GLR September-October 2021

The Gay & Lesbian Review September–October 2021 • VOLUME XXVIII, NUMBER 5 The Gay & Lesbian Review/ WORLDWIDE ® (formerly The Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review, 1994-1999) is published bimonthly (six times per year) by The Gay & Lesbian Review, Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational corporation located in Boston, Mass. Subscriptions: Call 844-752-7829. Rates : U.S.: $35.70 per year (6 issues). Canada and Mexico: $45.70(US). All other countries: $55.70(US). All non-U.S. copies are sent via air mail. Back issues available for $12 each. All correspondence is sent in a plain envelope marked “G&LR.” © 2021 by The Gay & Lesbian Review, Inc. All rights reserved. P OEMS & D EPARTMENTS Langston Hughes’ Down-Low Dreams 10 A NDRE B AGOO Secret desires and trysts pop up in his supposedly sexless poetry The Blackness of Queer Vernacular 14 C HLOE O. D AVIS ... from the Harlem Renaissance to RuPaul’s Drag Race “Communities change the world.” 17 C HERYL D UNYE Jen Kamish talks with the creator of “Dunyementaries” The Timelessness of Delany’s Dhalgren 19 R USSELL B. C HRISTIE Revisiting the classic dystopian novel and its Black, bi protagonist A Star Is Engineered 22 A LLEN E LLENZWEIG A poor kid from Bristol, Cary Grant invented that suave persona Prelude to a Mary Meigs Biography? 25 M ARTIN D UBERMAN Her neglected 4-volume memoir tells of a fascinating lesbian life C ONTENTS F EATURES R EVIEWS G UEST O PINION — Asexuals Are Here, and They’re Organizing 4 M ICHELE K IRICHANSKAYA C ORRESPONDENCE 7 BTW 8 R ICHARD S CHNEIDER J R . A RT M EMO — John Singer Sargent’s Hidden Inspiration 12 I GNACIO D ARNAUDE P OEM — “Pajama Game” 18 S ADIE M C C ARNEY H ISTORY M EMO — Steven Reigns Retries an AIDS-Era Scapegoat 28 T IM M ILLER P OEM — “Cape Henlopen State Park” 30 D ARLA H IMELES P OEM — “Taking Care of Animals” 36 J AMES C IHLAR C ULTURAL C ALENDAR 46 A RT M EMO — Robert McLane’s Trip to A Very Natural Thing 47 N ICK R ADEL A RTIST ’ S P ROFILE — Richard Taddei on His Mentor, Edward Melcarth 48 T AYLOR L EWANDOWSKI James Whiteside — Center Center 31 C HARLES G REEN Richard Rambuss — Kubrick’s Men 32 A NDREW H OLLERAN Liz Heinecke — Radiant 34 R OSEMARY B OOTH James Romm — The Sacred Band: Three Hundred Theban Lovers ... 35 A LAN C ONTRERAS Hammer & Yenser, eds. — A Whole World: Letters from James Merrill 37 P HILIP G AMBONE B RIEFS 38 Frances Bingham — Valentine Ackland: A Transgressive Life 40 C ASSANDRA L ANGER Brad Fraser — All the Rage: A Partial Memoir in Two Acts 41 N ILS C LAUSSON John Medeiros — Self, Divided 42 E LIZABETH J ARRETT A NDREW Rajiv Mohabir — Antiman: A Hybrid Memoir 43 R EGINALD H ARRIS Michael Lowenthal — Sex with Strangers 43 G IANCARLO L ATTA Jeremy Atherton Lin — Gay Bar: Why We Went Out 44 M ICHAEL Q UINN Sherill Grace — Tiff: A Life of Timothy Findley 45 F ELICE P ICANO Sam Feder, director — Disclosure 50 C RAIG H ALE W EBSITE : www.GLReview.org • S UBSCRIPTIONS : 844-752-7829 • A DVERTISING : 617-421-0082 • S UBMISSIONS : Editor@GLReview.org Editor-in-Chief and Founder R ICHARD S CHNEIDER J R . ____________________________________ Literary Editor M ARTHA E. S TONE Poetry Editor D AVID B ERGMAN Associate Editors S AM D APANAS P AUL F ALLON J EREMY F OX C HRISTOPHER H ENNESSY M ICHAEL S CHWARTZ Contributing Writers R OSEMARY B OOTH D ANIEL A. B URR C OLIN C ARMAN A LFRED C ORN A LLEN E LLENZWEIG C HRIS F REEMAN P HILIP G AMBONE M ATTHEW H AYS A NDREW H OLLERAN I RENE J AVORS J OHN R. K ILLACKY C ASSANDRA L ANGER A NDREW L EAR D AVID M ASELLO F ELICE P ICANO J AMES P OLCHIN J EAN R OBERTA V ERNON R OSARIO Contributing Artist C HARLES H EFLING Advertising Manager S TEPHEN H EMRICK Webmaster B OSTON W EB G ROUP Web Editor K ELSEY M EYERS ____________________________________ Board of Directors S TEWART C LIFFORD A RT C OHEN ( CHAIR ) E DUARDO F EBLES D ONALD G ORTON ( CLERK ) R OBERT H ARDMAN D AVID L A F ONTAINE R ICHARD S CHNEIDER , J R . ( PRESIDENT ) M ARTHA E. S TONE T HOMAS Y OUNGREN ( TREASURER ) W ARREN G OLDFARB ( SR . ADVISOR EMER .) WORLDWIDE The Gay & Lesbian Review ® PO Box 180300, Boston, MA 02118 Black Lives Matter WORLDWIDE September–October 2021 3