Circa 2000 Gay Fiction at the Millennium: Gay Fiction at the Millennium

Rating:
Summary: Where Gay Literature is Headed
Review: The first anthology of gay short fiction that I read was probably Men on Men 1. Since then, Men on Men is up to number 8, Canada's Arsenal Pulp Press has produced numerous anthologies such as Queeries, Contra/Diction and Queer View Mirror, Best American Gay Fiction has appeared, and collections worldwide have been published showcasing short fiction from particular countries, ethnic or cultural identities, and more. What is it with gay men and short fiction? Is it our short attention spans? I know that's my problem. But I'm being facetious. My favourite short stories manage to be compact and powerful, sharp and precise, tell a whole novel in much less pages, and leave me wanting more.

A number of the stories in the Robert Drake and Terry Wolverton's "Circa 2000: gay fiction at the millennium" do that. Co-editors Drake and Wolverton have chosen an eclectic mix of short fiction with the purpose "to feature works by those writers we believe will be influential in the new millennium." My favourites happened to be by the more established writers in the collection. Frank Ronan's stunning "The Last Innocence of Simeon" has a fluid, confident voice that engages with the emotional intimacy with which we get to know the characters. David Leavitt's "The Term Paper Artist" plays with auto-biography and revelation in a perfectly crafted tale. Scott Heim's "Deep Green, Pale Purple" creates a beautiful lush, textured and vulnerable landscape. Other gems include "The Rose City" by David Ebershoff, the powerful and daring "Whose Song?" by Thomas Glave, the fine comic writing in Christian McLaughlin's "Get a Lifestyle" and Colm Toíbin's "The Heather Blazing."

As a reflection of gay culture or gay writing, a number of themes run through the twenty-one stories: the closet and unexplored sexuality of older gay men (Cooper, Cullin), memories of childhood and early adolescence (Heim, Lowenthal, Mann), a backdrop of HIV and AIDS (Currier, Mann, Newman). Another interesting thread were narrators who weren't gay men, or who weren't describing gay culture persay, but were reflecting an outsider's sensibility: stories by Bell, Newman, and Tóibin. An odd set of bookends, the first and last stories in the collection by Eitan Alexander and David Vernon start in familiar gay urban territory and then veer off wildly into another place. Read them to find out what happens.

All in all, Circa 2000 is a solid collection of quality prose. I found that the strongest work tended to show up the weaker stories, but it's all a matter of taste, and there is something tasty for everyone here. With new and more established writers represented, and some quirky and original choices, it's an interesting prediction of where gay literature is headed.

Rating:
Summary: "Genre-Blending," But Some Good Tale-Telling
Review: This book made me ponder three issues about what is good fiction, what's a good (vs. bad) anthology of writing. I know, sounds dry-but it may help you decide whether you want to read this book. I'm "half-glad" I did, and here's why.

GENRE-BLENDING. (No, not "gender-blending"!) The editor feels that "personal essay" and "short story, fiction" are becoming fused, interblended, and so, indistinguishable. But this is simply incorrect-and saying so, harms both genres. An essay is (and remains) a personal-voiced informally-structured exploration-and-sharing. A story (traditionally) glimpses a dynamic created world, with plot (including events: action, suspense), complications-and-resolutions). And with characters (with conflicts-and-resolutions). And with setting (to be experienced). And all not told-to-us, but shown to us to see for ourselves. Oh, admittedly the "New Journalism" added fiction to news stories (as has the more recent "creative non-fiction"), for enrichment. Still, I miss the traditional dynamic story in many of this anthology's selections. However, YOU may enjoy the lyrical essay-plus-story-plus poem feel of many of them. So.

Traditionally-taught, tight stories I enjoyed were the semi-understated "The Cosmology of Bing," an appropriately-dismal tale of an alcoholic astronomer's denial of his sexuality. "Hunters and Gatherers" makes the ironic maximum out of a straight (but ?) husband-and-father inviting some gay and lesbian friends over for dinner. And especially "The Rose City" nails and impales Roland Dott, as sad a case of "attachment-disorder narcissism" you'd hope to find, cheating on lover after lover, forever looking for his "Hubby-Hub." (One of my three favorite gay short stories of all time, the others being Stanley Kaufmann's "Fulvous Yellow," and Patrick Hochtel's "Baseball in July.")

SUBJECT-MATTER. Should a story in a "gay" anthology include gay characters, plot, setting? I would think so. So, why the stories about stealing Mrs. Abraham Lincoln's teacups? About a Chinese mental-health patient at the center? About an Irish judge deciding against a pregnant schoolgirl's right to remain in the school? Any "gay" content here flew subliminally below my radar screen anyhow. And one about a young single mother's slowly going blind-but with only a token gay character?

EXCERPTS. Should an anthology contain only self-complete stories, or can it include excerpts from novels? Usually I feel "no excerpts please." But the two excerpts here, "Bing" plus the one about the two Jewish brothers, do seem to ride complete.

SO-if you like good short-story fiction, plus lyrical poetic-prose pieces, even meandering essay-voices, occasionally more magical-fantastic than realistic-enjoy this collection now!