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Larry Kramer Wishes More People Wrote About Gay History

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The American People by Larry Kramer“Larry Kramer Wishes More People Wrote About Gay History” – his new book is “The American People: Volume 2.”

Which subjects do you wish more authors would write about?

Gay history. Most historians taken seriously are always straight. They wouldn’t know a gay person if they took him to lunch. A good example is Ron Chernow’s biography of Hamilton, which doesn’t include the fact that he was both gay and in love with George Washington. Gore Vidal pointed this out to me.

Have you ever gotten in trouble for reading a book?

Not for reading one but plenty of times for writing one. Gay writers writing about other gays is not exactly a winning audience. And gays are not the best buyers or readers of their own. In “Faggots,” I used my best friend for one of the leading characters because he told such good jokes that I used. He never spoke to me again after the book came out.

Weekly Roundup for Calls & Contests :: January 17, 2020

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January is half over with already. I swear that the older a person gets, the faster time seems to fly. Thus…never put off submitting your work today! Before you know deadlines could very well pass you by. I keep saying I will get around to submitting and then another year has gone and my writing just sits in a pile of proverbial dust.

Don’t be like me! Keep your submission goals on a role with these journals and presses currently seeking submissions.

January Submission Deadlines

If you are a younger female-identifying writer between the ages of 14 and 21 or know a writer who fits that bill, don’t forget annual literary magazine Girls Right the World is open to submissions through January 31. They are on the lookout for poetry, prose, short stories, lyric essays, and visual art. There is no fee to to submit. [Read more…] about Weekly Roundup for Calls & Contests :: January 17, 2020

“How does one not write a depressing book about depression?”

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Book cover of The Scar by Mary CreganCaoilinn Hughes talks with Mary Cregan about her new book The Scar. …But this book is far more than a memoir: it is the result of decades of research on the medical history of the diagnosis, as well as the classification and treatment of depression and melancholia. To this rigorous and fascinating scholarship, Cregan has added the work of a variety of artists—from the ancient Greeks to Leonard Cohen. No surprise, then, that she teaches literature at Barnard College.

For a long time I couldn’t figure out how to write the book because the subject is seen by most people as “depressing.” How does one not write a depressing book about depression? Add to that the trigger of the death of an infant, and it seemed a daunting thing to invite readers to enter into. Death, grief, suicide, illness: these are subjects that a lot of people prefer to avoid thinking about.

Main Street Rag – Interview with Cathryn Cofell

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Main Street Rag - Fall 2019The Fall 2019 Issue of The Main Street Rag includes an interview with Cathryn Cofell. The interview touches upon career, inspiration, and the Cofell’s submission process.

Cofell was named the winner of the 2019 Main Street Rag Poetry Book Award and readers can also find three of her poems in this issue: “Rush Hour,” “What I Learned from My Father,” and “Resignation Notice.”

Stick Figure with Skirt, the winning book, was released in November 2019 and is available at the Main Street Rag bookstore. Readers can also find additional sample poems from the book at the store.

Lynda Barry: Making Comics

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Lynda Barry Marking ComicsLynda Barry’s Making Comics is a how-to graphic novel guide for people who gave up on drawing. Lynda Barry says that everybody has an innate ability to draw, which most people abandon in their youth; comics are gestures of the human hand, and the act of writing is likened to the art of drawing. Making Comics explores the process of expanding the life of drawings, and fusing symbols for character building. A term is introduced for reimagining the happenings of one’s life: autobifictiontionalography.

Great interview with Lynda Barry by Michael Silverblatt on Bookworm KCRW.

More here: Lynda Barry’s New Book Offers a Master Class in Making Comics

 

Three Questions for Joy Harjo in WLT

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World Literature TodayLearn a little more about current U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo in the latest issue of World Literature Today. In addition to a featured poem by Harjo, “Bless This Land,” there is also a mini, three-question interview with the poet.

Harjo answers the questions:
What recent book has captured your interest?
What outside the realm of literature has drawn your attention of late?
What current writing projects do you have underway or have planned in the near future?

The interview is brief but informative and gives readers jumping off points for what to pick up next.