Men on Men 2000: Best New Gay Fiction

Some of the fresh new voices in gay lit are included here. Three particularly different in their approach to gay parenting. There's also an artistic tale of a murder in Paris, a compelling romance between street youth, and some othertopics beyond the usual coming out of AIDS-related themes. Won a Lambda Literary Award. The publisher should put out a new edition, but I hear that won't happen.

"For more than a decade, the acclaimed Men on Men books have showcased the very best in gay fiction. In stories that pushed back the boundaries and introduced talented new writers, these collections have transformed gay literature into something at once poignant and provocative, unique and universal. Now Men on Men 2000 ushers in the new century with twenty original tales that shimmer with all the emotion, humor, pathos, and drama of life. In "A Venice Story" Edmund White explores the ever-narrowing gulf between desire and death, while Jim Grimsley's "Boulevard" views desire through the perspective of pornography and tabloid news. "Ciccone Youths 1990" finds Bruce Morrow's lonely, ailing African-American protagonist entering a rollicking fantasy world populated by four drag queens and their ultimate heroine, Madonna. There are also stories by newcomers like David Tuller, whose "Sperm-and-Egg Tango" puts the friendship of a gay man and a lesbian to the test when they consider the possibility of parenthood. Patrick Ryan's "Second Island" chronicles an American traveler's obsession with a beautiful French hustler, and "Gold" is Alexander Chee's story of a young man of Korean and Argentinean descent who confronts both his mixed heritage and his evolving sexuality. Here, too, are timely variations on such topics as coming out, breaking up, sex and AIDS, growing up gay and ethnic, gay marriages, and gay men and fatherhood. In what may be the most diverse entry in this ever-evolving series, Men on Men 2000 celebrates what it means to be a gay man at the beginning of the new millennium." - abstract from Intermale

Like Mark Twain's premature obituary, critics' reports a few years ago of the death of the short story were "greatly exaggerated." Nowhere has the good health of the genre been more evident than in the Men on Men anthologies of stories by gay writers that began in 1986. Sub-titled the "Best New Gay Fiction for the Millennium," Men on Men 2000, eighth in the series, is an outstanding sampler of who and where we are today. Who we "are" are teens, Gen-Xers, Boomers, and elders whose relationships are more central than any other values. These twenty stories by some of our best writers and some impressive newcomers break new ground in the familiar territory of gay fiction--identity, coming out, cruising, bonding, and dissolving long-term relationships. Now, add parenting--turf of four stories ranging from David Tuller's amusing "Sperm and Egg Tango," which considers the conflicted feelings of Jimmy and his lesbian roommate as they contemplate making a baby, to the dad dealing with shared custody of his only son in Jim Provenzano's "Quality Time." Other stories of fathers and lovers breaking up express the losses both feel for themselves and the children. Never pornographic yet always erotic, Jim Grimsley's "Boulevard," Tom House's "Scarecrow," and Patrick Ryan's "Second Island" will raise more than eyebrows if you are stirred by a bit of Greek in the French Quarter, barroom blows, a high school boy's j/o fantasy, and obsessions with hot hustlers. Through dark scenes we grope toward that ideal, expressed simply by E.M. Forester, "Only connect." Living with and beyond AIDS is another subject mined for meaning. David Vernon's "Arrival" slams home Joe's mortality during a Disneyland roller-coaster ride that leaves him shaken and crying in the arms of his life-long friend, Sally, as his HIV transitions from asymptomatic to active. Other stories examine the emotions and coping of AIDS survivors. Most poignant are the maturation stories of gay kids. In the `Hood, when teenage macho friendships blur into homoerotic impulses and behaviors, the results are confusing, painful, sometimes even suicidal. Blue-collar boys with sexual identities emerging out of sinc by all received standards wage the loneliest battles. Enter the world of Bill Gordon's "Home," of Kelly McQuain's "Erasing Sonny," and J. G. Hayes' "Regular Flattop." Men on Men 2000 addresses the heart and meaning of gay relationships. It images the who and how we love in stories we live, in language we understand.

My brother lent me this book on my last trip home from college. I am a 19 year old straight grrl and let me tell you, this book about gay dudes was the best thing I had read all term. Truly demented stuff, but I loved it. The stories were funny and sexy and sometimes enough to make me squirm inside my skin. I liked the one about Madonna's evil drag queen posse, the one about the kid Sonny getting the tattoo from hell, and all the other wilde exposes of the strange quirkly demi-monde of gay life today. Having read this book, I feel like I've not only walked a mile in my brother's shoes, but I've treaded over the tricky territory of a whole world previously unfamiliar to me. This book is a Valentine in prose form.

I disagree with some of the previous posts--I found this bookAWESOME. Some of the stories made me laugh, some made me cry--theyall made me think. I especially liked Jim Grimsley's tale about life in an adult sex shop--a true awakening for the young narrator. And Kelley McQuain's "Erasing Sonny" was a gut-wrenching depiction of how some of us have to question the hypocritial family values we've been spoonfed as budding sexuality starts to make us ask questions. This wasn't a coming out tale so much as the definitive PREQUEL for everything you've ever read in the "gay coming out genre". I heard this guy read part of this aloud here in Philly, and it sounds even better spoken. Other goodies I specially enjoyed were penned by Hayes, Morrow, Provenzano and Mccann. For the most part, this collection is not the same old rehashing of Violent Quill writers, but brilliant new fiction for the Millennium. I feel like I have made discoveries of new voices from new writers whose books I hope to find. My only complaint is that I'm havng a hard time finding more books by some of these guys!