Black History Month – James Baldwin

Baldwin’s early years were deeply troubled. At home, he was terrorized by an abusive stepfather; outside the home, he was taunted by his peers because of his diminutive stature and effeminate mannerisms. As an adolescent, he sought refuge in the church, and after an emotionally charged spiritual conversion, he became at age fourteen a minister who regularly preached at evangelical churches in and near Harlem. As a young adult, he held a variety of odd jobs: He was at times a railroad construction worker, waiter, busboy, and elevator operator. It was during this time that he began to write seriously, beginning with book reviews and essays.

During his young adulthood, he also became fully aware of the implications of being black in America. Everyday exposure to racism left him deeply wounded. His increasing consciousness of his homosexuality added to his pain and confusion. To escape what he felt was impending madness, he left for Paris in 1948 with forty dollars in his pocket and no knowledge of French. In France, where he would spend the better part of his remaining years, he became a professional writer.

A prolific artist, Baldwin published twenty-two books during a career that lasted nearly forty years; he wrote formal essays, fiction, drama, and poetry. In his early collections of elegantly written essays–such as Notes of a Native Son (1955) and Nobody Knows My Name (1961)–he combined autobiography with trenchant cultural analysis to create brilliant critiques of American race relations.

Read more about James Baldwin at: GLBTQ.com!

Jamaican Challenges Notions of Race and Sexuality

In record time, Dr. Glave has become known for his erudite expressions concerning the intersection of race and sexuality. In one word, Glave is – brilliant.

While born in the United States in the Bronx, Glave comes from Jamaican parents and spent a considerable amount of his formative years on the tiny island. From his Rasta-like appearance to his sing-song patterns of speech, it is clear that Jamaica – its history and its people – remain imbedded in his spirit.

But being a same gender loving man who loves the home of his ancestors has not been easy, given the negative attitudes and sometimes deadly and aggressive actions aimed at homosexuals.

Not to be deterred, Glave helped found the Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-Flag) while in Jamaica to pursue post graduate education opportunities and continues to speak justice to a situation of injustice.
His skill for writing has been acknowledged with numerous awards, including the Lambda Literary Award for Nonfiction (2005) for his collection of essays, Words to Our Now: Imagination and Descent for which he also garnered the O. Henry Prize, becoming only the second gay African-American writer, after James Baldwin, to win the award.

We caught up with our friend and colleague recently in Atlanta where he was on a national book tour promoting his latest project, a collection of challenging and insightful short stories entitled, The Torturer’s Wife (City Lights Publishing, 2008).

“Each of the stories is stylistically distinct but each has its own particular issues and questions that I want to focus on and present to the reader,” Glave said. “In the first story in the book, “Between,” I wanted to explore what it would be like for two men from different races to experience a sexual relationship.

More at GBM Magazines!

NBWC: A Tribute to E. Lynn Harris

On Saturday, March 6, 2010, writers, publishers, and literary agents will come together for the National Black Writers Conference’s special tribute to the late best-selling author E. Lynn Harris. The event will be held from 4 pm – 6 pm, at the Brooklyn Library – Grand Army Plaza, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, New York 11238.

Featuring opening and closing remarks by Dr. Brenda Greene, Professor of English and Executive Director of the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York, the program will feature readings from Mr. Harris’ works by Essence best-selling authors Donna Hill, Erika Kendrick, Karen E. Quinones Miller, and Victoria Christopher Murray. Publisher Karen Hunter will make a special dedication and offer personal reflections.

A special presentation will be readings from the upcoming book “Visible Lives: Three Stories in Tribute to E. Lynn Harris” (Kensington/Dafina books) by the book’s authors Stanley Bennett Clay (“Looker”), James Earl Hardy (the “B-Boy Blues” series), and Terrance Dean (“Hiding In Hip-Hop”). Release date for “Visible Lives: Three Stories in Tribute to E. Lynn Harris” is May 25, 2010.

The National Black Writers Conference’s Tribute to E. Lynn Harris is free and open to the public. For more information, please call (718) 230-2100.

GA’s 2009 Out Artist: A Year In Review

2009 brought the LGBT community some great work by some great artist…Many of which are either part of, or an ally to the LGBT community. One commonality they all share is they are working diligently, not only to provide the LGBT community with great books, music and movies, but to promote equality for all members of the human race.

This is a tribute to those artist who so graciously gave their time to speak with gayagenda.com in 2009!

Click on the name below to find out more about the artist and how they are contributing and making a difference to the LGBT community!

• Derrick L. Briggs – Actor (Best known for “Finding Me”)

• Smiletone – Actor (Best know for his YouTube Advice)

• Carl Capotorto – Actor/Author (Best known for the HBO Series,”The Sopranos”)

• Stanley Bennett-Clay – Author/Playwright (Best known for “Looker”)

• E. Patrick Johnson – Author (Best known for “Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South)

• Alex Oryan – Author/Photographer (Best known for “The Nude Book”)

• Ryan Field – Author (Best known for “An Officer and His Gentleman”)

• TimPermanent – Recording Artist/Musician

• TJ Cass – Recording Artist/Muscian

• Gaye Adegbalola – Recording Artist/Musician

• Scottie Gage – Recording Artist/Musician

• QB of da’ Midwest – Recording Artist/Musician

• Bry’Nt – Recording Artist/Musician

• JayBezz – Recording Artist/Musician

• Jana Mashonee – Recording Artist/Musician – an ally to the LGBT community!

*Artist are not listed in any particular order.

Dangerous Obsessions: An Interview with Blake Deveraux

Antonio Cappuro speaks with gay author, Blake Deveraux:

The first time I heard of you it was through a comment from a reader asking where he could find your book, and how impressed he was with Julian Fantechi on the cover.  Was the cover model picked by you?
Yes. My Italian Stallion! You’ve gotta love some Julian.

It was a good marketing to post him in the cover of the book; did you have to him in your mind from the start?
Actually no, I didn’t but I met him shortly after and he SO totally fit the Daniel character, plus I mean Julian…who WOULDNT want him on their covers….uhmmm I mean BOOK covers

Certainly he is a stallion, and as you said a very sexy model.
Oh yes he is. He is very intelligent and insanely handsome…. Where’s the justice huh?

Tell us about your series of novels.
There are three books so far in the Men of Danger series, book one (the one that’s in print already) is Dangerous Obsessions, book two is Dangerous Liaisons (which has Julian on the cover) and Dangerous Deceptions is still in the contractual phase.

What do you talk about in Men of Danger? Why did you choose the title?
Honestly I wanted to convey the sense that these characters weren’t just falling in love or lust because they were bored or whatever, I wanted the reader to know that the stakes for my characters are very high, they have very intense lives, and loves. It’s a very high energy series, and I wanted to convey that. In both book one and two, the characters find themselves in situations that could end their lives, as well as their love.

Tell us more about the book.
I think since most of the characters are homosexual and the love interests are between men then it certainly wouldn’t be overstepping. I wanted to humanize the gay culture a bit, to pull back the curtain some and have people realize these guys have the same feelings they do. Probably one of the BEST moments concerning book one is that a self proclaimed straight guy loved it, and said that he had really taken a step back to look at how he categorized gay men, and how he basically had assumed they were somehow “different” when the only REAL difference is WHO they love not how they love. Of course that being said… there is certainly a different mentality between men in a sexual or personal relationship than a man and woman. I think that’s one thing that separates my writing from a lot of books in the genre, MOST are written by women, who by nature tend to feminize the men and at the end of the day, a gay guy might wear a dress, and like sex with men but he’s STILL a man, and thinks like one…

Do you think your writing stereotypes or lives up to the old cliches?
I don’t think so. I mean everybody knows a gay guy who is a walking stereotype but I live in the south, and I can point out half dozen STRAIGHT stereotypes…so for the most part I think my characters are men first and gay second. I’ve tried to do things in my life both personally and professionally that will hopefully help people look at people as who they are first not a black lawyer, a gay banker, or a white cop but a lawyer who happens to be black, a banker, who is gay, etc..You know what I mean? I don’t think your sexuality should define who you are. It’s simply a part of who you are. For the same reason I think your race shouldn’t define who you are. I don’t want people being shocked by the content of my book. Of course I’m selling romance, and sex between two (or sometimes more LOL) men. I’m not at all adverse to people marketing to gays, or whatever, I’m simply saying that I hope someday people won’t be affected negatively or positively by a gay couple, they simply will be a gay couple. A man and woman walk down the street together nobody thinks about it…or who they are or about their lives, yet two men hold hands and I’ll wager half the people that see them mention it later to someone they meet. I think that’s unfortunate. I don’t think that gays always help that though, some gay people put it so much out there, that it makes it hard for society not to judge.

So do you think your Men of Danger will help in some way to straight people to see different to gay people?
Just regular guys NOT to be treated like the stereotypical gay men. I think in a small way it has already. It’s opened dialogue with people I don’t know I’d have had the opportunity to talk to otherwise but on a lighter note if you’ve read any of the sex in the book, you’ve got to know it’s a gay book LOL there’s some pretty scorching sex in it. One of the most notable things that’s come out of it, is my newfound respect for Julian Fantechi, all joking aside, he is an exceptional man. He was SO kind to me, in a situation that it would have been much easier for him just to give me the brush off.

There you go again I bet you have fantasies about him, don’t you?
I don’t know many people with a pulse that wouldn’t! He is one fine looking man.

Did you have to do a lot of investigation and research for the book?  How much of you is there in the book?
I did a fair amount of research into the bdsm thing because although it’s a curiosity of mine, I’ve never dabbled much in it. There is a fair amount of Blake in the book though; Brandon and I share a lot of history. We’ve been through the same things. He’s not a cut out of me but his pathology is certainly similar. In a lot of ways it was therapeutic to write the first book, it allowed me to get angry at things and people I’d never really dealt with before without the confrontational issues that would entail in real life.

Do you find you put real life experiences in your work?
Exactly. Most people who live through multiple traumas tend to internalize, and this was a way of allowing those feelings to be validated safely, most victims have been told they are worthless for so long, they tend to believe it. I still think I’m ugly so go figure huh… LOL

Come on Blake you are not ugly.
Thank you.

You can ask Julian and he will say that you are cute I bet!
I hope so.

Tell us more about the books…
Honestly almost all the characters in the books are gay, so interaction w/ straight community, isn’t a recurring theme, although gay people dealing with the prejudice and mistreatment that follows, is dealt with. Frankly I wanted to have a lot of gay characters who range the spectrum. From one side to the other, so maybe people would see that stereotypes don’t always fit. Book one is how Brandon and Daniel meet and how they work through the beginning of a relationship, book two is about their making commitments to each other, and dealing with the ramifications of those commitments, and book three, has characters from book one and two beginning a relationship. And book four will be the furthering of that relationship. It’s about the stages of love really how real people deal with what life throws at them and it’s not always wine and roses, sometimes we aren’t’ nice to each other and we have to learn to face those times with patience and love.

You said that your writing in these books helped you to deal with things you could not deal in real life.  How was that?
Oh yes it kind of forced me to accept the anger and resentment that I’d denied existed in my heart you kind of tell yourself you’re bigger than they are…you have overcome. I have overcome, but not without sacrificing a lot of who I was and not without a lot of negativity turned on me. It has been worth it though; so many people have reached out to me as a result of this book.

Where did this anger and resentment come from? Did it affect your writing somehow?
It is still amazing to me that there are people in this universe who treat rape of a man as a simple fact of life… that they were somehow responsible, they asked for it. That makes me mad.

What influences did you get from other authors?
I like the classics, John Steinbeck, Walt Whitman, Margaret Mitchell, and Edgar Allen Poe. I respect their ability to transport the reader to another time and place to convey the energy, and life from those characters. I enjoy the formality of the older stuff the descriptions in Gone with the wind are so… vivid, and regal.

When did you first decide to become a writer?
I’ve always written, as long as I can remember, before I could spell, I’d draw stories on paper…

What do you like most about being a writer?  Is it the possibility other may view you as a type of God?
No, nothing like God… I’m more drawn to having my thoughts touch other people in the same way they touch me, to have readers connect with the characters, for me that far outweighs any other motives. Of course it’s nice to get the opportunity to meet insanely handsome cover models!

Did you go to college to study literature? When did you publish your first book?
I went to college, not for literature. I was an accounting major, of all things. I published my first book this Jan. with Red Rose Publising, Dangerous Obsessions.

So you were an accountant and decided it was time to make it happen for yourself as a writer.  Why did you wait so long?
I’m a business man first and foremost. I own a restaurant, as well as another small business. As for waiting for so long I guess, I didn’t ever have the courage to send in a submission, so a very important person in my life told me to send it in and I did. And the rest as they say is history.

How do you define the way you write?
I write only what I’ve worked out in my mind beforehand. I write the story of the people that inhabit my imagination, they do as they please, and I simply document their lives.

What do you think is the primary difference between you and other gay authors?
Primarily that my books don’t have as “feminine” a feel as some of the others I’ve read, and that I generally allow my characters to make mistakes that some writers are afraid of. I allow my characters to screw up basically, because it lends authenticity to the character.

As a self educated author, what advice can you  give young people who want to write and talk about gay life?
There is no right way or wrong way frankly in the final analysis it’s all about marketability. Can you make your story widely, accepted, or have broad enough appeal that people will buy it, without sacrificing what makes your writing unique.

What are your next projects what do you want to reach with your writing?
It’s a hard task and one that I’m not sure I’ve mastered, since the jury is still out on how well my books will be received. I am planning a new series a crime/romance/suspense with a recurring character tall dark handsome and Italian.

I know people will enjoy that a lot.
I can hope.

What else would you like to tell our readers?
I think I do most of my talking to the readers through the books I write, I’d love for my readers to talk more to me! Thank you for the opportunity to be interviewed. I appreciate your work and the time and effort you give to what you do.

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