Here's the book these books come from. The book contains personal essays that explain why the select book is a must read - and this book is a fun "must read" itself! This page on our guide includes some but not all of the listed books.
50 Gay and Lesbian Books Everybody Must Read by
Gay subjects have been central to many literary traditions. Yet crossover success are few, as are works on gay topics by straight authors. Equally, openly gay-themed books do not receive the readerships of mainstream or universal concerns. Edited by Richard Canning, and with a foreword by renowned literary critic Harold Bloom, this volume collects 50 succinct esssays by critics, public figures and authors to illuminate the essential titles that bookworms of every orientation must read. Canning tackles issues of cultural diversity, politics and what makes a work 'gay'.
Giovanni's Room by
Set in the contemporary Paris of American expatraites, liasons, and violence, a young man finds himself caught between desire and conventional morality. James Baldwin's brilliant narrative delves into the mystery of loving with a sharp, probing imagination, and he creates a moving, highly controversial story of death and passion that reveals the unspoken complexities of the heart.
Howl, and Other Poems by
The prophetic poem that launched a generation when it was first published in 1965 is here presented in a commemorative 40th Anniversary Edition. Allen Ginsberg'sHowl and Other Poems was originally published by City Lights Books in the Fall of 1956. Subsequently seized by U.S. customs and the San Francisco police, it was the subject of a long court trail at which a series of poets and professors persuaded the court that the book was not obscene. Howl & Other Poems is the single most influential poetic work of the post-World War II era, with over 1,000,000 copies now in print. "Howl was Allen's metamorphosis from quiet, brilliant, burning bohemian scholar trapped by his flames and repressions to epic vocal bard."--Michael McClure "It is the poet, Allen Ginsberg, who has gone, in his own body, through the horrifying experiences described from life in these pages." --William Carlos Williams "At the height of his bardic powers, Allen Ginsberg could terrify the authorities with the mere utterance of the syllable "om" as he led street throngs of citizens protesting the Vietnam War. Ginsberg reigned as the raucous poet of American hippiedom and as a literary pioneer whose freewheeling masterwork "Howl" prevailed against government censorship in a landmark obscenity trial 50 years ago." --New York Times "Fifty years ago, on October 3, Judge Clayton Horn ruled that Allen Ginsberg's great epic Beat-era poem HOWL was not obscene but instead, a work of literary and social merit. This ruling allowed for the publication of HOWL and exonerated the poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who faced jail time and a fine 50 years ago for publishing 'HOWL.'" -- Pacifica.org Allen Ginsberg was born June 3, 1926, the son of Naomi Ginsberg, Russian émigré, and Louis Ginsberg, lyric poet and schoolteacher, in Paterson, New Jersey. To these facts Ginsberg adds: "High school in Paterson till 17, Columbia College, merchant marine, Texas and Denver copyboy, Times Square, amigos in jail, dishwashing, book reviews, Mexico City, market research, Satori in Harlem, Yucatan and Chiapas 1954, West Coast 3 years. Later Arctic Sea trip, Tangier, Venice, Amsterdam, Paris, read at Oxford Harvard Columbia Chicago, quit, wrote Kaddish 1959, made tape to leave behind & fade in Orient awhile. Carl Solomon to whom Howl is addressed, is a intuitive Bronx dadaist and prose-poet."
The Letters of Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf by
After they met in 1922, Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf began a passionate relationship that lasted until Woolf's death in 1941. Their revealing correspondence leaves no aspect of their lives untouched: daily dramas, bits of gossip, the strains and pleasures of writing, and always the same joy in each other's company. This volume, which features over 500 letters spanning 19 years, includes the writings of both these literary icons.
The Mrs. Dalloway Reader by
This first volume of its kind contains the complete text of and guide to Virginia Woolf's masterpiece plus Mrs. Dalloway's Party, and numerous journal entries and letters by Virginia Woolf relating to the book's genesis and writing. The distinguished novelist Francine Prose has selected these pieces as well as essays and appreciations, critical views, and commentary by writers famous and unknown. This complete volume illuminates the creation of a beloved book and the genius of its author.
Nightwood by
Originally published in 1936, "Nightwood" is a haunting tale of sexual obsession. Robin Vote -- the woman at the heart of this strange and richly atmospheric novel -- is a woman whose passions are strong enough to destroy. The novel circles and spirals as, first, Nora's husband, and then, Nora and Jenny, her lovers, are consumed by her insatiable hunger for human contact.
The Terrible Girls by
The girls on the prowl inThe Terrible Girls are indeed terrible--relentless in love, ruthless in betrayal. These thematically linked stories depict a contemporary Gothic world in which body parts are traded for love, wounds never heal, and self-sacrifice is often the only way out. "In this brilliantly original work, Rebecca Brown gives us haunting parables of betrayal and love, of loss and resurrection, of loneliness and solidarity. Like a modern Djuna Barnes, Brown creates a language of telling that is fiercely beautiful and honest. This book is a love story unlike any you have read before. Its subversive and passionate transformation carry the lesbian literary voice onto the 21st century." --Joan Nestle "A dry, witty, graceful-if savage-gift." --Mary Gaitskill "The Terrible Girls comes from one of the fiercest, most potent, original writers around: a bloody flayer of skins, both other's and her own . . . a work of possessed and persuasive visionary power." --The Listener "The Terrible Girls is a powerful account of erotic love which exchanges the comforts of illusion for more complex and less certain rewards." --The Times Literary Supplement Rebecca Brown is the winner of the 2003 Washington State Book Award. Her books, which are all published by City Lights, include:The Haunted House,The Terrible Girls,The End of Youth, The Last Time I Saw You, andThe Dogs,Annie Oakley's Girl. She was awarded a Genius Award and grant from Seattle's weekly magazine,The Stranger.
