Dorian, Uncensored & Reshowtimed

Our group discussed Oscar Wilde's 1891 novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (which had appeared the previous year in serial form), back in 2004. Since then, however, Nick Frankel has published The Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray, an edition that restores a good deal of material which Wilde was forced to expunge. Though we already have plenty of titles to discuss during 2015, I'd like to suggest we consider revisiting this classic down the road.

On a related note, those of you who have seen the Showtime series "Penny Dreadful," set in London during the Gay Nineties, know that it features Dorian Gray as a character. The show's second season will begin airing sometime this spring.

Hey, Jude!

Those of you who were unable to join us for our discussion of Jonathan Galassi's poetry collection, Left-Handed, may be interested in the following New York Times profile / interview, published on Jan. 27, 2012: "Contradictions of the Heart." In it, you'll learn who the real-life "Jude" was, and what happened between the two men in real life. (Hint: Not as much as the poems imply.)

Now that we've got your attention …

Just to help along John's query (below), there's an article in glbtq and a "User Wiki" List (not sure what that is—the "user" part, I mean).

John doesn't expect much along this line of inquiry, and neither do I, but it would be fun to have a list of compositions (or even just moments or passages) that strike readers as "gay" (with or without peignoir).

Gay … Music?

At dinner after last night's book group, I was struck by how many members of the group are very knowledgeable about classical music. Not just Steve, but also Fred, Robert, Tim and probably others I am forgetting or don't know about. I would really like to find some way to benefit from this assembly of musical expertise. One thought, not sure if a good one: is it possible to detect anything specifically gay in the music of gay classical composers—Tchaikovsky, Britten, Copland for instance? I don't mean, in words or literary structures associated with their music—song lyrics, librettos of operas, written "programs" of symphonies—but in the music itself? Probably not—music doesn't make reference to external reality in the ways that either literature or the (representational) visual arts do. Certainly, there wouldn't be any one "gay trait"—there aren't many traits Copland shares with Tchaikovsky, are there? And while music obviously generates emotions, I don't think gay people's emotions are very different from straight people's. So, this is probably a dead end, but if anyone has any thoughts, I'd be glad to know. Another question: I can't off hand think of any known gay composers before Tchaikovsky—are there any?   [posted for John]

academia.edu

Even if you have no scholarly articles to upload, I think it is worth signing up for academia.edu for articles on subjects you might be interested in. Our own Philip Clark has already published several.

To Grandfather's House We Go...

Those of you who used the Exact Change edition of Denton Welch's In Youth Is Pleasure for our Dec. 3 discussion know that the book also includes an early piece, I Left My Grandfather's House (actually a fragment of Welch's journal). While we are not planning to discuss that work at a regular Bookmen meeting, I have now read it and commend it to anyone who enjoyed the novel. 

In particular, because I Left My Grandfather's House is told entirely in the first person, I wasn't distracted by the concerns about the author's voice or reliability I expressed during our discussion of the novel. I also found the shorter work held together well, though for me (as with In Youth Is Pleasure), the ending is problematic. Still, on balance, anyone who enjoyed the larger work will appreciate this one.

Calling All "Intelligent Homosexuals…"

Tony Kushner's "The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures" is currently playing in town at Theater J (16th and Q St NW) and you won't want to miss it. The story line concerns an aging widowed Italian-American family patriarch who is threatening suicide on a pretext as he can not face some realities of not meeting life goals, and the reactions and interactions of three adult sons and a daughter and numerous partners/spouses/tricks/ex-hubby (currently with benefits) and sister, who all comprise a large cast of well-developed and all superbly acted characters. Kushner's writing is tighter and stronger (in my opinion) than his other noteworthy hits including both installments of "Angels in America" and "Caroline or Change" all of which I enjoyed. There is a special treat of eye-candy in the form of actor Jim Whalen in the first act, scene two, which is a post-coital nude scene hilariously acted.

The themes are numerous: Among them are: dealing with one's own aging and unrealized goals, a son or daughter attempting to distinguish one's own goals in life from those of a narcissistic parent, gay marriage and infidelity, straight marriage and sperm donation, key moments in mid to late 20th century labor history, recapturing a lost youth and good looks by employing an escort, dedication of one's life to a cause, or religion, or relationship that you loose faith in, and many more. There is no shortage of post-show contemplation of what you just witnessed.

The production is strong: sets costumes, directing, all tops. Several upcoming performances have post-show discussions with the cast, led by different types of experts, from the theater, labor movements, or gay politics, all open to the public. Friday December 5th is "The Washington Blade Night", which I imagine is to encourage more gay attendance. My performance last weekend already had an audience at about 50% gay. I look forward to discussing this show with anyone who has seen it following one of our upcoming Book Men meetings. This Theater J production has seen areas of re-writing by Kushner from its previous performances. I wonder what others think of the character "Eli" and the last scene?
—posted by: Ernie

Addition by Tim: I believe regular $45 tickets for the Friday December 5th "Blade Night" production are being discounted to $30 if you enter BLADENIGHT in the Coupon Code box. I also understand that there will be NO tickets sold at the door.