Arts & Culture :: Books

Jack Fritscher's 'Profiles in Gay Courage'

Jack Fritscher's 'Profiles in Gay Courage'

  • by Hank Trout
  • May 31, 2022

Jack Fritscher's newest book, "Profiles in Gay Courage: Leatherfolk, Arts, and Ideas, Essays and Interviews," is an illustrated collection of thirteen essays celebrating "authentic leatherfolk founders, icons, and superstars" in our recent history.

Going viral: microbiologist Joseph Osmundson's 'Virology'

Going viral: microbiologist Joseph Osmundson's 'Virology'

  • by Mark William Norby
  • May 31, 2022

Joseph Osmundson's new book establishes itself as a unique and singular archive of COVID-19, HIV/AIDS, queer theory, sociopolitical criticism, and a record of the viruses that are present in our guts, on our skin, and in our blood.

Jeremy Denk's music and memoir

Jeremy Denk's music and memoir

  • by Timothy Pfaff
  • May 24, 2022

In his new memoir, acclaimed classical pianist Jeremy Denk unveils his personal story, and on a new Nonesuch CD, he masterfully plays Mozart Piano Concertos.

Women on the edge in stunning fiction

Women on the edge in stunning fiction

  • by Jim Piechota
  • May 24, 2022

Several queer female authors have emerged in recent months to publish astoundingly impressive works of fiction. Each of the books profiled here are memorable, beautifully written, and well worth searching out for their resonant themes.

Queer Reading: Gay former MLB umpire pens memoir

Queer Reading: Gay former MLB umpire pens memoir

  • by Roger Brigham
  • May 18, 2022

Gay retired Major League Baseball umpire Dale Scott has written a new memoir where he discusses his relatively easy coming out process.

Nyle DiMarcos's 'Deaf Utopia' - a memoir and a love letter to a way of life

Nyle DiMarcos's 'Deaf Utopia' - a memoir and a love letter to a way of life

  • by Jim Provenzano
  • May 17, 2022

Along with sharing details of his private life and family upbringing, Nyle DiMarco, model, actor and activist, offers some backstage gossip from his route to winning two reality show competitions. But this is more than a personal story.

Strong: gay weightlifter inspires new kids' book

Strong: gay weightlifter inspires new kids' book

  • by David-Elijah Nahmod
  • May 10, 2022

Gay author Eric Rosswood wants LGBT kids to believe in themselves. In his new children's picture book "Strong," Rosswood tells the story of Rob Kearney, a gay strongman who trains himself to lift hundreds of pounds.

Illustrated man: gay artist and writer Dan Crowley

Illustrated man: gay artist and writer Dan Crowley

  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • May 10, 2022

Chicago-based gay visual artist Dan Crowley is a creative person with a considerable adult following. With his first book, 'Danny, Growing Up Gay & Creative,' Crowley enters the world of all-ages books.

Pandemic prose: excerpts from 'Arlene Francis & Me -Pandemic Diaries from Castro Street 2020'

Pandemic prose: excerpts from 'Arlene Francis & Me -Pandemic Diaries from Castro Street 2020'

  • by Mark Abramson
  • May 3, 2022

While we holed up indoors in 2020 —which now seems like much more than two years ago— prolific local gay author Mark Abramson took notes. He shared a few witty diary entries which are included in his latest book.

Gran Fury's glory: Jack Lowery discusses his book, 'It Was Vulgar & It Was Beautiful: How AIDS Activists Used Art to Fight a Pandemic'

Gran Fury's glory: Jack Lowery discusses his book, 'It Was Vulgar & It Was Beautiful: How AIDS Activists Used Art to Fight a Pandemic'

  • by Jim Provenzano
  • May 3, 2022

In 'It Was Vulgar & It Was Beautiful: How AIDS Activists Used Art to Fight a Pandemic,' author Jack Lowery fully explores the history of Gran Fury, the ACT UP activist-artist collective that cleverly incorporated advertising styled messaging.

King of filth: John Water's 'Liarmouth'

King of filth: John Water's 'Liarmouth'

  • by Jim Piechota
  • May 3, 2022

Step aside, Dawn Davenport. There's a new bitch in town and she means business. Her name is Marsha "Liarmouth" Sprinkle, and she dominates all the depravity in filthy filmmaker and bestselling author John Waters' debut novel, "Liarmouth."

Paul Mendez's 'Rainbow Milk' - an auspicious literary debut

Paul Mendez's 'Rainbow Milk' - an auspicious literary debut

  • by Brian Bromberger
  • May 3, 2022

Raw and transcendent are the words applicable to Paul Mendez's semi-autobiographical debut novel "Rainbow Milk," a multi-generational dissection of sexuality, race, and religion on the rocky evolution of a young gay Black man, set in England.

Homecoming queen: Alejandro Varela's 'The Town of Babylon'

Homecoming queen: Alejandro Varela's 'The Town of Babylon'

  • by Jim Piechota
  • Apr 26, 2022

The problematic return of a gay Latinx man to his hometown after decades away is supreme fodder for an engrossing and melodramatic novel, and debut author Alejandro Varela seems more than happy to seize the moment.

Ocean Vuong's rainbow afterglow: poet returns with 'Time Is a Mother'

Ocean Vuong's rainbow afterglow: poet returns with 'Time Is a Mother'

  • by Tim Pfaff
  • Apr 26, 2022

One true way to envision Ocean Vuong is as, if not The Survivor, a survivor. His newly released second book of poems was occasioned by the silence that enveloped him after the death of his mother.