David Sedaris: Funny Ha-Ha
Posted on May 20, 2013 by Dan Lopez in Features, Interviews
“I think my dad felt that there was just no place in the world for me, that I was just such an unpopular [kid], such a nerdy mess, that if he could mold me into a different kind of person maybe I would stand a chance.”
More than two decades after making his Public Radio debut, David Sedaris remains the preeminent humorist of his day, as popular with gay audiences as he is with straight ones. His books Holidays on Ice, Me Talk Pretty One Day and Naked, to name a few, are perennial best sellers of the genre. With his new collection, Let’s Discuss Diabetes with Owls, the literary funny man turns his rapier wit on a host of subjects including aging, straight men, taxidermy, and, as always, his own family. Sedaris possesses a keen ability to satirize broadly, but he’s at his best when he’s zeroed in on the quieter moments of life. The foibles of his own character, for instance, or when discussing the sometimes-motley fans he enjoys teasing on a nearly nightly basis. The busy author took a break from his hectic tour schedule to chat with Lambda while on a recent visit to San Francisco. We spoke at length about the enduring power of camp, the importance of keeping up appearances and the difficulties of life on the road. (more…)
In Conversation with TC Tolbert and Tim Trace Peterson: The Troubled Line
Posted on May 17, 2013 by Edit Team in Interviews
Released this past March by Nightboat Books, Troubling the Line: Trans and Genderqueer Poetry and Poetics is a riotous omnibus of queer poetics. The first comprehensive collection of poetry by trans and genderqueer authors, Troubling the Line offers a lyrical investigation of issues ranging “from identification and embodiment to language and activism.”
Brian Centrone: New Writer, New Reader
Posted on May 16, 2013 by Michael Graves in Features, Interviews
An Ordinary Boy (Seventh Window Publications), Brian Centrone’s debut novel, is far from ordinary. Blending pop culture with the transitional woes of adulthood, Centrone verges toward a new, genre-crossing niche. This new writer aims for the new reader. (more…)
Erin Belieu: The VIDA Count and Women in Publishing
Posted on May 11, 2013 by Julie Levine in Features, Interviews
“We should think for ourselves and have a diverse and healthy and dynamic literary setting in this country that isn’t about worshiping a small group of white straight guys [...]“
Erin Belieu is the author of three books of poetry: Infanta (1995), selected for the National Poetry Series, One Above, One Below (2000), and Black Box (2006), a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. In addition, she co-edited The Extraordinary Tide: New Poetry by American Women (2001) with Susan Aizenberg. She is currently the director of the creative writing MFA program at Florida State University, and formerly served as a managing editor for AGNI magazine. In August of 2009, she and Cate Marvin co-founded VIDA, an organization that “seeks to explore critical and cultural perceptions of writing by women through meaningful conversation and exchange of ideas among existing and emerging literary communities.” Since its inception, VIDA has received significant media attention, particularly for “The Count,” an annual report of the number of women versus the number of men that are reviewed and published in major literary magazines such as Boston Review, Poetry, The Atlantic, and The New Yorker. The report revealed that many of these magazines publish and review substantially more men than women. Erin Belieu graciously took the time to discuss all things VIDA-related with Lambda Literary. (more…)
Rigoberto González: Populating the Bookshelves
Posted on May 4, 2013 by Bernard Lumpkin in Interviews
“Being an activist-writer means keeping the door open for others, not closing it right behind you.”
As one of this country’s best known-known and beloved contemporary writers, Rigoberto González’ work is wide-ranging (poetry, fiction, memoir, and children’s literature) and prolific (over fourteen books in the past ten years, with a fourth volume of poetry, Unpeopled Eden, forthcoming). For González, authorship and activism go hand-in-hand. His work–which is at turns personal, polemical, and intellectual–has inspired other Latinos to write honestly and authentically about their lives, and he has played an integral role in bringing those stories to light. As a longtime columnist for the El Paso Times González reviewed hundreds of Latino books, and he’s at the forefront of a new movement of writers dealing with queer issues as they pertain to Chicano youth. The award-winning author was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to talk to us about the second novel in his YA trilogy (The Mariposa Gown), his new essay collection (Red-Inked Retablos), a new book of short prose (Autobiography of My Hungers), and his ongoing mission to “populate the bookshelves.” (more…)
Elliott DeLine: Art from Life
Posted on May 4, 2013 by TT Jax in Features, Interviews
“I just have a highly personal process when it comes to creating fiction. I think all writers do it to an extent.”
Elliott DeLine is the nearly-25 year old Syracuse-based author of Refuse (2011), a witty and provocative debut novel chronicling a young, intelligent, and deeply insecure protagonist, Dean, through his ambivalent attempts at securing love and connection within and without the transgender community. (more…)
Luis Negrón: The Cruel Gay World
Posted on April 29, 2013 by William Johnson in Features, Interviews
“…’gayness’ questions the idea that society has of itself.”
Luis Negrón’s striking debut short story collection, Mundo Cruel (Seven Stories Press), mines the emotional lives of “a small community in Puerto Rico joined together by its transgressive sexuality.” In a wry voice that seamlessly combines both sincerity and camp, Negrón examines how desire, love, and sexuality simultaneously inspire and warp the citizens of Santurce, Puerto Rico. (more…)
Q&A With Self-published Writer Vic Tanner Davy
Posted on April 25, 2013 by Karen Schechner in Interviews
Last year was big one for self-publishing. E.L. James (who famously got her start self-publishing) won Publishers Weekly’s author of the year (here’s the entertaining response to the news from The Washington Post’s Ron Charles). Penguin adopted Author Solutions, Inc.—a big marker in the burgeoning, self-propelled industry. And Bowker reported that 235,000 print and e-books were self-pubbed in the U.S. As indie booksellers noticed years ago, indie books can satisfy niches too small for the big five. The Huffington Post noted that 40 self-pubbed authors signed with traditional publishers for $250k or more. (more…)
In Conversation with Topside Press: Tom Léger, Julie Blair, Red Durkin, and Riley MacLeod
Posted on April 22, 2013 by Theodore Kerr in Features, Interviews
How do you create of a successful press with broad appeal, amid a sea change in publishing, while speaking specifically to, and with, an underrepresented demographic and community? This is the challenge and opportunity of Topside Press, a publishing house focusing specifically on “authentic transgender narratives.” (more…)
Aaron Hartzler: Waiting for the Rapture
Posted on April 18, 2013 by Brent Taylor in Features, Interviews
“A librarian who read the book recently contacted me and said, ‘I loved your book, I just wish there had been more gay content in it.’ Of course my response was, ‘Me TOO!’ I wish I had been able to knock down the closet door at 16 and take the world by storm.”
Aaron Harzler explores sexuality and religion in his young adult memoir Rapture Practice, published this month by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
