Best of
Gay

1978

Torch Song Trilogy


Harvey Fierstein - 1978
    The four hour-plus play begins with a soliloquy in which he explains his cynical disillusionment with love.Each act focuses on a different phase in Arnold's life. In the first, Arnold meets Ed, who is uncomfortable with his bisexuality. In the second, one year later, Arnold meets Alan, and the two settle down into a blissful existence that includes plans to adopt a child, until tragedy strikes. In the third, several years later, Arnold is a single father raising gay teenager David. Arnold is forced to deal with his mother's intolerance and disrespect when she visits from Florida.

Prick Up Your Ears: The Biography of Joe Orton


John Lahr - 1978
    Less than one month later, Britain's most promising comic playwright was murdered by his lover in the London flat they had shared for fifteen years. Lahr chronicles Orton's working-class childhood and stagestruck adolescence, the scandals and disasters of his early professional years, and the brief, glittering success of his blistering comedies, Entertaining Mr. Sloane, Loot, and What the Butler Saw.Prick Up Your Ears is a watershed biography; it paved the way for Orton's revival and ensured his rightful place in the English repertoire.

Tales of the City


Armistead Maupin - 1978
    A naïve young secretary, fresh out of Cleveland, tumbles headlong into a brave new world of laundromat Lotharios, pot-growing landladies, cut throat debutantes, and Jockey Shorts dance contests. The saga that ensues is manic, romantic, tawdry, touching, and outrageous—unmistakably the handiwork of Armistead Maupin.

Witchcraft: The Gay Counterculture


Arthur Evans - 1978
    It compares this history with present-day LGBT culture with an intent to show how the current persecution and marginalization of queer people is an extension of a history of religious intolerance.

Jonathan Loved David: Homosexuality in Biblical Times


Thomas Marland Horner - 1978
    He includes an important discussion of the words and actions of Christ in their biblical and historical context, to determine what conclusions can validly be inferred about Jesus and sexuality.This book contains suggestions for further reading and a complete list of biblical references to homosexuality. Teachers, students, and anyone open to reconsidering homosexuality in the light of the Scriptures will profit from this clearly written work.

Dancer from the Dance


Andrew Holleran - 1978
    It depicts the adventures of Malone, a beautiful young man searching for love amid New York's emerging gay scene. From Manhattan's Everard Baths and after-hours discos to Fire Island's deserted parks and lavish orgies, Malone looks high and low for meaningful companionship. The person he finds is Sutherland, a campy quintessential queen -- and one of the most memorable literary creations of contemporary fiction. Hilarious, witty, and ultimately heartbreaking, Dancer from the Dance is truthful, provocative, outrageous fiction told in a voice as close to laughter as to tears.

Homage to Cavafy


Duane Michals - 1978
    His poetry was his life. And because he was a man who loved other men, he demonstrated his courage by making public these private passions. He lived then, as we still do today, among those brute people who would literally destroy them both physically and spiritually for the unforgivable sin of loving the wrong person. Despite this vulnerability, he wrote about the truth of himself with painful honesty, and the strength of his art protected him and freed others. I salute his courage and thank him for the gift of his life. The photographs and captions are not illustrative of Cavafy's poetry. They are separate and sympathetic.

Under the Rainbow: Growing Up Gay


Arnie Kantrowitz - 1978
    In an immensely moving account, Karnowitz writes of growing up gay before Stonewall, trying to come to grips with his sexuality at a time when it was generally perceived as an illness; his discovery of the early gay rights movement; and becoming a nationally recognized activist for gay rights.

Absolute Gift


Ned Rorem - 1978
    Rorem has a rare gift for writing, as well, and the wide acclaim that has greeted his memoirs, essay collections, and published diaries attest to this fact. An Absolute Gift is a cornucopia of Roremisms—essays, reviews, and opinions on a vast array of fascinating subjects, from music to film to drama to sex. Here also are candid diary entries, displaying the frankness and remarkable insight for which Rorem is known. Whether he’s lambasting or celebrating the world’s great musical works and their creators (and, according to Stephen Sondheim, “He is one of the best writers about music that I have ever read”), offering intensely personal musings on death and love, or brilliantly dissecting the artist’s craft, Ned Rorem is always fascinating, always provocative, and enormously entertaining.

And God Bless Uncle Harry & His Roommate Jack Who We Are Not Supposed to Talk about


Christopher Street Magazine - 1978