Recently I received the following note from Francis Strand, who lives in Sweden and is married to a Swedish man, and who writes a great blog that everyone should read.
Hey Matthew: I tried to post a comment, but for some reason it says "Sorry we cannot accept this data." [Ed: wtf, typepad?] So this is what I wanted to say, about Michael Cunningham and no gay writers under 57 writing about gay lives these days: Yeah, but. Um. I think other "outsiders" have a pretty tough time of it, actually. Nonhomosexual white men pretty much rule, although nonhomosexual women seem to continue to improve their lot. I don't disagree with you, though. I couldn't come up with anyone that fits the bill exactly (Augusten Burroughs? Dale Peck? Scott Heim?) Also, I have a few favorite gay writers who don't at all fit the bill but I [wanted to mention]. They don't always write about gay lives either, but sometimes: Colm Toibin, Peter Cameron, Patrick Gale... and funny that David Leavitt never lands in these lists, he was the great gay hope for popular literature at one point. -- Francis
My response: I completely get what you're saying about other outsiders, Francis -- it's not easy for anyone -- and you're right about the establishment still being largely ruled by straight, white men. I also don't mean to sound like a "crusader": after all, as you may or may not have noticed, the promotional materials for THE METROPOLIS CASE make no explicit reference to the many "scorching" nonheterosexual scenes/motifs/themes/affairs in the novel (although to be fair, there's plenty of nonhomosexual stuff, too -- basically there's a lot of sex in the book!), because like every other gay writer, I don't want to be tossed into the "gay ghetto." I guess what bugs me is my perception (and I could be wrong about this, I've always had a bit of a persecution complex, I won't try to deny it) that members of other groups are so often cited as being "proud" (for lack of a better word) of their outsider status, and moreover, recognized and applauded for incorporating that element of their identities into their fiction, whereas if a gay person tries to do the same, there's a lot of awkward coughing and uncomfortable shuffling of feet, sort of like there's a collective sigh and "okayyyy." I guess the example I keep coming back to is an interview I read with Junot Diaz, where he said something to the effect of: 'I just wanted to tell the stories of my people (i.e., Dominican Americans)," and he sounded so forthright and honest and relaxed about it in a way that never seems possible for a gay writer. Which okay is just one example, but I think it's a telling one.
Yes, I do agree with you really. Whenever we talk about our lives, it's seen somehow as being in-your-face. Militant even. I do think African Americans face some of the same real-life reaction by non-African Americans - we've just gotten to the point that it's not socially acceptable to voice this (which is the first step in changing the actual attitude I believe). But us (glbtq) alphabet people haven't gotten that far. Kids calling each other faggot or saying something is gay doesn't warrent the same censure as when they use racial epithets. (And while I'm here, I'm plugging my new site, www.queercult.com
Posted by: francis s. | 10/26/2010 at 09:35 AM
Thanks, Francis!
Posted by: Matthew Gallaway | 10/26/2010 at 09:39 AM
I like reading "gay fiction" and find it very hard to find. I was frustrated with how By Nightfall was marketed. I think it could be hard for "gay fiction" writers to find, with it lumped into more mass sections of stores.
Gay fiction top lists often fill up with romance titles. It feels like the books I love get marginalized more and more, perhaps it will get worse with Alyson all but closed?
I don't get how this is happening in publishing, while acceptance of LGBT people seems to be rising in the wider population.
Posted by: Chris | 10/26/2010 at 11:44 AM
Thanks for the comment, Chris -- I think (in fact I know) theres a strong perception in the publishing industry that gay doesnt sell because its not interesting to general readers; hence gay novelists are constantly trying to avoid the label, which I can understand. I think all we can do is keep reading/writing/talking about great books that are written by gay writers (and tackle gay themes) with the understanding that like so many outsiders, we have stories/lessons that are universal and should be appreciated as such.
Posted by: Matthew Gallaway | 10/26/2010 at 11:56 AM
We could start with something as simple as tagging "gay fiction" books as such in Amazon. That shows publishers how we categorize books and helps other similarly minded readers to find them in the future.
The only issue snag there is that the tag is also used with gay romance books. There's such a volume of gay romance novels that they tend to flood the category and obscure the other books.
Posted by: Chris | 10/27/2010 at 11:57 PM
Thanks, Chris -- I can see how your idea makes perfect sense from a readers perspective, but Im also slightly terrified by the idea of being tagged gay because its proven to be soooooo deadly in terms of sales because of the gay-genre books. (Sad but true!) Its a real Catch-22. Perhaps we should have a new tag, like nonheterosexual or something a bit more tongue-in-cheek/literary.
Posted by: Matthew Gallaway | 10/28/2010 at 10:08 AM