Boys like us : gay writers tell their coming out stories

In stunning essays written especially for this collection, twenty-nine noted gay writers recount their true "coming out" stories, intensely personal histories of that primal process by which men come to terms with their desire for other men. Here are accounts of revealing one's sexual identity to parents, siblings, friends, co-workers and, in one notable instance, to a stockbroker. Men tell of their first sexual encounters from their preteens to their thirties, with childhood friends who rejected or tenderly embraced them, with professors, with neighbors, with a Broadway star. These are poignant, sometimes unexpectedly funny tales of romance and heartbreak, repression and liberation, rape and first love defining moments that shaped their authors' lives. Arranged chronologically from Manhattan in the Forties to San Francisco in the Nineties, these essays ultimately form a documentary of changing social and sexual mores in the United States--a literary, biographical, sociological and historical tour de force. Boys Like Us Presents The True Coming Out Stories Of A Stellar Line-up Of Gay Writers, Spanning Two Generations. Written Specifically For This Collection, These Are Powerful, Often Stunning Evocations Of The Primal Process By Which Men Come To Terms With Their Desire For Other Men. Coming Out Is Undeniably Central To Every Gay Man's Life, But The Phrase Encompasses Multiple Meanings. Here Are Accounts Of Revealing One's Sexual Identity To Parents, Siblings, Friends, And Co-workers And, In One Notable Instance, To A Stockbroker. Men Tell Of Their First Sexual Encounters From Their Preteens To Their Thirties, With Childhood Friends Who Rejected Or Tenderly Embraced Them, With Professors, With Neighbors, With A Broadway Star. One Man Writes Of His Marriage To A Lesbian Poet, Another Of Leaving His Wife For A Male Lover. Several Selections Reveal The Autobiographical Underpinnings Of Famous Novels. These Are Intense, Sometimes Unexpectedly Funny Tales Of Romance And Heartbreak, Repression And Liberation, Rape And First Love--defining Moments. Arranged Chronologically From Manhattan In The Late '40s To San Francisco In The Early '90s, These Personal Essays Ultimately Form A Documentary Of Changing Social And Sexual Mores In The United States During The Last Half-century--a Literary, Biographical, Sociological, And Historical Tour De Force. Coming Out / Samuel R. Delany (1949-1957) -- Cinnamon Skin / Edmund White (1954) -- He's One, Too / Allan Gurganus (1957) -- Fishing Practice / Philip Bockman (1961) -- Coming Out. Going Back In. Coming Out Again. Etc. / Brad Gooch (1965) -- Memories Of Heidelberg / Andrew Holleran (1968) -- Beyond Words / Philip Gambone (1968) -- Siren Song / Dr. Charles Silverstein (1968) -- Being Alive / Keith Mcdermott (1970) -- Slow Learners / Christopher Bram (1971-1975) -- Let The Living Creature Lie / David Bergman (1974) -- Boys Like Us / Michael Nava (1974) -- Homo Sex Story / Matthew Stadler (1973) -- The Other Invisible Man / Essex Hemphill (1975) -- Let's Say / Stephen Mccauley (1975) -- My Fountain Pen / J.d. Mcclatchy (1975) -- How To Grow Fruit / Tim Miller (1976) -- Hell's Kitchen / Douglas Sadownick (1978) -- Chemistry / Ed Sikov (1979) -- The Impossible City / Michael T. Carroll (1980) -- Disneyland / Norman Wong (1981) -- Out-takes / Ron Caldwell (1983) -- Ant / Scott Heim (1983-1987) -- The Cure / Dennis Hunter (1987) -- January 18, 1989 / William Sterling Walker -- Explaining It To Dad / Rodney Christopher (1989) -- These Trees Were Once Women / Alex Chee (1990) -- Money Talks / David Drake (1992) -- Sea Level / Carl Phillips (1995). Edited By Patrick Merla. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 352-364). Boys Like Us presents the true "coming out" stories of a stellar line-up of gay writers, spanning two generations. Written specifically for this collection, these are powerful, often stunning evocations of the primal process by which men come to terms with their desire for other men. Coming out is undeniably central to every gay man's life, but the phrase encompasses multiple meanings. Here are accounts of revealing one's sexual identity to parents, siblings, friends, and co-workers and, in one notable instance, to a stockbroker. Men tell of their first sexual encounters from their preteens to their thirties, with childhood friends who rejected or tenderly embraced them, with professors, with neighbors, with a Broadway star. One man writes of his marriage to a lesbian poet, another of leaving his wife for a male lover. Several selections reveal the autobiographical underpinnings of famous novels. These are intense, sometimes unexpectedly funny tales of romance and heartbreak, repression and liberation, rape and first love - defining moments. . Arranged chronologically from Manhattan in the late '40s to San Francisco in the early '90s, these personal essays ultimately form a documentary of changing social and sexual mores in the United States during the last half-century - a literary, biographical, sociological, and historical tour de force. Twenty-eight of the nation's most-admired gay writers, including Edmund White, Alan Gurganus, and Andrew Holleran, along with rising talents, present never-before-published tales of their coming out, spanning the years 1949 to 1995. 25,000 first printing IN THE EARLY fall of 1972, I was living in San Francisco, where I had moved to work for Saturday Review magazine as an assistant editor.