Reclaiming Gay Fiction
Book Review of 'Fresh Men: New Voices in Gay
Fiction'
Volume four, Issue 8 | February 24 - March
2,
2005
BOOKS
FRESH MEN: NEW VOICES IN GAY FICTION
Edited by Donald Weise
Selected by Edmund White
Carroll & Graf
349 pages; $14
Reclaiming Gay Fiction
A new anthology confirms gay life’s dark side, especially for the young
By SETH J. BOOKEY
During the gay publishing boom of the last decade, short-story anthologies were a dime a dozen, ranging from the venerable “Men on Men” series to hastily thrown-together affairs that gathered gay stories together on the flimsiest of connections––for example, all the stories were “boy meets boy” tales.
Separating the wheat from the chaff started to get difficult. This even affected the higher end of the spectrum.
But, quality is unquestionably back, with “Fresh Men: New Voices in Gay Fiction.” Inspired by the original “Men on Men” anthology, first edited by the late George Stambolian almost two decades ago, editor Don Weise shares Stambolian’s “missionary zeal” when it comes to reaching new audiences with new fiction. And in this noble pursuit, Weise has made literary excellence a top priority, resulting in 20 truly well written stories. Even the one I really disliked is well written.
Another criterion Weise and judge Edmund White used when whittling more than 100 submissions down to this collection was to only include authors who have not yet had their own anthologies or novels published. But while the subtitle indicates “new” voices, don’t mistake this label to mean that everyone is painfully young and brilliant. Weise told Gay City News that the final 20 writers represent a range of men starting at 20-something right up through their 50s.
Currently creaking into middle age myself, I quite enjoyed the sublimely silly and simultaneously insightful submission by Jason Shilts. “Some Speculations on the Bob Uncertainty” brings us a sagging middle-aged man who finds himself enjoying an affair with a supple younger man who shows no signs of bolting, and who indulges the narrator’s harmless excesses.
Also unexpectedly joyous is “Acqua Calda,” the story of a man suffering perilously with HIV who is given a chance to return to acting via a Sicilian theater production. His professional revival is met with a sexual one as well when an admirer makes his intentions known while the acting troupe takes a trip to the sulfur hot springs nearby.
Not all the stories are quite so upbeat. Many reflect the depression and dysfunctions of both the current day and the times during which these authors grew up. But what does unify so many of these stories, beyond their interesting storytelling techniques, is a sense of loss and missed opportunities. William Sterling Walker’s “Desire” is reminiscent of pre-AIDS “gay guys hanging out” stories, but the moody, atmospheric story is about a missed connection.
In “The Inadvertent Headshot,” Robert J. Hughes shows a gay couple’s decline while the storyteller’s alcoholic parents, both actors, are finally getting their act together, and are not quite so dependent on their responsible son anymore. Joel Barraquiel Tan’s “Rondo” follows a drug-fueled evening in which a bisexual young man, grappling with his sexual identity, might have offended the obese gay man who secures drugs for him. The oddly constructed “Postpone” by Seth Silberman Clark shows a man with a preoccupation with detail, who nonetheless misses the many, many warning flags from his latest paramour.
Editor Weise points out that many of these writers are reclaiming sexualities marginalized by AIDS and HIV, and re-imagining that they have a future. While AIDS literature is important, gone here is the speculation of “will I live to see 40?” Even in Bob Guter’s “The Enemy at Bay,” where a gay couple in 1989 meet a new friend, who has HIV, via the personals, the fact the man has AIDS is not the point. Instead, it is that something is missing in this perfect Upper West Side couple’s life.
But with this reclamation of life and sexuality comes a lot of rumination––many of the authors mine their pasts, but Weise and White maintain that this collection does not comprise coming-out tales, “silly boyfriend” stories or remembrances of things past by bitter old queens. In several stories, the onset of gay sexual desire is crossed with abuse, causing the victims to feel both pain and guilt. In “First Sex” by Will Fabro, a nine-year-old boy faces ostracism when repeatedly raped by a cousin, only to feel dejected when his rapist finds a girlfriend and the previously unwanted, negative attention stops.
In Patrick Ryan’s “Ground Control,” the narrator is introduced to gay sex by someone using subterfuge rather than seduction, also abusively, shaming him rather than inspiring him. All this is set against the panorama of his disjointed family. Robert Williams’ “Taking Pictures,” has an adolescent’s desire clouding what’s really happening when the cool teacher at his high school turns out to be an equal-opportunity pedophile.
Perhaps most disturbing of all is “Wave,” by James Hannaham, where a young black man compartmentalizes his gay life, and in doing so, endangers his future when coming out could clear up false charges made against him. The story makes it plain how coming out in some communities is deemed unworthy, even when it might be necessary.
What’s most exhilarating about “Fresh Men” is that the stories all step outside convention, as Weise notes. The opening story, Vestal McIntyre’s “ONJ.com” plays a narrative trick on the reader, twisting the story about the lonely straight girl who resolves to make friends with a gay guy, into a story about how gay men think they are perceived by others. In Philip Huang’s “American Widow,” the story reads like something out of Sylvia Plath, with a woman ruminating on her loses; but it reads gay as she thinks about how pointless her losses seem, especially compared to gay men who’ve lost lovers to AIDS, and at least could be “part of a movement,” and history.
Plans for “Fresh Men 2,” are in the works, with an eye to a Fall 2005 release date.
Writers interested in submitting their stories for a subsequent issue of “Fresh Men” should contact Don Weise at Carroll & Graf, 245 West 17th St., New York, NY, 10011.
BOOKS
FRESH MEN: NEW VOICES IN GAY FICTION
Edited by Donald Weise
Selected by Edmund White
Carroll & Graf
349 pages; $14
Reclaiming Gay Fiction
A new anthology confirms gay life’s dark side, especially for the young
By SETH J. BOOKEY
During the gay publishing boom of the last decade, short-story anthologies were a dime a dozen, ranging from the venerable “Men on Men” series to hastily thrown-together affairs that gathered gay stories together on the flimsiest of connections––for example, all the stories were “boy meets boy” tales.
Separating the wheat from the chaff started to get difficult. This even affected the higher end of the spectrum.
But, quality is unquestionably back, with “Fresh Men: New Voices in Gay Fiction.” Inspired by the original “Men on Men” anthology, first edited by the late George Stambolian almost two decades ago, editor Don Weise shares Stambolian’s “missionary zeal” when it comes to reaching new audiences with new fiction. And in this noble pursuit, Weise has made literary excellence a top priority, resulting in 20 truly well written stories. Even the one I really disliked is well written.
Another criterion Weise and judge Edmund White used when whittling more than 100 submissions down to this collection was to only include authors who have not yet had their own anthologies or novels published. But while the subtitle indicates “new” voices, don’t mistake this label to mean that everyone is painfully young and brilliant. Weise told Gay City News that the final 20 writers represent a range of men starting at 20-something right up through their 50s.
Currently creaking into middle age myself, I quite enjoyed the sublimely silly and simultaneously insightful submission by Jason Shilts. “Some Speculations on the Bob Uncertainty” brings us a sagging middle-aged man who finds himself enjoying an affair with a supple younger man who shows no signs of bolting, and who indulges the narrator’s harmless excesses.
Also unexpectedly joyous is “Acqua Calda,” the story of a man suffering perilously with HIV who is given a chance to return to acting via a Sicilian theater production. His professional revival is met with a sexual one as well when an admirer makes his intentions known while the acting troupe takes a trip to the sulfur hot springs nearby.
Not all the stories are quite so upbeat. Many reflect the depression and dysfunctions of both the current day and the times during which these authors grew up. But what does unify so many of these stories, beyond their interesting storytelling techniques, is a sense of loss and missed opportunities. William Sterling Walker’s “Desire” is reminiscent of pre-AIDS “gay guys hanging out” stories, but the moody, atmospheric story is about a missed connection.
In “The Inadvertent Headshot,” Robert J. Hughes shows a gay couple’s decline while the storyteller’s alcoholic parents, both actors, are finally getting their act together, and are not quite so dependent on their responsible son anymore. Joel Barraquiel Tan’s “Rondo” follows a drug-fueled evening in which a bisexual young man, grappling with his sexual identity, might have offended the obese gay man who secures drugs for him. The oddly constructed “Postpone” by Seth Silberman Clark shows a man with a preoccupation with detail, who nonetheless misses the many, many warning flags from his latest paramour.
Editor Weise points out that many of these writers are reclaiming sexualities marginalized by AIDS and HIV, and re-imagining that they have a future. While AIDS literature is important, gone here is the speculation of “will I live to see 40?” Even in Bob Guter’s “The Enemy at Bay,” where a gay couple in 1989 meet a new friend, who has HIV, via the personals, the fact the man has AIDS is not the point. Instead, it is that something is missing in this perfect Upper West Side couple’s life.
But with this reclamation of life and sexuality comes a lot of rumination––many of the authors mine their pasts, but Weise and White maintain that this collection does not comprise coming-out tales, “silly boyfriend” stories or remembrances of things past by bitter old queens. In several stories, the onset of gay sexual desire is crossed with abuse, causing the victims to feel both pain and guilt. In “First Sex” by Will Fabro, a nine-year-old boy faces ostracism when repeatedly raped by a cousin, only to feel dejected when his rapist finds a girlfriend and the previously unwanted, negative attention stops.
In Patrick Ryan’s “Ground Control,” the narrator is introduced to gay sex by someone using subterfuge rather than seduction, also abusively, shaming him rather than inspiring him. All this is set against the panorama of his disjointed family. Robert Williams’ “Taking Pictures,” has an adolescent’s desire clouding what’s really happening when the cool teacher at his high school turns out to be an equal-opportunity pedophile.
Perhaps most disturbing of all is “Wave,” by James Hannaham, where a young black man compartmentalizes his gay life, and in doing so, endangers his future when coming out could clear up false charges made against him. The story makes it plain how coming out in some communities is deemed unworthy, even when it might be necessary.
What’s most exhilarating about “Fresh Men” is that the stories all step outside convention, as Weise notes. The opening story, Vestal McIntyre’s “ONJ.com” plays a narrative trick on the reader, twisting the story about the lonely straight girl who resolves to make friends with a gay guy, into a story about how gay men think they are perceived by others. In Philip Huang’s “American Widow,” the story reads like something out of Sylvia Plath, with a woman ruminating on her loses; but it reads gay as she thinks about how pointless her losses seem, especially compared to gay men who’ve lost lovers to AIDS, and at least could be “part of a movement,” and history.
Plans for “Fresh Men 2,” are in the works, with an eye to a Fall 2005 release date.
Writers interested in submitting their stories for a subsequent issue of “Fresh Men” should contact Don Weise at Carroll & Graf, 245 West 17th St., New York, NY, 10011.
Posted: Thu - February 24, 2005 at 11:07 PM
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