Maupin inspires across the pond

The Guardian recently reviewed what sounds like a marvelous new book: Tales of the Suburbs: LGBTQ+ Lives Behind Net Curtains by an author with one of the best aptonyms I've seen in a long time: John Grindrod, an English social historian. (Insert your own joke here.)

As reviewer Rebecca Nicholson observes, Grindrod's approach pays subtle tribute to Armistead Maupin's beloved "Tales from the City" series. She also notes something I'm embarrassed to admit came as news to me: The most recent installment, Mona of the Manor, saw one of its key characters move to the Cotswolds to navigate a very different kind of village.

Grindrod grew up in Croydon and now lives with his partner in Milton Keynes; he opens the book with an anecdote about the thrill of finding out he has next-door “gaybours”. Nicholson says "his fascination with and connection to the subject have allowed him to weave an intelligent and sensitive collection of stories, interspersing research from libraries, archives, books, newsletters and reports with original interviews. As much as it is a social history, it is a political, an architectural (he links the popularity of bay windows to the rebellious Arts and Crafts movement, for example) and a cultural one." I plan to order a copy and nominate it for our next reading list if it lives up to expectations.

Some thoughts on "The Bee Sting"

David Stewart, who nominated the novel we'll be discussing tomorrow night --Paul Murray's The Bee Sting--unfortunately cannot join us. However, he offers the following comments and possible discussion questions for our consideration:

"I recommended The Bee Sting because I thought it was a compelling story that offered a fascinating psychological study of the main characters–Dickie and his wife, Imelda, and, to some extent, Dickie’s younger brother, Frank–that centered on Dickie’s deeply closeted homosexuality. I thought that the characters were all very well drawn and that the plot–while it took a while to get going–was dynamite. So here are some possible discussion questions, in no particular order:

· Does Dickie rise to the level of a tragic hero? Why or why not?

· Is The Bee Sting a morality tale? If so, what is the moral?

· As a young man, Dickie was at least halfway out of the closet. How do you explain his retreat?

· Why was it apparently impossible for Dickie to come out to his family when he was being blackmailed by Ryszard?

· Why did Imelda marry Dickie? Was it simply coercion?

· To what extent was Imelda complicit in the sexual fraud at the heart of their marriage? Was there an element of awareness/denial?

· “The Bee Sting” refers to a specific episode in the novel. Does it also have a broader, metaphorical reference?

· Do you have any thoughts about what motivated the actions of Dickie’s brother Frank? Any thoughts about the feelings of the two brothers toward each other?

· What did you think of the novel’s alternating first person narratives? Did it work well--or not?

· What is the role of Dickie’s children, Cass and PJ, in the novel? Are they simply a Greek Chorus?

· What do you make of PJ’s susceptibility to sexual predators?

· Did you find the sex scenes between Dickie and Ryszard hot?

· What did you think of the novel’s ending?"

Thanks, David!

A Whale of a tale

In his introduction to The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies, which we discussed earlier this month, Vito Russo name-checks several LGBTQ directors from Hollywood's early days: Jean Vigo, Dorothy Arzner, F.W. Murnau, James Whale, Edmund Goulding, Mitchell Leisen, Sergei Eisenstein and Pier Paolo Pasolini.

Back in 2013, we discussed Gods and Monsters, Christopher Bram's novel about Whale that was later filmed (I highly recommend both versions of the story). And in a November 2025 post here, I noted the 50th anniversary of Pasolini's murder by referencing an essay about the director's legacy by Olivia Laing, whose essay collection, The Lonely City, we read in 2020.

Wilde and free!

The National Theatre production of "The Importance of Being Earnest," directed by Max Webster, will be available to stream for free worldwide on YouTube next month as part of "Take Your Seats," the weeklong streaming initiative from National Theatre at Home that allows anyone, anywhere, to access theater for free.

Performances will be available for free viewing on YouTube from March 12-18, before moving to the theater's subscription service on March 19. There will be a digital watch-along YouTube premiere on March 12 at 7 p.m. GMT, which will include chats and polls during the show. Captioned, audio-described and BSL options will also be available.

"The Importance of Being Earnest" stars three-time Olivier Award-winner Sharon D. Clarke, "Doctor Who"‘s Ncuti Gatwa, Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́, "Little Women‘s" Eliza Scanlen and "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again"‘s Hugh Skinner.

Click here for more information or to subscribe to National Theatre at Home.

Some LGBTQ+ Poetry to Enjoy, Part 1

Some LGBTQ+ poetry to enjoy, Part 1 The American Academy of Poetry's Poem-a-Day newsletter has featured even more LGBTQ+ poetry than usual (not all by LGBTQ+ poets, I should note) so far this winter, so I'm playing catchup here. These poems were disseminated in November and December; the post immediately below this one will bring us up to date. Enjoy!

Madagascar [Opus 104] by Witter Bynner

To My Daughter's Dead Name by Lance Larson

Egg Tooth by Benjamin Garcia

Jessica McClure, After the Well by Elizabeth Lindsey Rogers

Dock Rats by Marianne Moore

Gender Euphoria and the Superbloom by Jennifer Huang

The Sign as You Leave the Artists' Colony Says "The New World" by Aliki Barnstone

Le Jardin des Tuileries by Oscar Wilde

Megaloceros by J. Bailey Hutchison

Some LBGTQ+ poetry to enjoy, Part 2

As promised, here is LGBTQ+ poetry featured in the American Academy of Poetry's Poem-a-Day newsletter in January and February. Enjoy!

II [Doom is dark and deeper than any sea-dingle.] by W.H. Auden

Queer Trivia Night by Jenny Johnson

The Teeth on My Wrist by Elizabeth Bradfield

Alternate Endings to Shania Twain’s “That Don’t Impress Me Much” Music Video by Canese Jarboe

Memory Poem by Marlanda Dekine

Sun Song by Langston Hughes

[I seek and desire] by Sappho

Bright Bindings by Countee Cullen

Lessons at the Legendary Institute for Yarn Spinning by igoberto González

More by/about Vito Russo

Here are the books by and about Vito Russo that Philip Clark mentioned during Wednesday night's meeting.

Michael Schiavi's biography of Russo: Celluloid Activist: The Life and Times of Vito Russo

Vito Russo's writings beyond The Celluloid Closet:

Out Spoken, Reel One:

Out Spoken, Reel Two:

Philip notes: "Sorry for the awful links from the awful Amazon, but they're the easiest ways to send info about these books. The two Out Spoken books are companions to an HBO documentary called "Vito."

Many thanks, Philip!