Assaracus: A Journal of Gay Poetry presents JOY EXHAUSTIBLE, a look at the work, through poetry, prose, and memoir, of both contemporary and history-making gay publishers and editors. JOY EXHAUSTIBLE features work by James Mitchell, John Lauritsen, Donald Weise, William Johnson, Michael Hathaway, Felice Picano, Steve Berman, Ian Young, Charlie Bondhus, Ron Mohring, Kirby Congdon, Charles Flowers, Perry Brass, John Stahle, Jameson Currier, Lawrence Schimel, and a cover poem by Paul Mariah. It is edited by Bryan Borland and Seth Pennington, publishers of Sibling Rivalry Press, who also contribute their first collaborative poem. This anthology, which doubles as issue 14 of the journal, tells the story of the small gay press in North America and the publishers behind the scenes whose love of writing changed the geography of gay literature.
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a handbook to the publishers who fed my life in gay literature
I cannot be too enthusiastic about this volume. It is almost a forbidden pleasure. I have had an eye out for gay and gay-related literature since I was very young. I quickly learned that anything labeled such "officially" was usually a boring psychological study that had more to do with me as a lab rat than a human being. But I stuck with it, search out books that were rumored to have gay passages or that were being read by sophisticates because they had a gay character in them. Then, after Stonewall, there was a proliferation of publishers who actually specialized in printing (and re-printing) gay literature. My search had become less surreptitious crawling around among secret shelves in University libraries and more overt requests at the counters of bookstores--especially gay bookstores--in every big city. All that by way of an enthusiastic "thank you" to Bryan and Seth for putting together these interviews cum essays cum poems from living representatives of that revolution. What a privilege to enjoy their stories from their own mouths. And what a joy to have their quirky, sometimes eccentric, personalities confirmed--just as I'd anticipated them to be. (Hooray for The Male Muse and all its progeny!) Read more
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