‘Queer: A Graphic History’ by Meg-John Barker and Julia Scheele
Queer: A Graphic History sets out to be a guide, to sum up the history of queer theory and activism. With text and graphics, this book breaks down each evolution of queer politics
‘I’ll Tell You In Person’ by Chloe Caldwell
The essays in I’ll Tell You In Person wield the dual scalpels of honesty and wit in the manner of a caffeinated cardiologist
‘Life and Death on the New York Dance Floor, 1980-1983’ by Tim Lawrence
While unearthing the cultural crossroads that formed the foundation of so many vital venues, Tim Lawrence absolutely nails what early the 80s New York City club scene was all about
‘Homintern: How Gay Culture Liberated the Modern World’ by Gregory Woods
British poet and scholar Gregory Woods has gathered the often overlooked or underappreciated stories of over a century of gay men and women from around the world and woven a remarkably cohesive narrative
‘Lesbian Decadence: Representations in Art and Literature in Fin-De-Siecle France’ by Nicole G. Albert
Albert’s book is a treat for American LGBT Studies researchers. She provides us with a treasure trove of paintings, drawings, and cartoons that depict the French lesbian at the turn of the century
‘Queering Sexual Violence: Radical Voices from Within the Anti-Sexual Violence Movement’ Edited by Jennifer Patterson
Queering Sexual Violence is something of a collectively written open letter to what Patterson refers to as “the non-profit industrial complex,” which has consistently overlooked and undervalued the experiences and insights of queer survivors of sexual violence
‘The American Isherwood’ edited by James J. Berg and Chris Freeman
The basic tenet of the
‘The Making of the American Essay’ Edited by John D’Agata
The total package of this collection is overwhelming, far-reaching, and feels very much like our collective home
‘The Right Side of History: 100 Years of LGBTQI Activism’ by Adrian Brooks
The battle cries, blood, sweat, and tears of those who have both come before and will certainly exist after today’s LGBT activists are long gone, are carefully protected and cherished.
‘The Straight Line: How the Fringe Science of Ex-Gay Therapy Reoriented Sexuality’ by Tom Waidzunas
The Straight Line is a socio-cultural exploration of the rise and fall of the ex-gay and reorientation therapy movement
Ten of This Year’s Standout LGBTQ Books
It was truly a year of queer literary excellence
‘The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle’ by Lillian Faderman
In The Gay Revolution, Faderman takes on our collective LGBT history from the pre-Stonewall days through to now. It’s a massive undertaking and Faderman approaches it with diligence, tenacity and just the right touch of awe.
Lillian Faderman on Five Key Moments in the LGBT Civil Rights Movement
Lillian Faderman pinpoints five key moments in the LGBT civil rights movement
‘Theatre of the Unimpressed: In Search of Vital Drama’ by Jordan Tannahill
This slim volume is overflowing with ideas and practical criticism of current theatre practice.
Read an Excerpt from ‘The Right Side of History: 100 Years or LGBTQI Activism’: Miss Major Griffin-Gracy’s Reflections on the Stonewall Riots
“The night of Stonewall, two friends and I sat in Sheridan Square talking with the boys, trying to have a good time.”
‘The Battle of Versailles: The Night American Fashion Stumbled Into the Spotlight and Made History’ by Robin Givhan
The changes wrought by the designers and American fashion industry since Versailles make the reader realize, contrary to frequent accusations of frivolity, how serious the world of fashion can be.
‘Gay is Good: The Life and Letters of Gay Rights Pioneer Franklin Kameny’ Edited by Michael G. Long
Never one for hiding his true feelings, Kameny’s tireless fight against the American establishment spearheaded a new period for homosexual rights in the early 1960s
‘Visions and Revisions: Coming of Age in the Age of AIDS’ by Dale Peck
Peck compiles and re-edits material principally presented as stand-alone essays in their original publication, weaving a sort of non-linear portrait of the period during which HIV/AIDS was typically a terminal illness
‘Gay Berlin: Birthplace of a Modern Identity’ by Robert Beachy
This is an important book, and an impressive feat of scholarship drawing on nearly five hundred sources, with twenty-two pages of notes and sixteen pages of photographs.
‘Transnational LGBT Activism: Working for Sexual Rights Worldwide’ by Ryan R. Thoreson
Thoreson tells us that he wants to critically look at how a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in the West functions and how, ultimately, its articulation of LGBT human rights gains legitimacy and global significance.
‘There Goes the Gayborhood?’ by Amin Ghaziani
Proper punctuation is critical to
‘Ethereal Queer: Television, Historicity, Desire’ by Amy Villarejo
What we see on the
‘Gender Failure’ by Ivan E. Coyote and Rae Spoon
Gender Failure is not a simple Trans 101 lesson, rather this book offers a far more compelling story that brings readers to the hotel rooms, kitchen tables, and inner lives of Rae and Ivan.
‘Christopher Isherwood in America: Middlebrow Queer’ by Jaime Harker
Perhaps the best way to
‘American Honor Killings: Desire and Rage Among Men’ by David McConnell
As this country again focuses
‘Dinner with Lenny: The Last Long Interview with Leonard Bernstein’ by Jonathan Cott
A seemingly inexhaustible mix of talent, genius, exuberance, and mischievousness, this is the Bernstein that leaps off the page in Dinner with Lenny (Oxford University Press).
‘Why are Faggots so Afraid of Faggots: Flaming Challenges to Masculinity, Objectification, and the Desire to Conform’ edited by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore
Collected from across a continua of class, age, race, gender, sex, and geography, these academics and activists, professionals and students–for whom the personal is political and vice versa–raise their voices in complicated and varied attempts to problematize and deconstruct the assorted issues related to homophobia (externalized and internalized).
‘Small Fires’ by Julie Marie Wade
In Small Fires, Julie Marie Wade, who won a Lambda for her memoir Wishbone, considers family and memory with a poetic eye and unabashed tongue. With her carefully chosen words and a studied deliberateness, Wade proves unafraid to delve into her past—to skillfully reconstruct the events of her youth, from the horrifying to the sentimental to the self-conscious and beyond.
