Remembering Bayard Rustin

Back in 2006, we read John D'Emilio's Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin. I don't know to what extent "Rustin," the new film about him, is based on that biography, but there is bound to be plenty of overlap at a minimum. In theaters this week, and on Netflix starting Nov. 17, the film stars Colman Domingo in the title role and tells the story behind the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.  former President Barack Obama is among the producers. Its director, George Wolfe, describes Rustin as "an American hero, who not only contributed to one of the most significant demonstrations that has happened in this country, but a man who also wrote the book on how to stage such an event." I can't wait to see "Rustin!"

Bayard Rustin, organizer of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, poses in front of the national headquarters in New York City, August 1, 1963.EDDIE ADAMS/AP

George Chauncey at the LOC

In June 2022, I reported here that the Library of Congress had just awarded the Kluge Humanities Prize to George Chauncey, making him the first scholar in LGBTQ+ studies to be so honored. (Chauncey is probably best known for his groundbreaking 1994 study, Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940.) The award, which is conferred every two years and comes with a $500,000 prize, is intended to recognize scholarship that resonates both inside and outside academia. In fulfillment of that honor, Chauncey created a three-part video series titled "Through History to Equality." All three installments are now available online: "From Sexual Regulation to Antigay Discrimination," "Why Marriage Equality Became a Goal," and "AIDS: A Tragedy and a Turning Point."

Midnight Cowboy on Audible

When our Nov. 1 selection, James Leo Herlihy's Midnight Cowboy, was nominated for the reading list, it was in print. As I've discovered the hard way, that is no longer the case. Being old school, I ordered a used copy, which I just got after several frustrating weeks. But the good news, shared by new member Tim Hennessey (thanks!), is that the audiobook version is narrated by Michael Urie of "Ugly Betty" fame (among many other stage credits) and is remarkably affordable. So if you haven't already procured a copy, I encourage you to go that route. I may just do so myself even though I now have the hardcover.

Queerqueg?

In Anthony Veansa So's short story "Human Development" (which we discussed this evening in finishing his Afterparties collection), the eponymous narrator tells us of his aspiration to use Herman Melville's Moby Dick as a teaching tool to help his students become better people. Picking up on that connection, Mike Mazza kindly shared this 2019 Guardian commentary during the chat: "Subversive, queer and terrifyingly relevant: Six reasons why Moby-Dick is the novel for our times." Reason #3: "It's a very queer book."

A book to remember fondly...

A friend recently did me a great kindness by lending me a book that came out in March and received a rave review in the New York Times, yet I hadn't heard of it: In Memoriam by Alice Winn. (Why the Washington Post totally overlooked it, I have no idea, but it's a shame.) Set in World War I, the novel--Winn's first--contains elements of Pat Barker's Regeneration Trilogy, Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited and several other books, but it remains fresh and original in its treatment of a love story between two teenage boys attending the same school. It's one of the best things I've read in a long time, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

 

After "Afterparties"

Tomorrow, we will discuss the final three stories in the late Anthony Veansa So's posthumously published collection, Afterparties. But happily, that's not the end of the story (pun very much intended). Mike Mazza has alerted me to the fact that in December, Harper Collins will publish another collection of So's works. Songs on Endless Repeat will gather his previously published essays, along with fiction that has never before been published.