SERENITY
BETWEEN THE SHEETS/WORDS ARE A WEAPON, THEY CAN WOUND SOMETIMES (YES, A CHER
REFERENCE – DEAL WITH IT…)
Akhmatova,
POEMS (Everyman’s Library, $12.50 US/$16.50 CAN, translated by D.M. Thomas)
The author was a poet in the early Twentieth Century in Russia, and, even through the translation, her romantic but somewhat melancholy soul shines through.
In fact, even in her “Requiem”, during the
horrors of the Stalinist regime, when her son was imprisoned, the elegance of
her vision and the eloquence of her controlled anger and sorrow are in
evidence.
Deeply moving material, with a deft touch. Like Constantin Kavafy, she is not much for
flowery imagery or flashy poetic devices, but her little flourishes shine out
all the more in her simple but crafted lines.
And I can relate all too well to the clearly cranky “Good morning,
morning!” in her ‘The Pillow, Hot’.
A tasteful little collection, though a bit more
biographical information would have helped to explain the context of the pieces
– or perhaps not…
Tim Fish,
CAVALCADE OF BOYS (Poison Press, P.O. Box 24429, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, $30
US)
I had seen these graphic novels initially while in New York City last summer, having had them promoted to me by the Gay Bear Cartoon specialist they hauled out from the back room when I requested some gay titles at a comic shop. I didn’t bite then (the novels or the specialist).
There’s nothing particularly bearish about this
compendium of the now-out-of-print titles, though one or two characters have
some fuzziness to them. It is, instead,
a collection of alternately romantic and cynical/troubling stories around a
large cast of gay men and hangers-on, drawn in a style ranging from light lines
to dark textures as the context requires it.
Almost any gay man (and some dykes – and a handful of straight people,
if you feel you MUST be included somewhere… J) could relate to the issues explored herein.
547 pages of sex and love and, yes, rock and
roll (unless I blinked, drug use was not a major factor), very enjoyable and
entertaining indeed.
ed. Robert
Kirby and David Kelly, THE BOOK OF BOY TROUBLE (Green Candy Press, $15 US)
Another compilation of works from ‘zines difficult to get individually, this gathers cartoons from a range of queer men with an even greater cross-section of styles, ranging from the full-colour, lush heartbreak of Justin Hall’s “Pink Dolphins” to the vaguely blasphemous “Date With An Angel” by Andy Hartzell, with stops at the sardonic wit of Michael Fahy and Nick Leonard’s crudely drawn insights into his former relationship with LarryBob (knowing the principals to varying extents, I found these uncomfortable, but familiar).
If you’re looking for a gay equivalent of Cathy, you won’t find it here – but you will be encountering comics that will make you laugh, cringe, cry and shake your head in that vaguely-recognizing-this-neurosis way. Well, they did for me, anyway, and my reactions are entirely typical and representative of the whole world. J
Rolf Konig, ROY
& AL (Arsenal Pulp Press, Suite 200, 341 Water Street, Vancouver, BC, V6B
1B8, CANADA, $14.95 CAN/$11.95 US)
I have seen this gentleman’s work here and there on the Net and in print, and, featuring as it does a couple of nice hairy Bearish gents, I have, by identity politics dictate, always admired it. J
This is his first work in English, and tosses in, in addition to the titular characters, who are a large mongrel and a small purebred dog respectively, a gay couple and their friends.
This is, I suppose, not a book for children, featuring as it does rather graphic sexual content and language (which, of course, children have no knowledge or experience of), but it is both funny and insightful, and one cannot help but wonder and/or fear if this is how our pets view our social/sexual interactions.
Van Waffle, AN
ELEGANT PATH (self-published chapbook, Box 115, 3-304 Stone Road W, Guelph,
Ontario, CANADA, N1G 4W4)
The title, to some extent, speaks volumes about the contents of this regrettably short collection. The poems herein are well-crafted, articulate meditations on nature and love, and, yes, even eroticism, with a deft touch and great wisdom and sensitivity.
Not that surprisingly, one of my favourites is “Bear Serenade”, though the extended metaphor of “Pumpkin Me” also appealed, as did “Penetration”, in an intellectual way, if not in a sexual fashion to which I can personally relate or aspire (perhaps regrettably).
I hope to see more from Van some day. And, yes, I have met the author – but I would have liked the poems even if I had not. J
Brian Eno et.
al., NOT ONE MORE DEATH (Verso Books, $8.95 US/$12.50 CAN)
Words against the war, in some cases coming from quarters one would not expect, such as a chargedly political Eno, a blistering John Le Carre and the playwright Harold Pinter (who, given the emotional and physical constrictions/confinements of his dramatic writing, focuses on the disappeared and marginalized at Guantanamo Bay).
A very sobering read, and, though little of it surprises me in terms of the dirty pool and money/oil politics behind the war and ‘liberation’, it may surprise and open the eyes of others, as agitprop should do.
And, yes, I do consider CNN and Fox to be agitprop as well.
Simon Ford,
WRECKERS OF CIVILISATION: THE STORY OF COUM TRANSMISSIONS AND THROBBING GRISTLE
(Black Dog Publishing Limited, P.O. Box 3082, London, NW1 UK, $29.95 US)
This book came out in 1999, but it somehow slipped right past me. Having read the retrospective of Genesis P-Orridge’s work, PAINFUL BUT FABULOUS, this seemed a logical companion, focusing as it did on both the entire art collective/performance art/terrorist troupe he was with and, well, the band/performance art/terrorist troupe he was with. J
It is a generous book, full of many disturbing and children-unfriendly pictures, documentation of shows, many interviews and excerpts from articles, and reasonably detailed biographies of the band members.
A labour of love, and, in light of the subsequent reunions and now new album, a work of introduction and illumination as well into one of the more intense and controversial bands of the Industrial scene of the 70s, 80s and today.
Ken Shakin, THE
CURE FOR SODOMY (Haworth Press, $16.95 US)
A very disturbing little book, but wonderfully evil and wrong. Sort of like William S Burroughs, but without the rampant misogyny, child molestation, wife-murder or Nike shilling.
For all that the press contained herein describes the author himself as negative and offensive, it does not strike as a very depressing or sensational volume in that sense. Its disturbing qualities lay mainly in its matter-of-fact depiction of degradation and decadence, because, after all, putting on a Hallowe’en mask of horror and crime ultimately reduces subversion to spectacle and theatre. The most effective undermining works are those which sneak up on one, or contain the poison within a scrumptious piece of Turkish Delight. In that respect, this mockumentary framed in the device of conversations over coffee is eminently successful.
And that word sodomy just gives me the shivers. J
Robert Taylor,
ALL WE HAVE IS NOW (Haworth Press, $14.95 US)
It is almost impossible to review this book without doing a spoiler, which I try to avoid at all costs. It is a sort of romance/crime/journey of self discovery book about an older man who loses two partners in rapid succession.
It is heartwarming but also illustrative of some of the ugliness at the heart of American (or perhaps heterosexual) culture. It is well written with a surprise twist that does not seem forced.
The journey is rewarding, but so is the destination.
Scott Treleaven,
THE SALIVATION ARMY BLACK BOOK (Art Metropole/Printed Matter, $35 CAN before
shipping, limited and numbered edition of, yes, 666)
Yet another collection of difficult-to-get ‘zines, this comes in a black plastic binding with those special long attached bookmarks in black silk and with black tinted pages.
Yes, it’s THAT kind of book – full of evil and paganism and pornographic collages (didn’t the number of copies available give you a big freakin’ hint?). The art, testimonials and newspaper articles will move you, horrify you and make you think. Join the Salivation Army while you may – for Armageddon is just a t-shirt away! J
