributor) Kathi Wolfe’s new book “Love and Kumquats: New and Selected Poems” will be published by BrickHouse Books in October. She will read selections at Busboys & Poets (14th and V) on Oct. 20. 

“The Boy Who Listened to Paintings: A Memoir” by Benjamin Saltman Poetry Award winner Dean Kostos explores a point in his life when he was bullied to the brink of suicide and spent two years in the mental hospital where his mother had stayed. This work addresses mental illness in adolescents and celebrates the transformative power of art. Available Oct. 1.

Edie Windsor sued the U.S. government for the right to marry Thea Spyer, her partner of 40 years, and she won. “A Wild and Precious Life” is her posthumous memoir (she died in 2017) describing gay life in 1950s and ’60s New York and her longtime activism which opened the door to marriage equality. Available Oct. 8.

Selected by O Magazine, Marie Claire and others as one of the most anticipated books of fall 2019, “How We Fight For Our Lives” by Saeed Jones is a memoir about a young, black gay man coming of age in the South as he fights to carve out a place for himself in his family as well as his country. Fans of the film “Moonlight” will appreciate the honesty and vulnerability displayed in this work. Set for release Oct. 8.

Olympic medalist Adam Rippon’s memoir “Beautiful on the Outside” releases Oct. 15 and blends humor with history as he shares his journey through the world of competitive figure skating. 

Deborah Levy’s “The Man Who Saw Everything” is novel that blurs the sexual and political binaries of masculine and feminine while telling the story of a narcissistic young historian who travels to Communist East Berlin in 1988 to publish a story favorable to the regime. It’s slated for Oct. 15.

“A Year Without A Name” by Cyrus Grace Dunham is a memoir detailing their painful evolution from lovable little girl, to gay woman to nonbinary queerness. Dunham lays bare their personal experience to help readers feel the anguish of binary limitations but also the profound freedom of acceptance without resolution. Dunham’s book also releases Oct. 15 and is available for pre-order

Find Me,” the sequel to queer love story “Call Me By Your Name” by Andre Aciman, is slated for an Oct. 29 release and will let the world know what became of Elio, Oliver and Elio’s father, now divorced. The original novel inspired the 2017 film adaptation by Luca Guadagnino, which became a monster hit.

Trans novelist (and former D.C. resident) Alex Myers returns with his sophomore novel “Continental Divide,” about a trans protagonist heading West to Wyoming in search of a new life, in November. 

Carmen Maria Machado, winner of the Lambda Lesbian Fiction Literary Award for her debut short story collection, “Her Body and Other Parties,” has a new memoir coming out Nov. 5 called “In the Dream House.” This work is an account of an abusive relationship with a charismatic but volatile woman. Throughout the memoir Machado struggles to make sense of what happened to her and how it shaped the person she would become. “Dream House” is available now on Amazon for pre-order.

“Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman” is Abby Stein’s memoir about being raised in a Hasidic Jewish community in Brooklyn. But instead of becoming a leader of the next generation of Hasidic Jews, she leaves her home, her family, her way of life to become the person she was meant to be. Stein’s memoir releases Nov. 12.

The alternative historical drama “Legislating Love: the Everett Klippert Story” by Natalie Meisner blends fiction with queer history as it tells the story of Maxine, a Canadian social policy researcher, who discovers the story of Everett Klippert, the last Canadian man jailed for homosexuality. Fascinated, she interviews the people who knew him while navigating her own relationship with Tonya. Set for release Nov. 15.

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Books

Best books to give as gifts this holiday season

History, activism, biographies — and Cher!

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Part one of Cher’s biography makes a great gift this year.

So you looked at the calendar the other day and — eeeek!

The holidays are almost here and you’re not ready. Out of ideas for gifts? How about a book?  

Is there an activist for justice on your gift list? Then they’ll be happy to open “Morningside: The 1979 Greensboro Massacre and the Struggle for an American City’s Soul” by Aran Shetterly (Amistad, $28.99), It’s a story of the Klan, white supremacy, racial conflict, and how it fits in with what’s going on in America today. Pair it with “Sidney Poitier: The Great Speeches of an Icon Who Moved Us Forward” complied by Joanna Poitier, edited by John Malahy (Running Press, $29). Bonus: This inspiring book is packed with photos.

Fiction for the LGBTQ Reader

If there’s someone on your gift list who’d enjoy a coming-of-age story, “Shae” by Mesha Maren (Algonquin Books, $28.00) is a good choice to give. It’s a boy-meets-girl tale, but when a pregnancy happens, it spurs bigger changes in their lives than just parenthood. 

If a fun little rom-com is what your giftee loves to read, then look for “We Could Be Heroes” by Philip Ellis (Putnam, $20). It’s a light tale of a chance encounter and a friendship that starts out small and becomes pretty super. You might want to wrap it up with “Love and Hot Chicken” by Mary Liza Hartong (Wm. Morrow, $30), a sweet, funny story of two Tennessee women, a chicken shack, and amour.

If your giftee loves rom-coms, there are a bunch to choose from this season. Consider “The Ride of Her Life” by Jennifer Dugan (Avon, $17.99), a girl-meets-girl novel of a new ranch-owning horsey-girl and the farrier who disagrees with her ranching ideas.

Nonfiction for the LGBTQ Reader

The person on your gift list who loves memoirs will devour “Cactus Country” by Zoe Bossiere (Abrams Press, $27.00), the story of an 11-year-old and a new start in which everyone sees him as the boy he is. But life as a trans boy isn’t easy in the beautiful area he’s come to embrace, and neither are the people who surround him. Wrap it up with “The Long Hallway” by Richard Scott Larson (University of Wisconsin Press, $21.95), a memoir of a boy who identifies with a movie monster who helps him see that hiding parts of himself can help him come to terms with who he is.

For the trans man or woman on your gift list, look for “The Last Time I Wore a Dress” by Dylan Scholinski and Jane Meredith Adams (Penguin Publishing), a story of abuse, bullying, mental anguish, and a happy ending. This book was first published more than 25 years ago but now has a new, satisfying and joyful ending. Wrap it up with “Mama: A Queer Black Woman’s Story of a Family Lost and Found” by Nikkya Hargrove, the tale of a love, responsibility, and more love.

If your giftee is exploring their sexuality, “Fierce Desires: A New History of Sex and Sexuality in America” by Rebecca L. Davis (Norton, $35) might be a welcome gift. Have we come a long way, in understanding people’s sexuality? Yes and no – your giftee may have ideas about that.

Biography 

Did your giftee spend a childhood immersed in books about growing up? If so, they’ll cherish those memories when they read “The Genius of Judy” by Rachelle Bergstein (One Signal Publishers, $28.99). This biography fills readers in on who Judy Blume was, why she wrote the novels she penned, and how her stories fit in with today’s adolescence, feminism, current events, and literature. Wrap it up with this great biography: “Rulebreaker: The Life and Times of Barbara Walters” by Susan Page (Simon & Schuster $30). It’s the story of Walters, her times, and her impressive works.

If your giftee is riled by this year’s politics and feminism, then they’ll love reading “A Well-Trained Wife” by Tia Levings (St. Martin’s Press, $30). It’s the story of Levings’s life as a wife in a Christian patriarchy-based marriage, the submissiveness, the expectations, and her ultimate resistance. The right kind of giftee will love this book completely.

The British history lover on your list will absolutely want “The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV” by Helen Castor (Avid Reader Press, $35). This book takes a deep dive into history, the lives of two cousins, and a shocking assumption to the throne. Pair it with a bookmark and “Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England’s Greatest Warrior King” by Dan Jones (Viking, $35), a book about the life and times of this English king in the fifteenth century.

For the person on your gift list who loves music, “How Women Made Music: A Revolutionary History from NPR Music” edited by Alison Fensterstock (HarperOne, $40) is exactly the right gift. It’s a look at female musicians from the 1920s to more recent years, from country music to hip hop to guitar players and beyond. Wrap it up with “I Heard There Was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine” by Daniel J. Levitin (Norton, $32.50), a book about music and how it contributes to healing and well-being.

“Friendly Fire: A Fractured Memoir” by Paul Rousseau (Harper Horizon, $29.99) may be the exact right gift for anyone who loves a unique memoir. Just before he graduated from college, Rousseau was shot in the head accidentally. How he survived, both physically and in the friendship with the man who shot him is the basis of this very well-done book. 

The science-minded person on your gift list will be happy to have “The Elements of Marie Curie: How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science” by Dava Sobel (Atlantic Monthly Press, $30). Chances are, your giftee knows exactly who Madame Curie was, but do they know about the women who came after her in the laboratory. This book tells the tale in an engaging, interesting way. 

For your fashionista who loves make-up, “Becoming Elizabeth Arden: The Woman Behind the Global Beauty Empire” by Stacy A. Cordery (Viking, $35) could be the best gift beneath the tree this year. It’s a sweeping story of a businesswoman, glamour maven, revolutionary, visionary, her work, her times, and the controversy she lit.

And don’t forget queer icon Cher’s new book, “Cher, The Memoir Part One,” filled with no-nonsense anecdotes about her rocky rise to fame. Fellow queer icon RuPaul also published his biography earlier this year, “The House of Hidden Meanings: A Memoir.”

Politics

Was your giftee dismayed at the political landscape for the past few years? Then “Good Reasonable People” by Keith Payne (Viking, $29.00) should be the book you wrap up to give.  There is a way back to unity and away from polarization, Payne says, and with an explanation of the psychology and behind it, it’s do-able. 

Be sure you know where your giftee’s politics lie if you wrap up “The MAGA Diaries” by Tina Nguyen (One Signal Publishers, $28.00). Nguyen cut her teeth in the conservative movement, though she never felt entirely comfortable there. Eventually, she needed to get out; how she did it is a story the right giftee will love.

The person on your list who’s mourning the end of the political season, will be happy to get “The Handy Civics Answer Book: How to Be a Good Citizen” by David L. Hudson, Jr. J.D. (Visible Ink Press, $29.99). It’s a large, heavy book about our American documents, the Amendments they should know about, what it means to be a “good citizen,” and more.

Remember the Reagan years? For your giftee that does, too, “Dear Mom and Dad” by Patti Davis (Liveright, $27.99) will be a great gift to unwrap. Davis, of course, was the Reagans’ daughter, and this love letter to family and country is perfectly appropriate this year. 

Here’s a political issue your activist will want to know more about: “The Stolen Wealth of Slavery: A Case for Reparations” by David Montero (Legacy Lit, $29). Part history, part business, part eye-opener, this book is one of the better looks at this controversial subject.

Season’s readings!

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New book examines queer behavior among animals

‘A Little Queer Natural History’ reminds us of the facts of life

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(Book cover image courtesy of University of Chicago Press)

‘A Little Queer Natural History’
By Josh L. Davis
c.2024, University of Chicago Press
$16/128 pages

When you were a small child, someone taught you about the birds and the bees.

It might’ve been a parent or other adult who explained where babies come from, or another kid who filled your head with scary, exciting things that you believed until you learned better. However you learned the facts of life, it changed you forever and in the new book, “A Little Queer Natural History” by Josh L. Davis, there’s more to the wild story.

You are not alone. Just look around.

All kinds of creatures share the planet with us but, in the same way that you shouldn’t judge a person at first glance, you can’t jump to conclusions about those creatures. That’s especially true with sexual behavior. While we can’t rightly attribute human feelings or intentions to them – animals likely don’t understand gay from straight – we may assume “that most species of animal probably exhibit some form of queer behaviour.”

Take birds, for instance: early 20th century explorers noted the Adelie penguin for its male-male partnering activity. Female Western gulls often raise their chicks with female partners. Female pheasants may “present as males” if their estrogen is depleted.

As for mammals, Western lowland gorillas and bonobos both engage in sexual activity with either sex. Domestic sheep, hyenas, and giraffes also “could be considered to have a sexuality that we would define as homosexual or bisexual.”

And “When it comes to sex in plants,” says Davis, “all bets are off.”

Komodo dragons can reproduce through parthenogenesis, or without fertilization. Parrot fish are able to change sex if they need to. Morpho butterflies are gynandromorphs, having “both male and female tissue within… a single individual.” Castrated male cane toads will develop egg cells due to a “Bidder’s organ.” Even dinosaurs are included in this book.

“Despite sex often being viewed as a fundamental for life on Earth,” says Davis, “there is still a lot we don’t know about it and scientists are constantly learning more.”

When you first get “A Little Queer Natural History” in your hands, you’ll notice how whisper-thin it feels. Don’t let that fool you; the pages may be light, but what you’ll find is not.

Author Josh L. Davis stuffs each entry tight with real scientific information, and he uses actual scientific terms to do it. There’s zero dumbing-down in that, but Davis is quick to explain terms and ideas, which helps readers to completely understand what’s here. For sure, you’ll feel like a smarty-pants as you make your way through this book.

Readers, however, may scratch their heads and wonder why some of the entries are included – it may be a stretch to include fossilized creatures or male animals that care for their offspring, for instance. Chances are, though, that you’ll be so captured by the knowledge contained in each short chapter that you won’t mind.

“A Little Queer Natural History” is a smart book, perfect for quick reads at random at this busy time of year. If that’s what you need now, enjoying it’s a fact of life.

The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.

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New book follows 7 trans kids coping with modern political attacks

Author Nico Lang delivers fine work of journalism

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(Book cover image courtesy Abrams Press)

‘American Teenager’
By Nico Lang
c.2024, Abrams Press
$30/288 pages

In great-grandma’s day, they hooked.

They were high-topped and dainty, too, to show off a tiny, cheeky-but-demure ankle beneath long skirts. These days, though, they Velcro, tie, strap, or you just slip your toes into whatever you put on your feet. You gotta wear your shoes but, as in the new book “American Teenager” by Nico Lang, you wish someone would walk a mile in them first.

Seven-hundred-plus.

That’s how many anti-gay, anti-trans bills were presented to state legislatures around the country last year, many aimed at minors. As if being a teenager isn’t hard enough. With this in mind, Lang shadowed seven trans kids, to find out how they and their families cope with our current political landscape.

Fifteen-year-old South Dakotan Wyatt is in 10th grade. He knows that the lawmakers in his state “will just keep turning up the boil” on trans bills and it makes him physically sick. When Lang asked Wyatt to describe himself, Wyatt couldn’t do it, as if, says Lang, he was “still in transit, not yet arrived.”

Near Birmingham, Rhydian is a good student at the Magic City Acceptance Academy, the only school in the South that specifically welcomes LGBTQ students, and he enjoys the deep love and support of his parents and grandmother. But he’s frustrated: Rhydian’s been waiting for months for top surgery, which has been put on hold for reasons that are political.

Mykah identifies as gender-fluid, Black, and bi-racial and they desperately dream of a future performing career. In Houston, Ruby’s beloved church held a re-naming ceremony for her when she turned 18. Seventeen-year-old trans boy Clint is Muslim, and has managed to avoid scrutiny from his Chicago mosque.

Jack, along with her mother and nonbinary sibling, Augie, were homeless before their mother finally managed to find housing; in the meantime, Jack lost her health care. And in Los Angeles, Kylie has health care, support, friends, and an activist mother.

She has advantages that most trans kids can only wish for – and she knows it.

Acne. Peer pressure. Social media. Being a teen has always been difficult, even without anti-LGBTQ legislation. In this fine work of journalism, author Nico Lang shows how a handful of kids in one group are coping with governmental policies and life in general.

Hint: you can expect the unexpected.

“American Teenager” shows the highs and lows of being a teen with the added stress of politics included – and here, the individuality inside the ordinary is striking and wonderful. Lang is careful to show how these are just typical kids – good-hearted, smart, funny, sarcastic – and it rings throughout each profile how much the discrimination they endure affects their lives and relationships. That’s a clarion call, absolutely, but readers who can see between the lines will also enjoy this book’s humor, it’s compassion, and the sheer joy of meeting decent, thoughtful teens.

Parents will like this book for its candor, and that goes doubly for adults who love a trans kid. Start “American Teenager” and before long, you’ll be hooked.

The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.

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