2009 Lammy Finalist's Reading

(Award-Winning Author Christopher Rice, center, hosted a reading with James Berg, Teresa Decrescenzo, David Francis and Dan Luckenbill, all 2009 Finalists for a Lamda Literary Award, tonight at the Palm Springs Public Library.)

One of the ways in which libraries, bookstores, publishers and authors benefit and collaborate with each other is by having authors come and read or talk about their work.

Tonight we had a special treat at the Palm Springs Public Library as it was one of the few sites in the country for the 2009 Lammy Finalist Reading Series. Hosted by Award-winning author and President of Board of the Lamda Literary Foundation Christopher Rice, it featured three authors involved in the Lesbian Gay Bisexual & Transgendered Anthology category for Love, West Hollywood, (Co-Editor James J. Berg, Teresa Descrescenzo and Dan Luckenbill) and Gay Fiction category nominee David Francis for Stray Dog Winter.

The excerpts from Love, West Hollywood were quite touching, especially Descrescenzo's account of her late partner Betty Berzon's insistence in being treated with dignity and respect, especially in regard to her status as a lesbian couple, while being admitted to the emergency room. In the chapter entitled, "The love that dared speak its name," "...Betty says tartly, 'you will not check the box marked 'single' because I am NOT single,'" and goes on to tell how as an activist she was not going to back down. Powerful stuff.

Luckenbill's chapter, "An ephemeral life," chronicles his experiences of coming to terms with and defining his life as a gay man in Los Angeles through his background as an archivist librarian who is intrigued and interested in brochures, newspapers and other items that appeared in the 60s and 70s and indicated to those who saw them what being gay was. He was especially interested in a painting on a book of erotica that he saw in the 60s that showed men in a more intimate way than he'd seen before and tells how it affected him.

The fourth speaker, Francis, caught my attention because not only was he attractive, but his accent as an Australian was also magnetic. In his current book, Stray Dog Winter, Francis set the novel inside the Soviet Union in the 80s where his characters have some homosexual attractions, but I didn't get enough flavor of his writing or the plot to know if it would be something I'd read. He read to us from the beginning, "He arrived in winter on a sleeper from Prague and the sound of the train went boogedy boogedy--what do you want, Darcy Bright? Darcy Bright, what do you want?"

Following the readings, Rice led off the discussion with a question about where folks picked up their books: a library, gay bookstore, Amazon, Borders, etc. This then went on to talk about how publishing, especially gay publishing had changed since the Lamda awards began. "What makes literature gay? Is it enough to have gay characters? Gay sex? Or does it need to have more? A gay sensibility, if you will."

Of course, being Palm Springs most of the audience was middle-aged to older. Individuals who could relate to growing up and coming out as gay individuals when life was not as open. When gay bookstores mattered as a community center. When libraries were one of the few places you could find literature that had gay or lesbian characters, even if the books didn't actually label them as such. It is an interesting topic to ponder, and as a library trustee, I do wonder about whether literature other than best sellers will be available. And if it is, will gay people seek it out or will the next generation find it all just ho hum.

I certainly applaud the Lamda Literature Foundation for having these readings and forums across the country. Like everything else, marketing and word of mouth help readers know about what is out there. Awards like the Lammys and the Stonewall Book Awards help propel authors, both new and established, as well as their work to readers who are still seeking good literature. So good luck to all the nominees.