A Coronavirus Reading List

I'm not sure whether it's the imp of the perverse that put the idea into my head, but I've ordered four books that I hope will give me some perspectives on the current crisis:

The Decameron  by Giovanni Boccaccio

A Journal of the Plague Year  by Daniel Defoe

The Plague  by Albert Camus

The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Epidemic in History
by John M. Barry

I welcome other suggestions.

Learning from History?

Politico has published a fascinating roundup of 30 short (1-2 paragraphs) responses by experts to the question, "How will the coronavirus change the world permanently?" They're all worth reading (IMHO), if not equally compelling. But Jonathan Rauch's take, harkening back to our recent discussion of Randy Shilts' And the Band Played On, stands out for me:

"One group of Americans has lived through a transformational epidemic in recent memory: gay men. Of course, HIV/AIDS was (and is) different in all kinds of ways from coronavirus, but one lesson is likely to apply: Plagues drive change. Partly because our government failed us, gay Americans mobilized to build organizations, networks and know-how that changed our place in society and have enduring legacies today. The epidemic also revealed deadly flaws in the health care system, and it awakened us to the need for the protection of marriage--revelations which led to landmark reforms. I wouldn't be surprised to see some analogous changes in the wake of coronavirus. People are finding new ways to connect and support each other in adversity; they are sure to demand major changes in the health care system and maybe also the government; and they'll become newly conscious of interdependency and community. I can't predict the precise effects, but I'm sure we'll be seeing them for years."

Bookmen DC will NOT meet on Wed., March 18

The DC Center just notified us that it has closed until further notice, so the discussion of the Joe Brainard anthology scheduled for this Wednesday will now take place on June 17. (I've sent an email to those of you on the mailing list.)

The D.C. library system is tentatively set to reopen on April 1, the date of our next meeting. Keep your fingers (and toes and eyes) crossed that happens, and stay tuned.

Boys in the (Heavenly) Band

Mart Crowley (full name: Edward Martino Crowley), best known for his 1968 play, The Boys in the Band, died on March 7 at 84. Here are obituaries from the Washington Post and New York Times, along with Clive Barnes' review of the original production. Barnes praised the production lavishly, though his wording (e.g., references to "queers" and "fag") and insistence that he himself is not a homosexual definitely reflect the era. But I think the review's final paragraph is a fitting epigram for the playwright:

A couple of years ago, my colleague Stanley Kauffmann, in a perceptive but widely misunderstood essay, pleaded for a more honest homosexual drama, one where homosexual experience was not translated into false, pseudoheterosexual terms. This, I think, "The Boys in the Band," with all its faults, achieves. It is quite an achievement.

O Lammies of God (sorry)

Octavio Roca was kind enough to share the list of nominees for this year's Lambda Literary Awards, which Oprah Magazine just announced. They include Ocean Vuong, whose On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous we'll discuss on May 6. Check it out!

Going Gothic

In his March 5 Book World column in the Washington Post, reviewing two reference works surveying science fiction and horror fiction, respectively, Michael Dirda references a book I'd never heard of: Vincent Virga's Gaywyck (1980), the first openly gay modern Gothic novel.

Armistead Maupin (whose first name the Amazon page misspells, aargh) urged: "Read the son of a bitch! You'll love it!" And The Advocate declared it "an extraordinary tour de force that merits special praise." It's still in print, and I intend to check it out as a candidate for our next reading list.

Felice Picano reflects on "The Lure," 40 years later

As a follow-up to last night's discussion of Felice Picano's The Lure, here is an interview the author did with The Guardian  back in December. (Since it's Lent, I may as well confess that I'd intended to post this as soon as I read it, but got sidetracked.) Anyway, it's still a lively read, as is the novel.