Shade: An Anthology of Fiction by Gay Men of African Descent

Rating:
Summary: an okay anthology about a great topic
Review: This is an anthology about black gay men. Unfortunately, the tales inside are not as fierce or defiant as the title would suggest. In many of the pieces, issues of race and sexuality take the back seat to "l'art pour l'art", typical literature. The pieces near the back are better than the introductory ones. The piece by James Earl Hardy (who almost never writes short stories) is great. Jaime Manrique has a piece here and I've never seen him write about black issues (he writes almost exclusively of latino ones). I am glad I have a copy of this book, but I liked "Brother to Brother" and other books on the topic much better.