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COUNTERCULTURE
Review
Shadows of Love: American Gay Fiction
Edited by Charles Jurrist, Alyson
Publications, 1989, Paperback $7.95
Shadows of Love is quite fittingly
subtitled "American Gay Fiction," though
"American Gay Male Fiction" might have
been a bit more accurate, as all the authors
here are men. Seldom if ever before has an
anthology of short fiction better represented
the ethnic and cultural diversity of the gay
man in America. Rather than present yet
another compilation of reflections on gay
life and concerns in New York and San
Francisco, publisher Sasha Alyson and
editor Charles Jurrist have assembled
sixteen stories comprising, if not a
representative cross section, then at least an
intriguing sampling of-to quote Mr. Jurrist's
"Introduction"-"what else is out there."
Judging from this anthology, what's "out
there" are a lot of very good writers. The
authors included here hail from New Jersey,
Washington State, Texas, Georgia, Toronto,
and yes-even New York and San Francisco.
They are white and black and Chicano, and
their characters are all these and then some.
This is definitely not the same old thing.
The stories in Shadows of Love are
uniformly fine, but there are standouts.
These include "First Blood," Robert Trent's
oddly titled tale of sexual obsession
involving two BMOC's in the late 1960s;
the acutely sensitive "A Faustian Bargain"
SHADOWS OF LOVE
AMERICAN GAT FICTION
by Richard Hall, the story of a concert
pianist, married with children, teetering on
the brink of gay life; and Lee Rosario
Kincaid's "Coloring Inside the Lines," a
delicately wrought story told from the point
of view of a little boy of four or five.
Altogether, Shadows of Love is an
important and wholly enjoyable contribution
to the canon of gay literature, and for what
it's worth, I wholeheartedly recommend it.
- Larry Duplechan
K.C.'s Top Ten
When Southern Voice asked me to do a
“KC’s Top Ten Albums” article, my first
response was “k.d. (lang) doesn’t have that
many.” My second response was “Who
cares?” But here they are, my all-time Top
10. Remember this is all personal opinion,
and subject to whimsical change.
10. The Koln Concerts. Keith Jarrett. This
guy did a series of improv concerts, and this is
my favorite, probably because of where I
heard it, but that's another story. Solo piano
like you’ve never heard it before.
9. Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent
Town. Emilou Harris. Classic.
Brought me out of the closet as a
country-western fan.
8. Twister. Last Roundup. Lene
Lovich meets the B-52s and does
country. Vocalist Angel must
make Kitty Wells proud.
7. Lone Star State of Mind.
Nanci Griffith. Hard to pick a
favorite from Nanci’s stuff, but
this one does it, largely on the
strength of the title cut and
“There’s a Light Beyond These Woods
(Mary Margaret).”
6. Shoy Some Emotion. Joan Armatrading.
(pictured at right) The last of what I consider
Joan’s “real” music. Acoustic based, pure
emotion, without the over-production that has
marred her albums since.
5. Tracy Chapman. Tracy Chapman.
Picks up where Joan left off and flies.
Political/social commentary unparalleled in
contemporary mainstream music, and that
voice...
4. The Dreaming. Kate Bush. The liner
notes say “This album was meant to be
played loud.” So true. Incredible layering
of rhythms and vocals, something new
comes to the forefront with each listen.
3. Breaths (Compact Disc). Sweet Honey
in the Rock. Sixty-seven minutes of these
women’s voices on a crystal clear compact
disc. Heaven. Almost as good as being there.
2. Looking for Trouble. Ellen Mcllwaine.
Former Atlantan, now resides in Toronto,
where she’s better appreciated. Too bad.
Ellen has two excellent acoustic albums, but
this is the first electric album I’ve liked.
And it is impressive. Playing with a reggae
band, doing covers and originals, Ellen is
the premier woman guitar player. Couple
that with a voice that soars like the Z-Force
at 6 Flags, and you’ve found trouble of the
best kind. After a solo concert earlier this
year, Ellen promised to return to Atlanta
with the band this fall. Keep on the lookout.
1. Shadowland. k.d. lang. After ignoring
her for months, WKHX ran promotional
spots for her recent concert touting her as
the “future of country music.” We knew
that long ago. The future is now. k.d. says
she’s an incarnation of Patsy Cline, and af
ter hearing this album, and seeing the afore
mentioned recent concert (twice), I believe
her. Stay tuned for a new k.d. lang and the
reclines album, due out in March ’89.
The second ten, in no particular order:
So, Peter Gabriel; Guitars, Cadillacs,
Dwight Yoakam; Storms of Life, Randy
Travis; Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen;
Trio, Emilou Harris, Dolly Parton, and
Linda Ronstadt; Surrealistic Pillow,
Jefferson Airplane; Pearl; Janis Joplin;
Horses and Easter, Patti Smith; Angel
with a Lariat, k.d. lang and the reclines.
—KCWildmoon
Reprinted in its entirety from
THE CHICAGO READER
December 22,1988
TORCH SONG TRILOGY The long-
awaited film adaptation of Harvey Fier-
stein's play has proved to be one of the
strongest and best made dramatic films
of the year. Starring Fierstein himself as
a professional female impersonator, and
directed by veteran Paul Bogart, known
mainly for his TV work, the film master
fully mixes comedy, tragedy, and music
into a first-rate entertainment. Chroni
cling two of the hero's love affairs with
men (Brian Kerwin and Matthew Brod
erick) and his troubled relationship with
his strong-willed mother (Anne
Bancroft) in the 70s and early 80s, the
movie is never preachy or moralistic in
its depiction of gay life. Much of its
power can be attributed to the high-
voltage performances of Fierstein and
Bancroft, as well as to a superb use of
jazz and popular music. (Woody Allen
could learn a lot from this movie.) Al
though the material shows some of its
theatrical origins, the transfer to film is
intelligent and effective. One would
hate to find this film treated as a "special
interest" picture because of its gay
characters; its superb theatricality
deserves to be enjoyed by everyone.
K NEW LINE CINEMA
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