Jim Elledge – författare

"Every lovesick summer has its song,And this one I pretended to despise.But if I were alone when it came on,I turned it up full-blast to sing along—A primal scream in croaky baritone,The notes all flat, the lyrics mostly slurred—No wonder I spent so much time alongMaking the rounds in Dad's old Thunderbird."—From "Cruising with the Beach Boys" by Dana GioiaNo one should be surprised that rock and roll music turns up in the work of many of the Baby-Boom poets, where it conjures up poignant memories, evokes a specific mood, or haunts the poets' psychic landscape. Arranged in a loosely thematic manner, the 125 poems in Sweet Nothings mirror the varied forms of rock and roll, mimic its sounds, bask in its innocence, draw inspiration from its rebelliousness. For this collection Jim Elledge has gathered works by 79 poets, among them some of the most highly regarded poets of our time: Frank O'Hara, Joyce Carol Oates, David Wojahn, Thom Gunn, Rita Dove, Lynda Hull, Albert Goldbarth, Lisel Mueller, Yusef Komunyakaa, Gary Soto, William Matthews. In the final section of the book the poets comment on the relationship between their works and rock and roll.

"What a great premise for an anthology! And it succeeds, both in its celebration of our crazy culture and its fascinating analysis, through the poems, of popular myths that have stood the test of time." —KliattIn the past few decades, poetry about and around popular culture has become a very hip contemporary art form. Real Things is a collection of over 150 poems by more than 130 poets who themselves represent the cultural diversity of the United States. With subjects ranging from the influence of Mickey Mouse on child-raising to the relationship of Barbie to sex in America, from the societal effects of the movie Psycho to our fascination with dirty politics and Ralph Kramden, the poems in this anthology question and celebrate the attitudes that our society shares.

Masquerade is the most comprehensive anthology yet published of poetry by American gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered persons. It includes representative poems from more than 100 writers from pre-colonial times to the end of the Second World War. The anthology begins with selections of anonymous texts from the oral traditions of Hawaii and Native America, followed by voodoo chants and cowboy songs (with a few limericks thrown in for good measure). The selections are arranged by the year of the poet's birth and include samplings of poetry by a racially and ethnically diverse group of men and women. Contemporary readers will know the work of some of these poets, such as Gertrude Stein and Walt Whitman. Other poets, such as George Santayana and Adah Isaacs Menken, will be strangers to most. In all, these poets created a rich heritage of verse that has been for the most part masked throughout the history of American literature.

This three-volume collection of essays reveals the widespread existence of queer men and women in American popular culture, and showcases their important yet little-known role in shaping our society over the last 120 years.The virtually unknown existence of gay, bisexual, and queer men and women in American popular culture from the late 1800s through the present day is a fascinating topic for many readers, regardless of their own orientation. Whether it's the father of bodybuilding, famous closeted entertainers or sports stars, or the leading characters in current television shows and films, queer men and women have changed the face of American popular culture and society for over a century. Ironically, most of the fascinating information, anecdotes, and revealing facts about well-known figures in American culture are virtually unknown to the typical U.S. citizen.Elledge's Queers in American Popular Culture covers a wide variety of historical and current topics that documents how the queer community has been—and continues to be—one of the most significant shapers of American popular culture. Currently, no other book covers queer topics in American popular culture as broadly as this text.

Byzantium: the word itself denotes a period of chicanery, treachery and willful duplicity. Thus this novel begins with a conundrum that foretells the intricacies the reader will encounter as the plot unfolds. Richard Unger is dead, the story begins. gone for twenty-eight years. Murdered in 1974. (An excerpt from Richard Unger s diary, entered February 10, 2001.) Herein, these words tell you everything and yet nothing. And so the story unfolds in an aura of mystery. From the beginning Richard Unger makes it clear he is writing of these events under extreme pressure. He prays those who read this material, after examining the facts, might grant some sort of absolution. But that is for the reader to decide. Richard and Mary Nell have, the last twenty-eight years, been leading a privileged life in Dallas, Texas enjoying the fruits of lucrative careers. Their tranquility is shattered when they receive an anonymous note taunting them with information which proves the correspondent knows they are living under false pretences. The missive concludes he possesses knowledge they are responsible for the death of the writer s soul-mate in 1974. Now it is their time to be destroyed. The author s memoir is based on events from the distant past which now are destined to spin out of control. He sums it up when he writes: Whenever I think of the past I try to rearrange the facts in some sort of logical manner. However events can only be changed at the point of origin. If then. If ever. Thus, Richard and Mary Nell find themselves caught in a net of mystery and subterfuge where they are about to enter a bizarre world of their own making. As Richard recalls how his past was marked by involvement in a life of trickery and deception he also express hope that the contents of this journal might pave the way for a better understanding of the forces that precipitated the actions herein and in the end might give a capacity for some degree of exoneration. In any event the big question for readers becomes: How would I have handled this under similar circumstances? This scenario goes back to the early 70s introducing Richard, then known by the name of Michael Hanlon, a card counter making his living at the tables in Vegas, and Mary Nell a.k.a. Rebel Smith, who dealt blackjack at the Sands. They were drawn to each other through their dexterity at the game and soon formed a partnership as card sharps traveling up and down the west coast. Every game was not rigged. As Mary Nell once said, The difference between smart play and duplicity is sometimes a hundred miles of gravel road. They were always careful. They knew the odds on each draw. When to stay and when to fold. And above all, how to read the faces around the table. Although their goal had always been in the pursuit of money, their dream was to hit the big score, find something legit, and settle down. They had the intelligence and the grit to make it work. But, for the present, the money was easy, and there was the thrill. Always the thrill. However, fate was predestined to dictate their future and they found themselves about to be caught in an undertow of intrigue that would sweep them away into a chaotic sea. To the perfect pigeon. Toward the consummate scam. Into a tangled web of deceit. Their good times come to an abrupt end when a high stakes poker game at the Fairmont in San Francisco goes sour. Upon discovering he has been cheated, a disgruntled player who brought a gun to the hotel room forces them to drive to a secluded spot across the bay with murder on his mind. Once there the tragic basis for this story unfolds when, in a struggle for the gun, he is killed. The most poignant of the author s forays into the truth is centered around the twenty-four hours after this event and give crede

Henry Gerber was the father of American gay liberation. Born in 1892 in Germany, Henry Gerber was expelled from school as a boy and lost several jobs as a young man because of his homosexual activities. He emigrated to the United States and enlisted in the army for employment. After his release, he explored Chicago''s gay subculture: cruising Bughouse Square, getting arrested for "disorderly conduct," and falling in love. He was institutionalized for being gay, branded an "enemy alien" at the end of World War I, and given a choice: to rejoin the army or be imprisoned in a federal penitentiary. Gerber re-enlisted and was sent to Germany in 1920. In Berlin, he discovered a vibrant gay rights movement, which made him vow to advocate for the rights of gay men at home. He founded the Society for Human Rights, the first legally recognized US gay-rights organization, on December 10, 1924. When police caught wind of it, he and two members were arrested. He lost his job, went to court three times, and went bankrupt. Released, he moved to New York, disheartened. Later in life, he joined the DC chapter of the Mattachine Society, a gay-rights advocacy group founded by Harry Hay who had heard of Gerber''s group, leading him to found Mattachine.An Angel in Sodom is the first and long overdue biography of the founder of the first US gay rights organization.

2023 Lambda Literary Award Finalist in Gay Memoir/Biography "Makes the case that we should consider Gerber not an asterisk, but a forefather of the gay-rights movement—one who would influence later generations of activists."—The Atlantic Born in 1892 in Germany, Henry Gerber was expelled from school as a boy and lost several jobs as a young man because of his homosexual activities. He emigrated to the United States and enlisted in the army for employment. After his release, he explored Chicago''s gay subculture: cruising Bughouse Square, getting arrested for "disorderly conduct," and falling in love. He was institutionalized for being gay, branded an "enemy alien" at the end of World War I, and given a choice: to rejoin the army or be imprisoned in a federal penitentiary. Gerber re-enlisted and was sent to Germany in 1920. In Berlin, he discovered a vibrant gay rights movement, which made him vow to advocate for the rights of gay men at home. He founded the Society for Human Rights, the first legally recognized US gay-rights organization, on December 10, 1924. When police caught wind of it, he and two members were arrested. He lost his job, went to court three times, and went bankrupt. Released, he moved to New York, disheartened. Later in life, he joined the DC chapter of the Mattachine Society, a gay-rights advocacy group founded by Harry Hay who had heard of Gerber''s group, leading him to found Mattachine. An Angel in Sodom is the first and long overdue biography of the founder of the first US gay rights organization.