Synopses & Reviews
In 1969, a decade after the Stonewall rebellions lit the fuse of Gay Liberation worldwide, Felice Picano began a small all-gay press, Seahorse, while Larry Mitchell set up Calamus Books. A few years later, dramaturge Terry Helbing began the CLBT drama series, JH Press. In 1981, the three came together to form Gay Presses of New York. Their first book was Harvey Fierstein's Torchsong Trilogy and books by Dennis Cooper, Brad Gooch, Martin Duberman, Doric Wilson, Joan Larkin, and Robert Gluck followed.
Gay Presses of New York was not only the most successful gay press of its day, but because the three founders had made their move at the right time and place, and known the right people for a decade, GPNY also played a part in the growth of what is now gay culture, consisting of bookstores, magazines, newspapers, theater companies, and art galleries. Many aspects of the arts, as they swirled around New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco during the 1970s through 1991, were connected to GPNY, and in turn GPNY aided and affected those arts as they flourished. Art and Sex in Greenwich Village is the story of that historic confluence.
Review
"[A] tremendously entertaining collection of anecdotes and portraits that only a witness (and a good writer) could report in such vivid detail." New York Times
Review
"[Readers] will want to keep this on their reference shelf for consultation long after reading." Library Journal
Review
"Picano recalls an exciting time with insight, enthusiasm and justifiable satisfaction." Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
A decade after the Stonewall rebellions, a small, all-gay press named Seahorse began along with Calamus Books and JH Press, which all came together to form Gay Presses of New York. Gay Presses of New York was not only the most successful gay press of its day, but the founders had made their move at the right time and place. Gay Presses of New York also played apart in the growth of what is now gay culture, consisting of bookstores, magazines, newspapers, theater companies, and art galleries. Many aspects of the arts, as they swirled around New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco during the 1970s through 1991 were connected to Gay Presses of New York.
About the Author
Felice Picano's first book was finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award. Since then he has published twenty volumes of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Considered a founder of modern gay literature along with the six other members, of the Violet Quill Club, Picano also founded two publishing companies: the Sea Horse Press and Gay Presses of New York. He has been a regular writer for the San Francisco Examiner, The Lesbian & Gay Review, and the Lambda Book Report. Among his many award-winning books are Like People in History and The Book of Lies. He lives in San Francisco, CA.