“I have the same problem as Marilyn. We attract people the way honey does bees, but they’re generally the wrong kind of people. People who want something from us – if only our energy. We need a period of being alone to become ourselves.” – Montgomery Clift MONTGOMERY CLIFT: actor, enigma, and a face that […]
“No image in our culture invokes a more power taboo than the male nude.” – Edward Lucie-Smith, Adam: The Male Figure in Art ADAM: The Male Figure in Art by Edward Lucie-Smith (Rizzoli, 1998) explores the history of the male figure in art across a wide range of media, including statuary, fine art, photography, pen-and-ink […]
“It took two wars and a lot of determined men and women photographers to get men out of their duds and back to the Classical and Renaissance view of what a man was: beautiful, on a par with women.” – David Leddick, The Male Nude This book takes me right back to the late 90s […]
DURING my time at the University of Guelph, while pursuing my English degree with a focus on nineteenth-century literature and Queer Theory, particularly Victorian Gothic, I came across this book while looking for texts to aid with my studies in the field. I still have my original copy, which I picked up at the now-closed […]
LOUIS Crompton’s Byron and Greek Love (University of California Press, 1985), also known as Byron and Greek Love: Homophobia in 19th Century England, offers an insightful reevaluation of the complex life, sexuality, and societal context of the renowned poet Lord Byron. I first came across this book during my time at the University of Guelph, […]
LORD BYRON was considered by many to be “Mad, bad, and dangerous to know!” He was an unapologetic sensualist who bedded men and women alike. Byron was a poet, a rogue, and an atheist with sexual appetites he proudly shared publicly. He also created rumours to inspire notoriety and fame—or perhaps infamy? The Poet and […]
“THINK JAMES Bond, But With Exquisitly Tacky Gold Sequins.” QUITE THE cover statement to whet the reader’s appetite! What a delicious treat this book is. While I love a good auto/biography, the stylistic framework of Queer Musings of a One-time Boy Skater, by Joe Bainbridge, is something I don’t engage with enough. It’s very free-spirited, […]
I’VE ALWAYS been more of a Montgomery Clift fan. His dark, brooding complexity, good looks, and acting chops just do it for me. That said, the life of Tab Hunter (1931-2018) and his Hollywood-manufactured “All-American Boy-Next-Door” schtick fascinates me still. While I enjoyed Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star by Tab Hunter with […]
