Whatever came of Gay Lit? It’s been ages since I’ve had the luxury of lazily browsing a bookstore, but I can’t remember the last time I saw a section on Gay Literature. In the 90’s they seemed to be everywhere. Hell, there were entire Gay Bookstores (shout out to ‘We Think The World of You’ in the South End of Boston!) These days, for better or worse, our work seems to have assimilated into the general categories of Fiction or Non-fiction, but rather than getting into some deep analysis of what that might mean to the LGBTQIA world, I’m simply going to offer a reading suggestion which brings us even further back in time to the 1960’s. By the great Edmund White, ‘Jack Holmes & His Friend’ is a look at a gay man’s life during the last half of the 20thcentury. I won’t give much more away; Mr. White has a better grasp of words than I ever could. He gets into what it might have been like for a gay man at that time, how subtle notions of masculinity were both desired and problematic, and ways in which we tried to escape.
“Either you were off everyone’s radar and flying solo, undetectable, or you registered with them and suffered the consequences – you became a character, a type, which was fine except it felt limiting. What he wanted and needed was a buddy, a guy his own age, a masculine guy who didn’t look at you penetratingly and size you up. A buddy who would share with you his interest in books or old movies or fine sports writing. Yeah, you’d catch sight of your buddy out of the corner of your eye as the two of you headed out into the night, collars turned up against the cold and shoulders bumping. Someone who didn’t stare at you and who could watch TV with you and make just the occasion wry comment while nursing a beer. Someone who made you feel like a minor adjective, not a major noun.”
~ Edmund White, ‘Jack Holmes & His Friend’
“I thought about how much work it must be to be the life of the party, even if the party was just three or four friends.”
“He knew he couldn’t indulge his despair even for an hour or the perpetual-motion machine would freeze; he’d never escape the stasis of depression.” ~ Edmund White, ‘Jack Holmes & His Friend’
“I tried to collect my thoughts: It’s true that a gay friend is different, maybe better, because he’s not a rival. He’s not part of the whole dismal system. He’s not one more pussy-whipped churchgoer who’s learned to keep his head, the big head and the little one, in check. Everyone thinks gay guys are sissies and mama’s boys, but they’re actually people who’ve chosen their sexuality over all the comforts of home. They’re bravely obsessional – but at a price.“ ~ Edmund White, ‘Jack Holmes & His Friend’
“There were so few safe ritual male topics available to us that we ended up saying things that were real and personal.” ~ Edmund White, ‘Jack Holmes & His Friend’
“He’s one of the rare people I know who genuinely prefer their own company…” ~ Edmund White, ‘Jack Holmes & His Friend’
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