Happy 27th Birthday to Us!

(I"m posting this early since I'll be traveling on Monday, our actual anniversary.)

Twenty-seven years ago, on May 11, 1999, what was originally known as the Potomac Gay Men's Book Group convened for its first meeting.  And we're still going strong more than a quarter-century later! For more details on our origin story, see this May 2024 Washington Blade article.

Queer Author Salon at MoCA

Our friend Bob Pare has passed along info on an upcoming literary event at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Arlington. Thanks, Bob!

Sunu Chandy, who did a poetry reading at the museum last year, will be returning, along with five other writers, on Thursday, June 11, from 6:30-8 p.m., for MoCA's first-ever Queer Author Salon. The authors, whose output spans a wide variety of genres, including poetry, graphic novels, memoirs and fiction, will share selections from their work, followed by time for conversation and connection. Snacks and beverages will also be available.

This event is free to attend, though tickets are required. Use this link to get information about the authors and the evening’s program and register.

Douglas Stuart is back

A tip of the hat to David Schwarz, who alerted me to the fact that The New Yorker recently interviewed novelist Douglas Stuart, who won the Booker Prize for his first novel, Shuggie Bain (which we read in 2022, on David's recommendation). He has just published a new novel, John of John, which is already getting a lot of buzz; it's the latest Oprah's Book Club pick, and sounds like a good candidate for our next reading list. The New York Times just published this rave review.

The magazine asked Stuart to recommend some favorite gay novels. We read his first choice, Maria McCann's As Meat Loves Salt, back in 2006; while I'm not familiar with his other two recommendations, Clear by Carys Davies and Colm Toibin's The Story of the Night, he makes a persuasive case for both.

Koestenbaum's latest

Back in 2014, our group read The Queen's Throat, Wayne Koestenbaum's tribute to opera and its devotees (the more obsessive, the better). His latest book--My Lover, the Rabbi--manages to be even wilder than that!

As Neal Bartlett (a noted novelist in his own write, I mean right) says in his review in The Guardian:

"The fierceness begins immediately. All of the book’s 188 chapters are short, but the first one comes in at only four lines. Putting both punctuation and vocabulary to tactically unexpected use, it plunges the reader straight into a world of carnality, confusion and bizarrely specific detail. Like all but a handful of the chapters, it also includes the title of the book itself. And as the book proceeds, this reiteration of the title begins to toll like a bell through the architecture of its prose, becoming almost a mantra. Far from being style-for-style’s sake, this insistent and anxious formality is at the heart of the book’s uncanny life; a quite brilliant matching of style to subject."

I've ordered the novel and, if it lives up to its billing, expect to nominate it for next year's reading list.

A straight version of our group?

Today's Washington Post has a story about a group of eight male neighbors in Silver Spring who have been meeting monthly to discuss books since 1996.

There are a number of similarities in the way both book groups operate, but a big difference is that they are so informal that they don't even have a name. (Sniff! :-).

Poem in Your Pocket Day: April 30

The Academy of American Poets has designated April 30 as Poem in Your Pocket Day—a celebration of poetry in motion, shared from one person to another as part of National Poetry Month.

Participating is simple: select a poem, carry it with you, and share it throughout the day—at school, at work, at home, or online.

Here are a few easy ways to celebrate the day:

Download and print our Poem in Your Pocket booklet to carry and share throughout the day.

Create and fold your own one-page poetry zine, developed by 826 National—ideal for younger readers and classroom use.

Go to Poets.org and find a short or resonant poem. Share it however you would like.

Post a poem or record a video of yourself reading one using #PocketPoem.

Email or text a poem to friends, family, neighbors, or colleagues.

Read a poem aloud.

Poetry is meant to travel. However you share it, the goal is simple: put a poem into someone else’s day.

You can also explore our FAQs and learn more about the history of Poem in Your Pocket Day on Poets.org.

April 25 is Indie Bookstore Day!

I'm not sure why Little District Books waited until almost literally the last minute to announce this, but tomorrow is Indie Bookstore Day!

Little District is partnering with other local bookstores for their annual D.C. bookstore crawl--visit six or more stores to win a special prize (prize varies by store).

Spend $25 or more at Little District Books and get a spin of our prize wheel!

Find the golden ticket we have hidden in the store and win a year of free audiobooks from libro.fm!