Weekend Onesie: Building A Mystery

Weekend Onesie: Building A Mystery

I have a story to share!

So, you know how I have gone completely over the edge about vintage gay pulp fiction? I mean, I've been writing about it weekly for over a year and have also begun collecting it, as in, buying copies of various imprints. Yes, spending time and money on sites like eBay, Hommi Publishing, and the like. 

It's addicting.

Now, back in mid-August (which feels eons ago), I did an interview with Hannah Givens, curator and creator of Carl Corley: Gay Pulp In The Deep South. I've become quite a fan of both Corley and the site (and Hannah, too!). So, I wanted to show my appreciation in the form of a donation.

This past Monday, I received an email from her. At one time we'd emailed a bit back and forth about scholarly efforts and I'd mentioned that I thought she should crowd fund to accomplish some of her goals, particularly a second visit to Duke University to scan Corley's unpublished works. Well, she wrote to tell me that she went ahead and created a donation page on the Corley site. Very easy to use and very clever, too.

I wrote back saying how pleased I was to hear the news and wished her well. As I closed, I decided to mention something that I'd been eyeing on eBay recently...

Walk The Gay Night

Author: Carl Mitchell

Van Nuys, California:
Triumph News Co., Inc., c1967

Back Cover

... a copy of Walk The Gay Night by Carl Mitchell. The seller had in parenthesis behind the author's name, Carl Corley's name - indicating that Carl Mitchell was a pseudonym of Corley's. I was intrigued and interested, but it was a bit rich for my blood. I recognized the artwork immediately as something that Corley had, in fact drawn for an unpublished work, titled Jambalee. I wanted to know if Hannah knew anything about it. 

Carl Corley's artwork for 

unpublished novel, Jambolee

Unused artwork for 

Carl Corley's novel, Attala Rose

She wrote back suggesting that she purchase it with the money I'd donated, scan it and add it to the site. I thought that was a brilliant idea. She's also going to set about authenticating the work (she's not sure about the seller's claim). Once that's all done, she's going to either donate the book to Duke University to add to their collection of Corley's works, or resell it in order to raise money for one of her next projects. 

I'll be happy with either choice, though, I'm rather hoping she resells it (I may need to reconsider the dollar limit I've placed on my vintage gay pulp fiction purchases.)

In the meantime, I found an obit for Carl Mitchell. Interesting coincidence?

Oh, and I just got this from Hannah:

"FYI, this is the painting in the archives. I found in my notes that Corley also had a cut-off cover of an actual copy of Walk the Gay Night saved in an unrelated scrapbook, but that's how I made the connection between the two. The scrapbook contained some of Corley's work as well as some news clippings about himself and other ephemera, but it wasn't labeled. It seems like almost definitely a pseudonym based on this though. Certainly he could've done an early cover for a book that had a title and cover-design change later, but it's hard to imagine him putting his own name on the first version of such a cover if it was intended for someone else, and it doesn't seem likely that he just repurposed unused art for another author since the title is so similar. Assuming the writing style is the same, that's pretty conclusive to me."

Unused Cover Art

So, the plot thickens! Keep in mind, during a time when the censorship laws were extremely strict, Corley was one of the few authors who used his own name when publishing works of this sort. Use of pseudonyms was quite common as a means to avoid being prosecuted. Of course, perhaps there's something in the novel he didn't wish to be associated with. Or, perhaps it isn't his work at all. 

Update: Hannah has the book and after a cursory read, she says, "if this isn't a Corley I'll eat the paper it's printed on.."

Hannah, my favorite librarian/historian, 

holding the aforementioned book

In any case, I can't wait to learn what Hannah finds out. The whole thing comes as such a pleasant surprise and I'm truly excited about it, so I thought I'd share it. 

I know... gay nerd stuff, but still fun.

And yes... I will keep you posted!

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Have a lovely weekend.

Life is a funny thing.

So learn to laugh often and hard.

- uptonking from Wonderland Burlesque

Building A Mystery - Sarah McLachlan