Circa 2000: Gay Fiction at the Millennium

by Terry Wolverton

Book Overview

Colm Toibin, David Leavitt, Michael Lowenthal, Jaime Manrique, William J Mann, Christian McLaughlin, Frank Ronan and Bernard Cooper are just a few of the writers included in this collection of the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1555835171
• ISBN13: 9781555835170
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: Alyson Books
• Length: 430 Pages
• Weight: 0.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Where Gay Literature is Headed

The first anthology of gay short fiction that I read was probably Men on Men 1. Since then, Men on Men is up to number 8, Canada's Arsenal Pulp Press has produced numerous anthologies such as Queeries, Contra/Diction and Queer View Mirror, Best American Gay Fiction has appeared, and collections worldwide have been published showcasing short fiction from particular countries, ethnic or cultural identities, and more. What is it with gay men and short fiction? Is it our short attention spans? I know that's my problem. But I'm being facetious. My favourite short stories manage to be compact and powerful, sharp and precise, tell a whole novel in much less pages, and leave me wanting more. A number of the stories in the Robert Drake and Terry Wolverton's "Circa 2000: gay fiction at the millennium" do that. Co-editors Drake and Wolverton have chosen an eclectic mix of short fiction with the purpose "to feature works by those writers we believe will be influential in the new millennium." My favourites happened to be by the more established writers in the collection. Frank Ronan's stunning "The Last Innocence of Simeon" has a fluid, confident voice that engages with the emotional intimacy with which we get to know the characters. David Leavitt's "The Term Paper Artist" plays with auto-biography and revelation in a perfectly crafted tale. Scott Heim's "Deep Green, Pale Purple" creates a beautiful lush, textured and vulnerable landscape. Other gems include "The Rose City" by David Ebershoff, the powerful and daring "Whose Song?" by Thomas Glave, the fine comic writing in Christian McLaughlin's "Get a Lifestyle" and Colm Toíbin's "The Heather Blazing." As a reflection of gay culture or gay writing, a number of themes run through the twenty-one stories: the closet and unexplored sexuality of older gay men (Cooper, Cullin), memories of childhood and early adolescence (Heim, Lowenthal, Mann), a backdrop of HIV and AIDS (Currier, Mann, Newman). Another interesting thread were narrators who weren't gay men, or who weren't describing gay culture persay, but were reflecting an outsider's sensibility: stories by Bell, Newman, and Tóibin. An odd set of bookends, the first and last stories in the collection by Eitan Alexander and David Vernon start in familiar gay urban territory and then veer off wildly into another place. Read them to find out what happens. All in all, Circa 2000 is a solid collection of quality prose. I found that the strongest work tended to show up the weaker stories, but it's all a matter of taste, and there is something tasty for everyone here. With new and more established writers represented, and some quirky and original choices, it's an interesting prediction of where gay literature is headed.