My Diva Anthology Coming In May

Talk about being in great company! The new anthology My Diva: 65 Gay Men On The Women Who Inspire Them is set for a May release, featuring my essay on French actress Jeanne Moreau. There will also be essays by the late Reginald Shepherd on Kate Bush, Christopher Hennessy on Princess Leia, Mark Doty on Grace Paley, Regie Cabico on Nina Simone, D.A. Powell on Eartha Kitt and David Trinidad on Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. The anthology editor, Michael Montlack, will be here in Atlanta for the Atlanta Queer Literary Festival in the fall and I hope to be part of a reading from the anthology at the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival in New Orleans in May. The Terrace Books imprint of University of Wisconsin Press is publishing the anthology in hardback. Ooh la la!

Here's some of the advance praise for the anthology:

“A completely fascinating and lovely book. In every case the diva is a kind of saint—for her suffering, for the emotional warble in her voice, as she sang, as she spoke those classic lines. It’s hard to miss the dovetailing of the gay male writer’s psyche and the voluptuous (much more than her body) voice of the diva. She shines her light on the way. Man, does she ever.”—Eileen Myles, author of Sorry, Tree

“Inspiration is contagious—and inspiration, excitement, and appreciation resonate through these essays. This is a story about how in the worst of times, there are the best of women—women in whom we find our courage and sometimes our heartbroken tenderness. My Diva is an act of love, well deserved and without reservation. Read it in the spirit in which it was made—this act of adoration, awe, and yes, love.”—Dorothy Allison, author of Bastard Out of Carolina