Recommended Reading:
Unlimited
Embrace : A Canon of Gay Fiction, 1945-1995 by Reed
Woodhouse
While gay male literary
criticism abounds, much of it is based in the academy and uses the
critical perceptions of postmodernism and queer theory to
elucidate both popular and literary work. In this context, Reed
Woodhouse's Unlimited Embrace shines out like a beacon.
Covering work from the 1950s (James Baldwin's Giovanni's
Room and the short
stories of Tennessee Williams) to contemporary novels such as
Dennis Cooper's Frisk
and Dale Peck's Martin
and John, Woodhouse attempts to create a cohesive tapestry
out of diverse, imaginative styles, attitudes, and intentions.
Such a project is fraught with difficulty, and Woodhouse is
careful not to misrepresent or misread specific works to make them
fit his theories. The best part of Unlimited Embrace is the
author's own exuberance, excitement, and enmity to individual
works. Like the film critic Pauline Kael--known for her sharp
intelligence and even sharper tongue--Woodhouse is unafraid to
venture opinions when he knows they are idiosyncratic or even
contrary to "accepted" opinion. Whether praising Dennis
Cooper's transgressive narratives over David Leavitt's
assimilationist novels, or preferring Samuel Delany's perversely
brilliant The
Mad Man over Stephen McCauley's popular The
Object of My Affection, Woodhouse makes his cases with
flair and panache and will delight and infuriate even the most
stolid lover of literature. --Michael Bronski
