Some of the most valuable chapters in My Friend Tom are the ones devoted to close readings of both Williams’ poetry and the poets who influenced him.

A new graphic memoir, Calling Dr. Laura, by Nicole Georges, is an example of this genre. A Portland-based lesbian cartoonist and zinester, Georges has crafted an autobiography on secrets kept from her family, her lovers, and herself. With a sweet indie graphics sensibility and a light narrative tone, this is a tender look at family strife and at the alternate families that we create.

Taylor was rarely given her due as an actor during her career, but she always saw herself as a serious actress: “The emotion has got to be there behind your eyes, behind your heart. You can never act superficially and get away with it.” Certainly her Oscar-winning performance in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1967) lay to rest any lingering doubts about her talent. In the same year, she made the underrated film Reflections in a Golden Eye, based on a Carson McCullers novel, which included a smoldering homosexual subplot. This is one of her most interesting and experimental interpretations, and critics called her performance superb.