When he isn’t walking on water, he does tell a very engaging story about the world of gay publishing in the 1970’s through the 1980’s.
Picano mentions on more than one occasion how intelligent he is, how great his memory is and even how perfectly proportioned his penis is. moreĪt first I was afraid that this book was going to be little more than a vehicle for Felice Picano to flex his ego. "But it's a surprising product of our acheivement that we changed things so completely that most GLBT people alive today are unaware that pretty much most of their 'establishment' was created within such a short time by so few people and so recently it all seems so very inevitable". At first it's a bit hard to get a grasp on-there's so much name-dropping-but once the major players are in place it's really amazing to see how this rather tightly-knit cobweb of individuals (connected artistically and more often than not, amorously) were able to fashion an important, far-reaching, and in some ways already lamentably forgotten artistic legacy. At first it's a bit hard to get a grasp on-there's so much name-dropping-but once the major players are in place it's really amazing to see how this rather tightly-knit cobweb of individuals (connected artistically and more often than not, Invaluable as a historical document, but also an accessible introduction to a number of pioneering queer writers and artists (I have a long list of titles I'd like to get ahold of now) and an intriguing "behind the scenes" look at how small presses operate. Invaluable as a historical document, but also an accessible introduction to a number of pioneering queer writers and artists (I have a long list of titles I'd like to get ahold of now) and an intriguing "behind the scenes" look at how small presses operate. (Maybe we see 1001 flowers or 1001 tasteful nudes, but 1001 cocks is not a book available at the nearest museum, Picano points out.) Not all of the anecdotes are this engaging, but it’s certainly worth reading to find the gems.more
WH Auden, when confronted by Picano about why he never wrote about being gay, responding, “Mother no longer remembers what gay sex is - it was all so long ago.” Or, the Village Voice books editor declining to assign a review of The Color Purple by saying “we’re not particularly interested in lesbian negritude.” (Who was that editor in 1981? Please divulge.) Then there’s the part about Robert Mapplethorpe obsessively looking at any guy’s crotch in search of the specimens he could feature in his sendup of 1001 Nights, but then somehow that segment of the book ends up being touching because of the way that even Mapplethorpe’s legacy has been sanitized. WH Auden, when confronted by Picano about why he never wrote about being gay, responding, “Mother no longer remembers what gay sex is - it was all so long ago.” Or, the Village Voice books editor declining to assign a review of The Color Purple by saying “we’re not particularly interested in lesbian negritude.” (Who was that editor in 1981? Please divulge.) Then there’s the part about Robert Mapplethorpe obsessively looking at any guy’s The best thing about this book is certainly the anecdotes. The best thing about this book is certainly the anecdotes. Many aspects of the arts, as they swirled around New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco during the 1970s through 1991 were connected to Gay Presses of New York.more Gay Presses of New York also played apart in the growth of what is now gay culture, consisting of bookstores, magazines, newspapers, theater companies, and art galleries. Gay Presses of New York was not only the most successful gay press of its day, but the founders had made their move at the right time and place. Gay Presses of New York also played apart in the A decade after the Stonewall rebellions, a small, all-gay press named Seahorse began along with Calamus Books and JH Press, which all came together to form Gay Presses of New York. A decade after the Stonewall rebellions, a small, all-gay press named Seahorse began along with Calamus Books and JH Press, which all came together to form Gay Presses of New York.