Holding Me Together: Essays and Poems [Paperback]

First off, I want to let you know that I'm not a professional reviewer. I am a person that just loves to read. If my reviews get at least one person to read a book then I've done what I have set out to do.

The latest book is "Holding Me Together" by Duane Simolke. The largest part of the book is an essay titled Reactions to Homophobia. This work is very thought provoking. One of my favorites is "Gay Sex is unnatural. Yes, for a heterosexual." This essay is full of ideas along this line. Duane has taken homophobic statements and given his take on them. Others include: "Homosexuals are just a bunch of men dressing up like women", "The average gay male has 5000-15,000 different partners per year." ... "Homosexuality is a Mental Illness", and "The Parts don't fit." Duane has done his research. He has many references and interesting answers to scriptures, websites, books, etc. Once you have read his essay you will want to pick up your copy of King James and check it out in a different light.

There is also a collection of poems. Now I'm not normally a big poetry person however, there were a couple that touched me, as the style is tight and the imagery wonderful. Faces parts I - VII, really aroused my heart. Or in Bareback, Duane hits some, where they don't like it.

If you want something to say when someone says a Homophobic remark? Well, try some of Duane's.

I would recommend this to anyone. Someone that is just coming to terms with their own sexuality and they need answers to remarks they have grown up hearing. Or to the person that is making ignorant homophobic remarks.

Duane Simolke's writings have appeared in several of publications, including; The International Journal On World Peace, Midwest Poetry Review, Perception, Caprock Sun, Community Voice, The New Voice of Nebraska, The Amarillo Bridge, and The Electronic Gay Community Magazine

Duane is also the author of; The Acorn Stories, Holding Me Together, and New Readings of Winesburg, Ohio. Just click his Name - Duane Simolke to see his website and or purchase information on any of Duane's titles.

You can order Duane Simolke's books at most local or on-line bookstores.

So Check it out. You will be pleased. Till next time, Be Safe, Be Proud, and most important, Be Yourself!

The poetry is quite lovely; in particular "Chasing Seagulls," "Detour," "Sock Poem," "Pharisee" and "Home," but most of the collection is devoted to the essays.

Simolke writes well (as one would expect from the author of THE ACORN STORIES), with a mild-mannered logic that nonetheless neatly skewers some of the most beloved clichés about GLBT persons: "they just haven't met the right person;" "they recruit;" "they live that gay lifestyle;" "it's against nature;" "God didn't create Adam and Steve."

In "If there's nothing wrong with it why is it illegal," which is part of the longer essay "Reactions to Homophobia," Simolke writes: "As if it weren't bad enough that fundamentalists try to boss all their fellow mortals around, they also try to boss God around. They keep telling Him which groups of people He can love, which religious systems He can support, which marriages He can bless, which gender He can see as superior, which candidate He can endorse, which styles of music He can allow for religious lyrics, which musical instruments He can allow in places of worship, which styles of clothing He can condone, etc. That list could go on forever. If you want to boss God around, that's your folly. But I won't let you control my life or my mind."

In his exploration of what it is to be gay, Simolke manages to touch on a more fundamental truth: what it is to be human.

But Holding Me Together is more than a refutation of homophobia. It is also a quite brilliant and accessible apologia for those who know that the Bible of Judeo-Christian heritage is chock full of contradictions yet are unable to point them out so well as Simolke does. At the same time, Simolke does not bash the Bible, but shows how it is truly utter nonsense to interpret its scripture so literally.

The long essay is actually divided into a delightful collection of short pieces, focused around the notion that he is speaking to homophobes, fundamentalists, concerned (but ignorant) heterosexuals, and others. A short list of the subtitles of "Reactions to Homophobia" indicates what the reader can look forward to. "Unlike gay people, I don't tell people what my wife and I do in bed." "If a normal guy or a white guy gets beat up, hate crimes laws can't help him. That isn't fair." "Homosexuals can't be Christians." "The parts don't fit." "Gay people should try to be cured."

But this book is more than the long essay. Part Two is a collection of poems that are both soft-spoken and interior to the writer and yet so forceful, reading them is like being knocked over with a feather-you feel a gentle touch, but are left stunned as in the multi-part poem "Faces, Parts I-VII." You cannot simply contemplate the devastation of AIDS on its innocent victims. Simolke will not let you merely feel the gentle touch of his poem about Jessica and other faces; you must also confront those who "Thank God for AIDS."

In short, Duane Simolke's voice is gentle, reasoned, assured, but will leave you gasping for breath. Ultimately, you will be more knowledgeable at the end of the work than you were at the beginning.

Ronald L. Donaghe is a technical writer and novelist from New Mexico. He has been published by Dutton, Edward William Publishing Company, New Mexico Council for the Arts, Xlibris Corporation and by Writer's Club Press (an imprint of iUniverse.com). His growing body of work includes essays in three anthologies, a book of essays, two novels, and a full-length autobiography.