Nathan Talks With Author Aaron Powell

My Day At Jersey City Pride!

Great weather, performers, and interviews! Enjoy.

Don't Miss: Fire Island Black Out/EMBRACE Writers Panel, August 14!

The Ice Palace on Fire Island will melt, when the Fire Island Black Out/EMBRACE TV Writers Panel comes to Cherry Grove on Saturday, August 14th! Nathan joins acclaimed gay authors Delvon Johnson, Taylor Siluwe, and J. Omarr in a deep, provocative event that will leave you spellbound! We'll discuss our books and the important issues facing us which they explore. Of course, we'll also be selling and signing our books, the hottest reads in gay lit today! It all begins at 5 PM, only at FIBO! See you on the beach.

Gentlemen Of A Certain Age, Part 1

OMG. When I tagged this picture of B-Boy Blues series author James Earl Hardy, author Taylor Siluwe (Dancing With The Devil), me, and Da Doo Dirty Show radio host DJ Baker and posted it to Facebook, reality hit me smack in the face. Not long after I posted it, James Earl Hardy pronounced it the "Gentlemen Of A Certain Age" photo! I was ready to run out to CVS right then and there to grab a case of Just For Men, to hide the encroaching gray hairs on my head. But then, it got me thinking, gee, I am getting older!



When I was born, Lyndon Baines Johnson was President of the United States. Barack Obama was still in diapers, and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was hard at work making it possible for Barack to one day move into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The Vietnam War was in full swing, and the resulting anti-war movement was just getting started. While I was attending kindergarten, local NYC gays and lesbians started the Stonewall Rebellion to protest police harrassment of LGBT's, and the crew of Apollo 11 landed and walked on the moon.



As I made my way through grade school, the world grew up, too, facing such serious issues as the Watergate scandal which destroyed Richard Nixon's presidency, and an energy crisis that made Americans realize their precious oil supply was not entirely under their control. I remember my parents complaining about odd/even gas rationing, at a time when just about every car on the road was a gas-guzzling monster. But the '70s also brought us disco, the soundtrack of the LGBT community in that era. It appeared that gays and lesbians were finding their way into the musical "mainstream" when the gay theme group, The Village People, appeared on the scene. They ushered in a musical genre that included legendary songstress Donna Summer, the Gibb brothers, better known as the Bee Gees, and perennial icon Chaka Khan.



For a time, disco personified a carefree lifestyle, where tolerance was on the rise, and it looked like bigotry was on its way to history's dustpile. I was in junior high and just beginning to struggle with my sexuality, when Harvey Milk was elected as a San Francisco City Supervisor. Milk was the first openly gay person to be elected to high municipal office in the United States. It looked as though I might actually grow up into an era in which my orientation wouldn't be an obstacle to life. Of course, harsh reality flooded in, when Milk was assassinated, along with Mayor George Moscone, by a homophobic fellow city supervisor named Dan White. White then skirted punishment for the murders by using an outrageous legal argument that has come to be known as the "twinkie defense". I clearly remember watching Dianne Feinstein, then also a San Francisco city official, announcing the murders on television, and that White was already in police custody. I was utterly (and secretly) devastated, and this assassination was one of the reasons I stayed in the closet for years to come.



It was around my junior year of high school that reports began surfacing in the news about a disease called "Gay-Related Immune Deficiency" (GRID), which later became known to the world as HIV/AIDS. A new challenge to the survival of the LGBT community had emerged, and together with a resurgence of homophobic bigotry, would shape my life and the lives of gays and lesbians everywhere, for the forseeable future.

In Part 2 of "Gentlemen Of A Certain Age", the Eighties arrive, and with adulthood, I see changes in the world scarcely dreamed of in the Sixties of my childhood, plus the more things change...stay tuned.

Fall Reading: Authors Of Color In Modern Gay Lit

As we go from a too-short summer into the transition of autumn, it's a good time to pause and take a look at some of the black gay literary voices which are shaping American literature today. SGL men of color have always been a powerful force in American writing, in every genre and style. The richness of their words and the passion of their stories defines us as a culture. The writings of such giants as James Baldwin and Langston Hughes awakened the world to the struggles of people of color in the mid-to-late 20th century. They found expression through their words, as gay men, people of color, and as artists enriching the American experience.


Writers like Baldwin, Hughes, Robeson and Rustin also set the stage for later gay writers, who revolutionized the gay-lit genre. The first modern black gay author to gain widespread acclaim was Everette Lynn Harris, whose first book, Invisible Life, taught American publishers about the possibilities of gay literature. Harris created plausible, human gay characters, and raised awareness in "Mainstream America" about some of the issues gay men face in their lives and relationships. Following the runaway success of Invisible Life, Harris went on to author eleven more novels, eight of which made the New York Times bestseller list. At the time of his unfortunate death this past summer, Mr. Harris was about to option his first novel with Tracy Edmonds as a Hollywood movie. He is widely considered to be one of the "gateway authors" of modern gay literature.


Another "gateway author" in the company of E. Lynn Harris, is James Earl Hardy, well-known as the man behind the phenomenal B-Boy Blues series of novels. Hardy is an unabashed proponent of the edgy, uncompromising prose style so familiar in gay literature today. With this groundbreaking body of work, Hardy explored in depth the dynamics of relationships among gays of color. His writings continue to enjoy accolades from readers all over the country, who often credit Hardy with giving a voice to their feelings. Gay lit often finds an intersection between sexuality, life, and social commentary. The myriad issues of gay life, social conflict, and the challenges peculiar to gay men of color has given rise to the works of prominent individuals who have helped shape the ongoing discourse on gay life in the 21st century.

Where real-life issues and gay black men meet, you'll often find writers like Keith Boykin, who served in President Clinton's cabinet, and currently comments on items of the day for both MSNBC and CNN. In his current-affairs book, Beyond The Down Low, Boykin took a hard look at closted gay men who live double lives, for fear their sexuality will result in their ostracism from society. During the years Boykin was an active, vocal advocate for the LGBT community, his writings challenged people to re-examine their attitudes towards gays and lesbians with sober, fearless prose. Courage is almost a prerequisite for gay authors, and this is especially true when you're a gay pastor. The division between gays, lesbians and their churches is a long, sad litany of hatred and bigotry perpetrated in the name of God. Reverend Kevin E. Taylor, pastor of the Unity Fellowship Church of New Brunswick (UFCNB), is such a courageous man. With his works, Jaded and Uncluttered, Rev. Taylor comes upon us to let the world know that God does not hate His chikdren, gay or lesbian though they might be. Without apology, Rev. Taylor shows us that we are all welcome under God's roof, statements to the contrary from less enlightened churches and clergy notwithstanding. Taylor teaches us to accept ourselves and our fellows, even in matters at the heart of the gay experience, the way we express love and sexuality.




Gay love and sexuality are the defining attributes of our community, and it is to these concepts that our literature most often speaks. We live, we love, and we share our intense passions in our stories. Bringing our sexuality to life is the province of authors who write gay erotica, one of the most challenging areas of the gay genre. Erotica deals with, as its name implies, the sexual aspect of relationships between people. Sexuality is inextricably linked to gay life, and erotica in gay literature is an important expression of who we, as a community, are. Explorers of gay erotica, such as Taylor Siluwe (Dancing With The Devil, Best Gay Erotica '08), Lee Hayes(Passion Marks, A Deeper Blue, The Messiah, Flesh To Flesh Anthology), and Stanley Bennett Clay (Looker, In Search Of Pretty Young Black Men), each bring out the beauty, wonder, and delight of our love lives in fine form and substance.



Sometimes, social issues find their way into erotic writing, as Nathan James reminds us in The Devil's Details, which combines the unbridled passions of its characters with a strong statement on the absurdity of hatred.





In every way, all of our contemporary gay writers of color describe our world with joy and clarity. Modern American literature is enhanced by the addition of the gay genre, and all who set pen to paper today stand on the shoulders of giants, and strive to reach even higher levels of expression tomorrow. Get to know them as autumn becomes winter, and the time to curl up with a few good books draws nigh.

Double Pride Panic Was Awesome!

On Wednesday, I traipsed through the rain (when has it NOT been raining in NYC lately?) to the Nowhere Lounge for writer Charlie Vazquez' presentation of Double Pride Panic. It's a recurring literary series showcasing the work of LGBT writers and artists from around the NYC area.



The house was packed as we got down to business. All of the writers were fantastic, and all recieved enthusiastic responses from the crowd. Special thanks to Charlie and Nowhere for making the evening a memorable one. I'll be posting video of this event soon, so stay tuned!

Check Me Out At Double Pride Panic TONIGHT!

If in NYC, come on out and see me, Charle Vasquez, Taylor Siluwe, and other great LGBT authors at DOUBLE PRIDE PANIC, a Pride Week literary event celebrating LGBT artists and authors of color! It's at the Nowhere Lounge in the East Village. Don't miss it!

Gentlemen's Book Club Celebrates Fifth Anniversary

Taylor Siluwe joins me and another fine author at GBC












Dave Matthews introduces the authors


Last Wednesday, June 17, I had the privilege of participating in the Gentlemen's Book Club Fifth Anniversary party at New York's HK Lounge. The Gentlemen's Book Club is a group for and about gay men of color, dedicated to exploring literary works in a diverse range of genres. The club's ultimate aim is to promote and encourage reading and appreciation of the writings of LGBT authors. Each month, the club meets in a cafe or member's home to discuss the selected book of that month. I got to know club organizers Dave Matthews and Daniel Mejia, who work diligently to move the club forward. I was introduced to the Club's members as an author by Mr. Matthews, who spoke very highly of me. The members were enthusiastic and welcoming, and I encourage everyone who reads this blog to join this fine group.