Lavender Magazine 705

Page 160

OUR AFFAIRS | BOOKS KINGDOM OF SAND

Andrew Holleran FSG $27 In 1978, his Dancer from the Dance established Andrew Holleran (pseudonym of Eric Garber) in the forefront of gay literature. Lust, loneliness, and ageing are the dark themes coursing through Kingdom of Sand, Holleran’s first novel in sixteen years. It’s 2020, and the unnamed protagonist has painted himself into a damp, sandy corner of rural Florida. He’d moved to this area, to his parents’ house to care for them in their old age, and after their passing, stayed. His one older friend, Earl, with whom he watches classic movies, is now dying. Loath to make any changes, in life or in his parents’ crumbling home, he waits, broods. Assuming his undesirability, it becomes his reality. Poignant, but avoidable? A kingdom erected on sand? Can one choose?

OUR COLORS

Gengoroh Tagame (tr. Anne Ishii) Pantheon $32 Creator of the Eisner Award-winning My Brother’s Husband, Gengoroh Tagami’s Our Colors is an equally moving coming out/coming of age animé story unfolding in 21 episodes. Sixteen-year-old Sora Idota is artistic–and gay. He’s attracted to a class athlete, Kenta Yoshioka whom he dares not approach, and enjoys the supportive friendship of (girl) classmate Nao. In his artwork Sora relates colors to emotions, but lives at loose ends until by chance he happens on a mysterious café, and becomes friends with the gay, middle-aged owner, Mr. Amamiya. Seeing the boy’s talent, Amamiya hires him to paint a mural in the café, a project interrupted by a woman from Amamiya’s past. There is closure, and the knowledge that “Nobody comes out just once.” Emotional and timely.

THE QUEER BIBLE: ESSAYS

Ed. Jack Guinness Dey St. $25.99 A handsome volume of essays by queer icons about those who preceded them, and including two films and a TV show. The twenty-four vignettes offer an insider’s view on their subject and a peek into the insider’s personality as well, each essay is uniquely illustrated by a queer/ally artist, each, like the accompanying essay, revealing. There’s Matthew Todd on Harvey Fierstein, Amelia Abraham on Susan Sontag, Paul Mendez on James Baldwin, Mark Moore on Quentin Crisp, Freddy McConnell on David Bowie, Courtney Act on Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and Tan France on Queer Eye. Even the endpapers are fun and instructive, responding to taunts of “unnatural” to GLBTQIA folk by illustrating the gender-frolicsome hyenas, sea horses, clownfish, penguins that add their differences to ours.

THIS BODY I WORE: A MEMOIR

Dina Goetsch FSG $28 Goetsch’s life veers from humorous to horrifying with many stops in-between. Transitioning is never an easy undertaking, especially when one has no clear idea of what’s wrong or how to right it. Or what “it” even is. Goetsch, an essayist and poet (published in The New Yorker, no easy feat in itself), talented to a high degree yet undergoing severe depression, wanting to connect, yet continually drawing back, breaking off from possible partners (some, quite understandably); no family to fall back on–a bullying brother, loveless, abusive mother (“you were a mistake”) a distant father, life remained loveless, steeped in loneliness. First cross-dressing, then relationships with women dressed as a man, after immersion in Buddhism and poetry, she began transitioning at 50. Honest. Raw. Instructive. 

160 LAVENDER JUNE 2-15, 2022


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Articles inside

How Connecting the Dots Change LGBTQ History

33min
pages 203-212

The Many Scales of Pride

3min
page 201

Community Connection

4min
page 198

A New Nissan Z For A New Generation

6min
pages 190-193

Fading To Black

4min
page 200

House Lift Remodeler

5min
pages 168-173

HOURCAR Adds EV Car Sharing To The Twin Cities

4min
pages 194-197

Books

2min
pages 160-161

State Of The Older LGBTQ Workplace

5min
pages 150-155

Rush Hospital Redefi ning LGBTQ Healthcare

4min
pages 148-149

Jerry Hughes in India

4min
pages 142-145

Naming Our Community

7min
pages 128-133

Living with Alopecia

3min
pages 146-147

MN National Guard Emphasizing Their Own

4min
pages 136-139

Captain Zack Thelen-Liebl

3min
pages 140-141

Captain Forrest Jennings

4min
pages 134-135

Gay Matchmaker Amari Ice

10min
pages 122-127

There is no 'I' in Pr_de

7min
pages 110-113

Leather Life

5min
pages 118-121

Trans Women in Sports

3min
pages 114-115

A Stitch In Time Saves Title IX

6min
pages 106-109

Pride Journey: Iceland

5min
pages 92-97

Luxjoy and Comfort

6min
pages 102-105

Kaftans For Everyone

6min
pages 98-101

Indiana Panorama

6min
pages 86-91

Ukrainian Alien: From Minneapolis with Love

5min
pages 82-85

Bias in MN Healthcare

4min
pages 80-81

2022 Pride What To Do

4min
pages 68-71

Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus

5min
pages 62-63

Dot Belstler

4min
pages 72-73

Lavender Editorial Staff Favorite Dining Spots

6min
pages 50-53

Muslim Drag Queen Amrou Al-Kadhi

7min
pages 54-61

Dublin - Dining Destination

6min
pages 42-49

One Voice Mixed Chorus

4min
pages 32-33

A Day in the Life

4min
pages 26-27

Coming Attractions

3min
pages 28-31

Anthony Bidulka

15min
pages 36-41

Minneapolis Comedy Festival

2min
pages 34-35

From the Editor

2min
page 20

From A to Zee

3min
pages 22-23

Biz Buzz

2min
pages 24-25
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