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Gay Fiction Speaks: Conversations with Gay Novelists
 
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Gay Fiction Speaks: Conversations with Gay Novelists [Hardcover]

Richard Canning (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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From Publishers Weekly

Toward the end of his interview here, David Leavitt abruptly states that asking if "gay literature" exists is the wrong question: "[T]o me the important question is: 'Is there such a thing as a gay reader?' That's infinitely more relevant. What's important is whether there are people who seek out books with gay content." This shift in focus gives much of this volume a fresh sense of purpose and meaning. Canning, who teaches American and English literature at Britain's Sheffield University, has produced in-depth interviews with 12 noted gay American and British novelists (John Rechy, Dennis Cooper, Patrick Gale, James Purdy, Edmund White among them). Aside from placing themselves within a social and historical tradition of "gay writing," the featured authors offer little evidence of an innate "sensibility." The pleasure of the interviews comes from Canning's ability to prompt quirky and ingenious responses from his subjects. Often, these include bluntly negative assessments of the works of others, though more commonly they are supportive and incisive, as when Dennis Cooper graciously underplays his enormous influence on other writers, or when Alan Gurganus discusses the place of homosexuality in the tradition of the Southern gothic. Each of the pieces clearly conveys the voice of the writer (James Purdy's idiosyncratic speech is captured beautifully), while as a whole, the book illustrates how these serious artists negotiate the cultural minefields of literary and identity politics in a marketplace that both values and devalues them as "gay." (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Library Journal

Canning (English and American literature, Sheffield Univ., UK) conducted interviews with 12 of the English language's best-known gay fiction writers. Presented in a delightfully rambling, conversational style, the interviews include Edmund White on the writer's voice, Armistead Maupin on gay identity, David Leavitt on the tradition defined by a gay readership, and John Rechy on the long, often unrecorded history of gay culture. The authors address such topics as AIDS, art, and activism and discuss their own literary influences and writing habits. From time to time, they engage in a little literary gossip. Reminiscent of the Dick Cavett interviews of the 1960s and 1970s, the pieces here offer an intelligent, witty, and thoroughly entertaining look into the creative souls of some of the masters of contemporary gay fiction. Recommended for most larger collections. Jeff Ingram, Newport P.L., OR
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, Mar 16 2001
This review is from: Gay Fiction Speaks: Conversations with Gay Novelists (Paperback)
These interviews with 12 notable gay authors are powerful meditations on literary creativity and gay identity. The deeply insightful questions--Canning read everything by each of these authors before interviewing them--draw thoughtful, at times surprising responses from a wide range of authors. Readers are left to draw their own conclusions about the sum effect of the interviews, but one result for myself was fresh respect for these men and for their hardworking devotion to art. I am eager to read further volumes of Canning's interviews; it is such a pleasure to read intelligent commentary about novels by gay authors, when so much of what we get is filtered through annoying celebrity-obsessed, therapy-thirsty media like The Advocate and Out.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Unmissable!, Jan 24 2001
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This review is from: Gay Fiction Speaks: Conversations with Gay Novelists (Paperback)
Wow! I just got hold of this book, and it's a must for allreaders of gay fiction - in fact, for all readers. It's a collectionof interviews with the novelists you've most probably read, and talksabout how to write, literary influences, reputations. There's somehigh quality literary gossip but lots of serious analysis too. Youcan't believe some of the stuff is 'on record'! The conversations arelively, funny, never repetitive or boring, and they sort of all linkup. You can read the whole thing in one go - it's like a chatroom withall your favourite gay writers. Why has nobody done this before? Icould quibble about some missing authors, but they may turn up involume 2... Meanwhile, this book gave me a massive reading list that Iwant to check out.
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Amazon.com: 5.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Unmissable!, Jan 24 2001
By simon banks - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Gay Fiction Speaks: Conversations with Gay Novelists (Paperback)
Wow! I just got hold of this book, and it's a must for allreaders of gay fiction - in fact, for all readers. It's a collectionof interviews with the novelists you've most probably read, and talksabout how to write, literary influences, reputations. There's somehigh quality literary gossip but lots of serious analysis too. Youcan't believe some of the stuff is 'on record'! The conversations arelively, funny, never repetitive or boring, and they sort of all linkup. You can read the whole thing in one go - it's like a chatroom withall your favourite gay writers. Why has nobody done this before? Icould quibble about some missing authors, but they may turn up involume 2... Meanwhile, this book gave me a massive reading list that Iwant to check out.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, Mar 15 2001
By california-bookworm - Published on Amazon.com
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This review is from: Gay Fiction Speaks: Conversations with Gay Novelists (Paperback)
These interviews with 12 notable gay authors are powerful meditations on literary creativity and gay identity. The deeply insightful questions--Canning read everything by each of these authors before interviewing them--draw thoughtful, at times surprising responses from a wide range of authors. Readers are left to draw their own conclusions about the sum effect of the interviews, but one result for myself was fresh respect for these men and for their hardworking devotion to art. I am eager to read further volumes of Canning's interviews; it is such a pleasure to read intelligent commentary about novels by gay authors, when so much of what we get is filtered through annoying celebrity-obsessed, therapy-thirsty media like The Advocate and Out.
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