Figures of the Bay Area Art, Essays, Features
Wonner and Brown frequented the Yuba River, indulging in naked swims. Wonner’s paintings of nude bathers went unquestioned because they aligned with the established tradition of men bathing together. Drawing inspiration from Paul Cézanne, Wonner portrays the bathers as a dynamic mass of interwoven, predominantly male figures. Wonner sent a touching Christmas card to BrownMore
‘Outcasts and artists flocked to the city.’ Features, Interview
Hilary Holladay queries a San Francisco photographer, Chloe Sherman.
Butterflies Caught in a Web Essays, Features, Poetry
Yone Noguchi, this handsome Japanese poet from California, might possibly be the New Kid, someone who was young, racially exotic, and very talented.
One Hundred Years of Togetherness Art, Essays, Features, History
WHILE the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion in New York’s Greenwich Village is generally considered the spark that ignited the gay liberation movement in the U.S., San Francisco was the true epicenter of gay life for much of the previous century, as demonstrated by the following chronology of quick takes that briefly highlight some of the pioneering individuals, organizations,More
Lesbians Against Incarceration Essays, Features
In 1987, Revolting Lesbians published “Political Women Prisoners in the U.S.,” a broad primer on women incarcerated for a wide swath of political actions.
Carson McCullers’ ‘Imaginary Friends’ Essays, Features
When she was a Wunderkind, McCullers created poetic fables and mythical archetypes of a kind that our contemporaries no longer invent.
A Power Couple in a Time of War Art, Book Review
At fewer than ninety pages, Rowe’s Liberated merely scratches the surface of Cahun’s life and art. But perhaps that’s appropriate as Cahun’s art often dealt with surfaces: poses, masks, assumed or discarded identities. The book pays tribute to Cahun’s Surrealistic photography and æsthetics, her aggressive anti-fascism, and her enduring, indestructible love for Marcel Moore.
The Suits in Garbo’s Closet Bisexuality, Book Review
A new biography, Ideal Beauty: The Life and Times of Greta GarboI, by feminist historian Lois Banner—who’s the cofounder of the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians—presents Greta Louisa Gustafson (1905–1990) as Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde. So much has been written about the actress that the Hollywood dream factory exploited as a marketable commodity duringMore
A Poet of the Dying Years Book Review
Saint was a founding member of the Blackheart Collective, and published numerous collections of his own poetry, editing two anthologies, notably The Road Before Us: 100 Black Gay Poets (1991). Sacred Spells is a collection of exemplary poems, essays, stories, plays, and even some performance pieces.
Deep History of the Culture Wars Book Review
IN THE SUMMER OF 1997, I gave birth to two beautiful drag babies on Pier 54 in Manhattan. We were at Wigstock, the raucous drag festival. Like many mothers, I neglected their development, but they have since grown into upstanding, fierce queens. Hundreds of drag mamas, whom Elyssa Maxx Goodman lovingly documents in Glitter andMore
Short Reviews Book Review, Briefs
Reviews of About Ed by Robert Glück, The Distance Between Us by A. C. Burch, 300,000 Kisses: Tales of Queer Love from the Ancient World by Sean Hewitt and Luke Edward Hall, The Lookback Window by Kyle Dillon Hertz, Mourning Light by Richard Goodkin, and Queer Networks: Ray Johnson’s Correspondence Art by Miriam Kienle.
Artists as Art Subjects Book Review, Photography
Miller’s text engages a fair amount of philosophical rumination, but pertinent to the visual examples under review. Her descriptions are usually quite on the mark, and her analyses, however speculative at times, never seem to emerge from left field. Body Language is an absorbing book for those who take photography and queer representation seriously.
With Opera, Look for the ‘Sexual Complexity’ Book Review, Opera
The moral became that “homoerotic attachments are acceptable, provided they manifest within the boundaries of socially appropriate behaviour,” states Andrew Sutherland in Queer Opera, his survey of homoerotic elements in the history of opera.
Into the Worlds of Sondheim Book Review, Music, Theatre
THE LYRICS from a song in Stephen Sondheim’s dazzling Broadway show Sunday in the Park with George (1983) include these lines: “Bit by bit,/ Putting it together./ Piece by Piece—/ Only way to make a work of art./ Every moment makes a contribution,/ Every little detail plays a part./ Having just the vision’s no solution,/More
A Public Poet’s Private Selves Book Review, Poetry
Homeland of My Body is a substantial compilation of poems from four earlier collections, along with many new poems. Blanco includes references to his private life in many of his works, but he does not write primarily about gay life. Instead, it is his Cuban ancestry and family members that shine through like a HavanaMore
‘The butch is an anarchist…’ Book Review
As with most experimental novels, the form becomes more accessible over time. The learning curve is all about distinguishing song lyrics from characters’ thoughts and actions while keeping a close eye on the time—in the evening, but also in longer cycles, as flashbacks are used throughout to reveal the story behind characters’ relationships. Levene handlesMore
Hard Times Book Review
BE NOT AFRAID of My Body is a poetic recounting of a gay Black man’s life. In beautifully moving language, poet Darius Stewart explores his race, sexuality, class, and addictions, revealing both his gift for self-reflection and his penchant for self-destructive behavior.
Stepping Out Book Review, History
The Bars Are Ours is a remarkable achievement and essential reading for any serious student of contemporary queer history.
Boys Found in Baltimore Art, Reviews
PHOTOGRAPHER Amos Badert-scher (1936–2023) captured the queer landscape of Baltimore from Eastern Avenue near Patterson Park, along Wilkens Avenue, and the Meat Rack on Park Avenue in the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s. His monograph Baltimore Portraits came out in 1999, and the recent exhibition Lost Boys: Amos Badertscher’s Baltimore in the Albin O. Kuhn LibraryMore
Disorderly Conduct Film, Music, Reviews, Theatre
“IF YOU’RE NOT CAREFUL, you’re going to die a lonely old queen.” That’s a harsh caveat, especially when spoken by one’s wife. In Maestro, directed, cowritten (with Josh Singer), and produced by Bradley Cooper, those lines are delivered by Carrie Mulligan playing actress Felicia Montealegre Cohn, also known as Mrs. Bernstein. Cooper also plays theMore
CIAO! The World of Gay Travel was a bimonthly magazine published by George Desantis in New York City. Desantis had been a school teacher but lost his job when they found out he was gay.
WHAT’S SURPRISING is that we haven’t done a “San Francisco” issue before this in light of the city’s centrality to LGBT history and culture. I believe the only other “city” theme we’ve done was an issue on New York (July-Aug. 2015), which I always intended to balance with one on San Francisco. I sayMore
How Russian Media Demonize LGBT People Guest Opinion, International, Politics: GLBT Rights
The only thing we can hope for is that the media don’t make too many stupid mistakes, and that the work of Putin’s propaganda machine doesn’t hurt too many innocent people. Fortunately, the times we live in still give LGBT people in Russia access to alternative online media and to very important information that cannotMore
VALENTINE’S DAY, 1978. The Castro District of San Francisco was buzzing with an infectious, sexy energy. Since last November, the gay community has been on a high after Harvey Milk won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors—the first openly gay man to be elected in a major U.S. city. Like so manyMore
Remembering Three Who Made a Difference In Memoriam
Obituaries for Ned Rorem, Minnie Bruce Pratt, and Charles Silverstein.
Amber Hollibaugh, Human Rights Activist In Memoriam, Lesbians
Amber always managed in her activism to “say out loud what everyone had agreed not to notice.” She constantly called for a “new revolution” that included the sexual desires that so many experience with shame and feel forced to keep secret. She insisted that we embrace “our most dangerous desires” and “fight for a worldMore