Reviews (11)

AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT TO THE GOTH TRIUMVIRATE
which I deem:
in depth eye opener
Mr. Clint has really let all of us, no matter what stage of life we are in, what planet we are from, or the aumont of zeros on our paycheck, look inside his world and gave us a whole new realm of thought. I loved this book. I read it in two days. AND thats with two kids under the age of 4, a hubby and a big white dog. I couldnt put it down. Its an awesome book. I can not wait for his next wonder in print... keep up the good work clint. This is definately a must read!

Catalyst at his Best!!
This is a great selection of essays and poetry from Clint Catalyst.They deal with gay relationships, adolescence, and out of control drug addiction.These subjects are dealt with in such an honest, clear and edgy way.The lives of these unconventional characters are brought to the page so intensely with all their flaws clearly exposed.You'll feel their thoughts and feelings.The artistic language used in this book make it a pleasure to read right through to the last page.No matter how dark and trashy these characters get you'll want to read more. Read more

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Drug abuse    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - General    5. Gay    6. Gay youth    7. Goth culture (Subculture)    8. Homosexuality    9. Literary collections    10. Popular American Fiction    11. Short Stories (single author)    12. Fiction / General    13. Literature of special Gay interest    14. Modern fiction    15. American    16. Essays    17. Poetry   

Reviews (7)

Looking Forward to More Brownstone Stories
Could this be "Tales of the City" for New York? While this first installment may not have allowed for Maupin's depth of character development, "Brownstone" certainly shows promise. This was a great invention to introduce a number of lives, most of them intersecting each other. The characters were believable because the author didn't resort to stale stereotypes or tired queerisms. I do hope that we'll be seeing more of the Brownstone. If only there were such a place in every neighborhood. Not a bad place to weather either the storms of reality or metaphor.

Great light weekend read
One of my Christmas gifts was the Kevin Scott novel "The Boys in the Brownstone", and I was given the perfect opportunity to curl up with it on New Years Eve, when my husband was out working, and I was home alone during a rainstorm-induced power outage. Nothing to do but pour a glass of eggnog, light some candles, and read this entertaining story. The Brownstone is a gay bar on the upper east side, and the novel is really a series of tangential vignettes. Think "Desperate Housewives: Gay New York Edition". Each chapter introduces a new set of characters, and explores a different flawed relationship, but all of the characters end up at the Brownstone sooner or later, and featured characters in one vignette often appear one the sidelines of other vignettes. Sometimes in the bar, we revisit the same conversations from another character's perspective (like the film "Go"). The characters and stories were all engaging enough to keep me turning the pages with interest. The fact that it was set during Christmastime made it more fun to read it at this time of year, but that's certainly not essential. Reading it all in one weekend is useful, as the number of characters starts to accumulate, and there were a few times where I had to stop and think "now who was that one again?". Doubtful you'll glean any profound insights here, as it's all a bit melodramatic (all of the characters have issues). But it's very entertaining, a great read for a weekend at the beach or a long flight. Or a New Years Eve power outage.

An Excellent Read
A rare form, this work can be read in 2 hours at the beach or on a plane, or can be savored and analyzed for weeks. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bars (Drinking establishments)    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. Gay    5. General    6. Men    7. New York    8. New York (State)    9. Poetry    10. Upper East Side (New York, N.Y    11. Literature of special Gay interest    12. Modern fiction   

Reviews (1)

A stunning work of criticism
Given the importance of this book, I find myself puzzled by thefact that I am the first to review it..., but am delighted tohave the opportunity. This book was a real milestone when itappeared. In a very factual, unbiassed but totally proficient andpersuasive way it demonstrated in great detail that the persona of thepoems is presented, through them..... Sonnet 20 is of course a crucial targetfor Pequigney, and he reads it superbly, but he is hardly less good ona great many other of Shakespeare's wonderful poems, and is by nomeans narrow or obsessive about his point of view: on the contrary, hehas an excellent notion of how his argument fits into a wider schemeof things. Those who read the poems in Katherine Jones's disappointingArden 3 edition will realise, if they examine Pequigney's work, thatthat editor's claims about the supposed novelty of her views on thebisexuality presented within the poems is greatly exaggerated, andthat Pequigney makes many of the important points both earlier andbetter. Anyone seriously interested in the Sonnets will want to readthis book, which I would rank as one of the most significant and bestworks concerned with those poems: more essential to read than, forexample, John Kerrigan's edition, competent though that is, and insome ways more to the point than Stephen Booth's excellenttome. Someone reading both Pequigney and Helen Vendler would perhapsbenefit more from those two books than any others, though I wouldrecommend using Ingram and Redpath's edition of the Sonnets alongsidethese critical works.... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1564-1616    2. England    3. English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    4. History    5. History and criticism    6. Homosexuality and literature    7. Literary Criticism    8. Love poetry, English    9. Poetry    10. Shakespeare, William,    11. Sonnets    12. Sonnets, English    13. English    14. Poetry / Single Author / British & Irish    15. Shakespeare studies & criticism    16. United Kingdom, Great Britain   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. England    3. English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    4. Feminism and literature    5. History    6. Homosexuality and literature    7. Literary Criticism    8. Literature - Classics / Criticism    9. United States    10. British Isles    11. English    12. Literary Criticism & Collections / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    13. Poetry & poets: from c 1900 -   

Reviews (5)

Magnificent, Enduring Literary Art
Amidst our contemporary fog not only of war, but of idiocracy, theocracy, presidential flubbings of language and ethics, and hipster lit lite that's about as innovative as patented Starbucks coffee drinks, Richard Hell's Godlike shines as a transcendent, devastating work of art.If you're not reading this novel, you're just not engaging with the great literature of our time.
Dissapointing
After the brilliant "Go Now", "Godlike" clocks in as one big dissapointment.Sure the writing has more 'craft' now, but the storytelling is scattered, and the flipping between multiple viewpoints and time frames succeeds only in making the pace drag, and the - rather simple - plot seem convulted and messy.
era respiration-byte!
"Hell is guerrilla=sex mutant by the era respiration-byte of a chemical=anthropoid." - Kenji Siratori, author Blood Electric
Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay men    4. General    5. Poets    6. Fiction / General    7. Modern fiction   

Reviews (1)

Essays as Lively as the Aeneid
Virgil's Aeneid: Interpretation and Influence by Michael C.J. Putnam (Can't Amazon maintain the paragraphing and formatting I give this review? It looks terrible the way your program jams my careful prose into one long paragraph.) It is fairly certain that Latin scholars urged Professor Putnam to collect his essays into an anthology so future students and scholars could have ready access to his indispensable work. I will never be a scholar, but I am a lifelong student, and am immensely glad for Putnam's contribution to my understanding of the Aeneid. With the exception of one essay written for this volume, all essays in Virgil's Aeneid: Interpretation and Influence (1995) were published in various journals between 1970 and 1992. It would take hours just to prowl library aisles to find the indexed journals and cart them to photocopy machines. Yes, some details in individual essays are repetitive, but even the redundancies are useful: No one who reads these pages will ever forget Anchises, father of Aeneas, from the depths of Hades, urging his Romanus son to spare the suppliant, war down the proud. That moment, writes Putnam, is the ethical center of the poem, a center that comes terrifyingly apart in the closing line when Aeneas forgets (if he ever heard) all that his father tried to teach him. He brings his sword down on the defeated, wounded Turnus, who has raised his arm as suppliant, clearly visible to all who observe. Yes, readers can understand the human emotion involved: Aeneas hesitates, then sees the belt worn by Pallas, son of Evander, youthful ally for whom he had a deep if ambiguous personal affection. But this was a moment of profound possibility for a much larger good, witnessed by other defeated Latins on whom Aeneas would now call to build a new nation. How eagerly could they now serve this invader Aeneas who so mercilessly slaughtered their leader? And how carefully the poet had to craft this unfolding war, to suggest to his own Emperor Augustus that Roman leaders had deeply failed the empire by indulging so many avoidable civil wars, most often for some petty personal motive. Putnam helps me see subtleties I could never have imagined despite multiple readings of the Aeneid, and despite decades of meditating Greek and Roman myths. His discussion of the Daedalus myth as outlined in Book 6 is stunning, a revelation of meaning where I had read carelessly, thinking the poet was just dallying to display his learning. Oh, no; in the Aeneid every word truly counts. And in Putnam's essays too; he supports each conclusion with precise details, as trifles in ponds ever expanding. The teacher from Providence and Brown University often includes just how many times a certain word appears-not only in the Aeneid, but in the Georgics and Eclogues too-and carefully illustrates just how this word circles back to give ever-increasing light. My deepest reasons for valuing the Aeneid reside in Book 3.706-9, wherein I finally found full acceptance of the fatherly burden: an acceptance that transcends memories deemed good, or less than good. Regardless, Putnam's work helps me see beyond the personal to the supranational. "Power corrupts, poetry cleanses," John F. Kennedy said in his tribute to Robert Frost. Beyond doubt, knowledge of the Aeneid can still guide world leaders through the furies of our own times. Keith Fahey PO Box 16462 Encino, California91416 818-996-5298 EpiBound@aol.com ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Aeneas (Legendary character) i    2. Aeneas (Legendary character) in literature    3. Aeneis    4. Epic poetry, Latin    5. Fiction    6. Gay    7. History and criticism    8. Literature - Classics / Criticism    9. Literature, Modern    10. Literature: Folklore/Mythology    11. Roman Literature    12. Roman influences    13. Virgil    14. Latin    15. Literary Criticism & Collections / Ancient & Classical    16. Novels, other prose & writers    17. Poetry & poets: classical, early & medieval    18. classics;Aeneas; Pietas   

Reviews (2)

A raw, bold, but elegantly contemplative poetic voice
In his book "Say Goodnight," poet Timothy Liu writes "What is touched by loss / is sometimes made more sacred" (from the poem "That Summer"). Liu is adept at finding the intersection of the sacred, the political, and the sexual, and this 100-page collection of poems is a remarkable exercise of his voice. Marvelous depth of language & subject matter
The poems in Say Goodnight are clear, brave, and true.They affect the reader like ice falling from a great height, leaving one startled with the force of its brutality and beauty. Timothy Liu is one of our best poets,and with this book, one does not want to say goodnight at all. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Gay men    3. General    4. Poetry    5. Poetry / General    6. Asian American authors   

Reviews (2)

I highly recommend this book of excellent poems!
I highly recommend this book of excellent poems. I can't keep a copy in my house because I keep giving it to discerning friends.
I didn't know anyone wrote real poetry anymore
Sublimation Point was a revelation. I didn't know anyone wrote real poetry anymore-poems about real things that are real poems, with formal structures that support the meaning, with music and clarity, with a reason to be a poem instead of, say, a shopping list or a greeting card. Jason Schneiderman writes real poems, and Sublimation Point is full of them: lyrical and probing and beautiful and sad and funny and true. I read it in one sitting, then turned to the front and began reading again, this time slowly, over time. I go back to particular ones-The Disease Collector; Anatomy I and II; Proposals for a Holocaust Memorial, on Display at MOMA-because of how they say what they say. And others-The Unnaming; Crit; Physics III: Super Powers-because they make me smile. And then there are the ones that just amaze me: the Crown series, and especially the title poem. Sublimation Point is astonishing. It reminded me what poetry is for. And Jason Schneiderman is a real poet. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Poetry    3. Poetry / Single Author / American    4. American    5. Gay    6. Homosexuality, Male    7. Poetry / General    8. Works by individual poets: from c 1900 -   

Reviews (6)

Saves American Poetry from Itself
I was given a copy of this book as a Chirstmas gift.I had heard of Trinidad before, even read his last book Answer Song, a friend had it.Plasticville renewed my interest in reading poetry.The work is fresh, plain, clean -- and while Trinidad can sometimes be a rigid formalist the material lightens the load.Having become bored with much contemporary American poetry, Trinidad's Plasticville helped to renew my interest.From the pop-culture material to the more intimate, domestic stuff (written in the voice of his dog!), Trinidad's Plasticville is refreshing, well-written, and a pleasure to read.So smart, so engaging, I can't wait to read what he does next.

Recycled
Some poems stretch the meaning of what a poem is. Others are simply not poetry. Plasticville contains poems of the second type. Trinidad seems obsessed with plastic and Barbie, but fails to do anything original or even clever with these themes. A few of these poems are just lists : Monster Mash, Of Mere Plastic, and In My Room. They appear to be poetry, but are just lists anyone could type up with their word processor centering the margin.A few, like the title piece Plasticville, Clue, and Directions, and are amusing, but there just aren't enough poems in this collection to make it worthwhile or memorable.

Pure genius!
This is the one of the few books of poetry I've read that actually means something! Discovering this has really changed the way I think about verse and books in general. The best thing about it? NOT boring. I'm so sick ofthe innocuous, adjectival, over-written, meaningless poems in so manyjournals and "literary" magazines of our time. David Trinidad issmart--read for pure pleasure, and then read again and look for the subtletricks and talent he employs to make these poems truly great art! Trulyfresh, too. No one else is writing about our tarnished culture likeTrinidad. He is truly unique, and like I said, the best compliment I cangive is that this book is not a bore--something that 98% of all books ofpoetry these days are! Thank you Mr. Trinidad!You've got me reading andenjoying poetry again! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Poetry    3. American English    4. Literature of special Gay interest    5. Poetry & poets    6. Poetry / General    7. Works by individual poets: from c 1900 -   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. AIDS & HIV    3. AIDS (Disease)    4. American - General    5. Anthologies (multiple authors)    6. Canadian poetry    7. English Canadian Poetry    8. Fiction    9. Gay Studies    10. Gender Studies    11. Patients    12. Photoessays & Documentaries    13. Poetry    14. Sexuality In Literature    15. Sociology    16. AIDS: social aspects    17. Collections & anthologies of various literary forms    18. English    19. Fiction anthologies & collections    20. HIV / AIDS    21. Poetry & poets    22. Poetry texts & anthologies    23. Sexual behaviour   

Subjects:  1. Poetry    2. Poetry / Single Author / American    3. 20th Century American Poetry    4. African American Poetry    5. American Contemporary Poetry    6. Gay    7. Single Author - American (General)   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. American - General    3. Art and literature    4. Criticism and interpretation    5. Difference (Psychology) in literature    6. Gay Studies    7. History    8. Homosexuality and literature    9. O'Hara, Frank    10. Poetry    11. Social Science    12. Sociology    13. United States    14. American English    15. English    16. Literary Criticism / Poetry    17. Poetry & poets: from c 1900 -   

Reviews (1)

Compilation of poems about the binding ties of relationships
Award-winning author Mark Wunderlich presents Voluntary Servitude, a compilation of poems about the binding ties of relationships and the effects of tension that push such bonds to the breaking point. The sad yet real risk of exposure to emotional harm and loss is a prevalent theme in this powerful, gut-wrenching collection. The Room: What I offered you / was more than words on paper. / Now it is as if I viewed a night sky / and saw no planet upon which / we could pin our earnest conversation. / Inside me, there is a room no one will come to. / I have shuttered its five grave windows, / swept clean its smooth, reflective floor / and the key is somewhere I don't remember.
Read more

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. American Contemporary Poetry - Individual Poets    3. Gay Studies    4. Poetry    5. Poetry / General   

Reviews (6)

Watch out--Not Lovey Dovey
I actually picked this book up at a bookstore as an impulse gift for my boyfriend. I am in the habilt of writing love haikus to him and thought seeing this book was kismit. Well, I made the mistake of giving it to him without reading some of the haikus. Instead of sweet, loving poems, it was filled with bitter ascerbic "break up" haikus that gave both of us a queezy feeling. It really was a downer for our blossoming relationship. I asked for, and was granted, an indugence to take back the gift, which I returned to the bookstore. My haikus will have to do.

Neither Japanese Nor Gay
But I really enjoyed this book.Funny story, I was actually trapped in a BN during a rainstorm when my girlfriend plucked it off the shelf, just on a whim.We read it from cover to cover, laughing non-stop at the author's wealth of wit in economy of word.There are passages in this book that in only syllables had us at once laughing and crying, which personally, is an occurrence too infrequent with contemporary literature these days.The truest tesatment to his book though, isn't so much the thorughly enjoyable read, but that I had no idea my connection with the author until I finished it and saw his picture on the back flap."Oh yeah..." I thought.Four out of five dentists agree: Gay Haiku - not just a novelty.Get it.Love it.Share it with your mom.

Best Gay Haiku Book Ever
OK, maybe it's the only Gay Haiku book ever, but this book is fantastic.It's laugh out loud funny, clever, and incredibly sharp and insightful.It's also often surprisingly poignant.Highly recommended. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Gay men    3. Haiku, American    4. Humor    5. Poetry    6. Topic - Relationships    7. Humor / General   

Subjects:  1. 20th Century American Poetry    2. Gay men    3. Poetry   

Subjects:  1. American - Asian American    2. Asian American gays    3. Gay men    4. General    5. Poetry   

Reviews (22)

Sensitive Beauty
Mark Wunderlich is one of the most talented poets of his generation.Period.

A man of profound insight
Having the good fortune to take a class from Mark Wunderlich Ifound him enormously intelligent, familiar with a vast array of poets, and supportive of our many (and sometimes limited) efforts.He was patient and helpful; the perfect teacher.Only after the class had finished did I discover this book of poems that spoke to me in a clear and compelling voice.Reading Continent's Edge my own experience loomed large.His poems about illness are painfully true to what I know in my life.In All That, Stammering he writes so honestly about himself that I caught myself feeling the voyeur.Mark knows a great deal about life as a gay man and a great deal about life as a human being in this first year of the new century.He has much to teach us.

should have worked on this longer
This is a terribly weak collection of poems. Most give the impression of early drafts.He recycles images frequently and you get the feeling that somewhere there is a good poem in there but ultimately the poet is unableto endow the words with the epic poignancy that I am sure he was tryingfor. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. American Contemporary Poetry    3. Gay men    4. Poetry    5. English    6. USA    7. Works by individual poets: from c 1900 -   

Reviews (2)

Safe Sex: On Tidy Endings
The last one act play in Harvey Fierstein's book SAFE SEX is called "On Tidy Endings".I think it is a wonderful play, and I plan to produce and direct it this fall because I feel it explores social acceptance -- or lack thereof -- of homosexuals, and this topic was thrust again into public debate recently by the Supreme Court's recent decision. Two plays by a great gay man
At first, I only knew Harvey Fierstein from the film "Torch Song Trilogy."Then, I've seen him on many TV shows where he plays the overly typecast, essentialist gay man.(Even though I loved his Carl character on "The Simpsons.")Finally, I read this book and it made me realize what an artist, activist, and pioneer he is.This book has two plays about gay men and couples dealing with their identities and loves years into the AIDS crisis.I think it would be a good idea for some producer to get these plays performed nationally. (Maybe someone, probably Harvey, already has and I just don't know it.)Despite his status as stereotype, he truly isa role model and a good guy.Read more

Subjects:  1. AIDS (Disease)    2. American    3. Drama    4. Gay men    5. General    6. Plays    7. Poetry   

Reviews (4)

It has its moments, but they are few.
T. Cole Rachel and Rita D. Costello (eds.) Bend, Don't Shatter: Poets on the Beginning of Desire (Red Rattle Press/Soft Skull Press, 2004)
Direct, Honest, and Admirable
Great art - and in turn, great literature - often possesses a rare quality, the ability to speak on an innate level to its audience, to make the audience feel as if the artist is speaking about an unspoken, universal quality of our own lives. And although it is difficult to say that the poets and poems of Bend Don't Shatter, are attempting some universal or transcendental quality, what they do - and do admirably well - is speak directly and honestly to the book's audience, all with an empathetic understanding.
An amazing, eclectic collection of poetry
This book is full to the brim with beautiful poems that address the confusion of youth. I found it inspiring to read. Any young person would find it hopeful and may be driven to write about their own feeling because of it. I think this a great book for highschool libraries where young people can find it and know that they are not alone. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American Contemporary Poetry    2. Anthologies (multiple authors)    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Erotic poetry, American    5. Gay youth    6. Juvenile Nonfiction    7. Juvenile poetry    8. Poetry    9. Poetry - General    10. Sexual orientation    11. Young adult poetry, American    12. English    13. English literature: poetry texts & anthologies    14. USA   

Subjects:  1. General    2. Poetry    3. Poetry / Single Author / American    4. 20th Century American Poetry    5. American Contemporary Poetry    6. Gays    7. Love poetry    8. Single Author - American (General)