Acquired Tastes XLIII:
Gay Pulp Fiction, Part 189
Avon Publications
Part 2 of 4
As of 2010, Avon became and remains an imprint of HarperCollins.
The interesting thing about Avon Publications is that they have always known the value of a gay audience, even back in the 1950's. This is particularly true in the 1970s when it comes to the imprint's support and proliferation of the bestselling books of Gordon Merrick, whose work we will take a look at in the final post of this series on Avon Publications.
I searched a number of archives held by university libraries - some of which are quite excellent (Cornell) and some were puzzling (Toronto - sorry, biographies, social studies, and theatrical plays do not qualify as gay pulp fiction). In any event, it all took way more time than I cared to spend, but down the rabbit hole I went. In the end, it was worth it, for I learned about several writers I was unfamiliar with and am not interested in reading.
I have decided to offer a mere sampling of the vintage gay-oriented titles Avon has offered throughout the years. If you happen to know of one or have a favorite Avon title I missed, please leave its title and author in the comments section. Keep in mind that there are at least three more posts regarding this imprint, and one of those will be dedicated to the works of Gordon Merrick. That said, I would love to track down more gay pulp fiction titles published by this imprint.
Today, we will take a look at select titles from the 60s and 70's, many of which are considered gay classics.
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Malcolm
Author: James Purdy
Avon Publications
1959
T-465
Malcolm shares the experiences of a 15-year-old boy in a fruitless search for his identity. He is a classic innocent, led from one protective personality to another in the search for his missing father. He becomes involved in a series of poignant and wildly comic adventures as he is taken under the wing of an astrologer, an undertaker, a jazz queen and several other eccentric characters. It was adapted for the stage by none other than Edward Albee, who also provided an introduction for reissues of the book.
James Purdy's second novel, The Nephew, tells of the revelations following the death in war of the nephew of a doting spinster, a retired schoolteacher, in a small Midwest town, who decides to write a memorial booklet. She thereby learns more than she wants to about him and about life as she discovers he was a homosexual.
Originally published in 1953, Forbidden Colors tells the story of an aging author who meets a meets a stunningly gorgeous young man of limited means and intellect who is engaged to a prim, conventional young woman from a very well-to-do family. The young man innocently confides to the older man that he feels no real physical desire for his bride, or for any woman. The author seizes the opportunity to mold the malleable, gullible young man into an exquisite weapon of revenge against the female sex. He explains to the young man that his inability to feel desire for women is not a weakness but a strength and advises him to go through with the marriage in order to gain financial security, but also take every opportunity to experiment with the emotions of others, and have as many affairs as possible with both women and men.
Jonathan Strong's subjects straddled the line between gay and straight. In Tike, the novella's title character appears to be heterosexual, but his excessive innocence and mechanical approach to sex seems to indicate otherwise. In addition, the short stories, Supperburger and Saying Good-bye to Tom tip the scale a bit more overtly toward the gay side of things.
This was part of a series of reissues of the works of Christopher Isherwood, all featuring drawings/portraits of the author created by Don Bachardy.
Back Cover
Paperback Reissue
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Claudine Married
Author: Colette,
Avon Books
1960
F-110
The works of Colette were reissued by a number publishers in the US, frequently under altered titles. Avon Books had a long history of presenting her works with colorful illustrations on the covers, such as the ones below.
Claudine
(Claudine In Paris)
Author: Colette)
Diary Of A 16-Year-Old French Girl
(Claudine At School)
Author: Colette
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The Nephew
Author: James Purdy
Avon Publications
1960
G-1147
James Purdy's second novel, The Nephew, tells of the revelations following the death in war of the nephew of a doting spinster, a retired schoolteacher, in a small Midwest town, who decides to write a memorial booklet. She thereby learns more than she wants to about him and about life as she discovers he was a homosexual.
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What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?
Author: Henry Farrell
Avon Publications
1962
G-1146
Movie tie-in paperback. Henry Farrell is chiefly responsible for creating the film genre 'psycho-biddy', also known as 'hagsploitation'. Among his works, What's The Matter With Helen?, and Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte. We'll be taking a look at the genre, possibly in October, as part of Wonderland Burlesque's Let's All Go To The Movies series.
Back Cover
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Forbidden Colors
Author: Yukio Mishima
Avon Publications
1968
W-183
Originally published in 1953, Forbidden Colors tells the story of an aging author who meets a meets a stunningly gorgeous young man of limited means and intellect who is engaged to a prim, conventional young woman from a very well-to-do family. The young man innocently confides to the older man that he feels no real physical desire for his bride, or for any woman. The author seizes the opportunity to mold the malleable, gullible young man into an exquisite weapon of revenge against the female sex. He explains to the young man that his inability to feel desire for women is not a weakness but a strength and advises him to go through with the marriage in order to gain financial security, but also take every opportunity to experiment with the emotions of others, and have as many affairs as possible with both women and men.
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Tike and 5 Stories
Author: Jonathan Strong
Avon Publications
1970
N-289
Jonathan Strong's subjects straddled the line between gay and straight. In Tike, the novella's title character appears to be heterosexual, but his excessive innocence and mechanical approach to sex seems to indicate otherwise. In addition, the short stories, Supperburger and Saying Good-bye to Tom tip the scale a bit more overtly toward the gay side of things.
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Lucifer with a Book
John Horne Burns
Avon/Bard Publications
1977
33340
Lucifer with a Book first came out in 1949 and was savaged by the critics. After his successful and highly lauded first novel, 1947's The Gallery, Burns' second novel was felt to be a let-down; neither openly gay nor convincingly straight, the author was battered by the critics and met with indifference by the public. Gore Vidal knew Burns and considered him an angry sort who despised the works of all other writers. Vidal said of him... "Burns was a difficult man who drank too much, loved music, detested all other writers, wanted to be great.... He was also certain that to be a great writer it was necessary to be homosexual. When I disagreed, he named a half dozen celebrated contemporaries. 'A Pleiad,' he roared delightedly, 'of pederasts!' But what about Faulkner?, I asked, and Hemingway? He was disdainful. 'Who said they were any good?'"
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The World in the Evening.
Author: Christopher Isherwood
Avon/Bard Publications
1978
Prater Violet
Author: Christopher Isherwood
Avon/Bard Publications
1978
Down There on a Visit
Author: Christopher Isherwood
Avon/Bard Publications
1978
A Meeting by the River
Author: Christopher Isherwood
Avon/Bard Publications
1978
Christopher and His Kind
Author: Christopher Isherwood
Avon/Bard Publications
1978
A Single Man
Author: Christopher Isherwood
Avon/Bard Publications
1978
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Haakon
Author: C.F Griffin
Avon Books
1979
43745
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Taking Care of Mrs. Carroll
Author: Monette, Paul
Avon Publications
1979
45161
Paul Monette would become much more well-known due to his chronicling of his battle with AIDs. He began his career as a published author writing what he called "silly little books", including the one, his second novel.
Avon also published his first novel, The Gold Diggers, 1978, and his subsequent "silly little books".
Author: Monette, Paul
Avon Publications
1979
40325--- ---
Wingmen
Author: Ensan Case
Avon Publication
1979
47647
After its initial publication, Wingmen soon went out of print and fell into obscurity. However, the novel started gaining a cult following and became recognized as one of the first instances of gay protagonism in the genre, which led to its republication in 2012, by Cheyenne Publishing. It's Case's first and the most well-known of his two published novels.
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And that's all for now.
Until next time...
Thanks for reading!
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4 comments:
very interesting tales!
Wow. I think Isherwood could have an entire post of his own.
"Bad Boy" - can't remember the author's name. I read this in the early to mid-80s. A young man finds his father is giving blow jobs in a local men's room.
TREASURES!
Whatever happened... ? YES.
Also, this: "He explains to the young man that his inability to feel desire for women is not a weakness but a strength and advises him to go through with the marriage in order to gain financial security, but also take every opportunity to experiment with the emotions of others, and have as many affairs as possible with both women and men."
So perf...
XOXO
Very intriguing! Air aces falling in love? Tell me more!
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