Men on Men: Best New Gay Fiction, Volume 1 (2024)

Unfortunately dated now in both style and substance, this 1986 set of short fiction does have significant contributions from some current stars of gay fiction: primarily Andrew Holleran, Felice Picano, Dennis Cooper, and Edmund White. As such, the value is primarily historical and it is interesting to consider how these authors have evolved in the succeeding 35 years. It is also shocking that many of the included authors died of AIDS shortly after the publication of the book so in some cases this is their only published work.

MEN ON MEN: BEST NEW GAY FICTION #1

George Stambolian selected eighteen talented gay writers to include in the first volume of his iconic Men on Men: Best New Gay Fiction series. The variety of narrative styles, characters, settings, and situations encountered in the stories and excerpts from novels-in-progress is remarkable. Stambolian obviously gave a lot of thought to the order in which the stories appear. As expected from a collection of gay fiction published in 1986, the specter of AIDS hovers over several of the stories.

When I started rereading this first Men on Men, I realized that I hadn’t noticed before that it was dedicated to Richard Umans. I was saddened to learn that Umans died of AIDS in 1985. Besides Umans, five other writers who are included in this first Men on Men were also lost to AIDS: John Fox, Richard Hall, Robert Ferro, Michael Grumley, and Sam D’Allesandro. How do you measure the loss of these writers? You can’t. The loss is incalculable.

All the writers in this first volume of the Men on Men series are white. In his introduction Stambolian mentions that he looked for gay black authors, but some of them “had already committed to a forthcoming anthology of black writing.” I assume that the anthology to which Stambolian refers is In the Life: A Black Gay Anthology, edited by Joseph Beam and also published in 1986. Stambolian somewhat corrected this lack of diversity in later volumes.

My favorite stories from this first volume of Men on Men are as follows:

Richard Uman’s “Speech” is narrated by a young boy who is attracted to his friend’s Uncle Leo. Leo is deaf. He reminds the narrator “of Superman, barely disguised as Clark Kent.” The narrator frustratingly never acquires the ability to understand what Leo is saying. Years later, the narrator spies Leo in a movie theater where men are cruising each other. Leo sits next to him. “Then he spoke to me, only to me, and I dropped my head back and listened.” I thought about this sensuous story for a long time after I read it. It is the first story in the collection and is my absolute favorite.

In Andrew Holleran’s “Friends at Evening” the culture and way of life of a group of gay men in New York City is evoked through their urbane and witty conversations as they ride in taxis across the city to a memorial service. One of the men mentions “that never failing feeling of excitement that accompanies the entrance of any cab in New York City; as if one renews one’s life each time a meter switches on.” This story is absolutely stunning.

“Nothing Ever Just Disappears” by Sam D’Allesandro is a beautifully written account of the progression of a relationship between two gay men. At one point, the narrator says, “We were starting to have dreams together. Then everything changed.” The narrator’s lover dies, probably of AIDS.

Kevin Killian’s quirky and enjoyable “September” is about Gunther, an older man, and Harry, his younger lover. Killian makes himself a character in the story. Gunther says to Harry: “We got that Kevin Killian up the stairs breathing in every word we say. I know he f*cked you. I know you tell him every little thing I do.”

An excerpt from Michael Grumley’s novel-in-progress, Life Drawing, is given in the form of the lyrically written New Orleans section of the novel. Life Drawing, Grumley’s only novel, was published posthumously with an afterword by George Stambolian.

Felice Picano’s “A Most Golden Bulgari” is almost a novella, The characters in the story are involved in moviemaking at Cinecittà in Rome. The story is wonderfully reminiscent of the 1960s period of Fellini’s La Dolce Vita and Godard’s Contempt. I kept expecting Marcello Mastroianni or Brigitte Bardot to make an appearance.

Men on Men must have sold well for it to have been published every two years from 1986 to 2000. My copy of the first volume is the thirteenth printing! Most importantly, George Stambolian with Men on Men made a case and proved it: Literature written by gay men about gay men is as valid, well-written, and significant as literature written by straight authors about straight people.

We need a new book series similar to George Stambolian’s Men on Men for the 2020s. Men on Men introduced me to many gay writers whose work has immensely enriched my life. It’s been twenty years since the last Men on Men volume. Current gay writers of short fiction aren’t getting the attention they deserve. Where is our twenty-first century George Stambolian?

Recueil d'une quinzaine de nouvelles (comprenant peut-être un peu trop d'extraits de roman à paraître toutefois: au moins 5) tous de style et de sujets très très différents, mais toujours d'auteurs hom*osexuels écrivant sur l'hom*osexualité. Certains vont plus dans le lyrisme, d'autres dans le drame, il y a des fictions de jeunesse ainsi des écrits beaucoup plus sexuels et d'autres nouvelles qui parlent du SIDA.

Ce n'est vraiment pas mal dans l'ensemble, je dois avouer qu'aucune ne m'a particulièrement marqué, mais je n'ai pas trouvé qu'aucune n'était de qualité inférieure non plus, donc très égal dans l'ensemble. Je lirais avec plaisir d'autres recueils dans la même série (qui sont apparemment beaucoup plus intéressants que le premier de ce que j'entends).

It is hard to know what to say about this volume - not because there are not things to praise about it - but because there is so much. It is the 'ur' text, the foundation work of modern 'gay' or as I would prefer to describe it 'queer' literature. All of the contributors either had, or were about to go on to write great books - those who did not failed due to that most regular extinguisher of potential talent in the years following this anthologies publication - death. I was going to list all the wonderful authors published here in slack jawed astonishment but I won't because it is easy for anyone wanting to find their names to do so. I just want to emphasize that this is a book of very fine writing - in fact the one regular criticism I have seen about this volume and the series overall is that a large number of the works included were excerpts from books not individual short stories - but read the cover line 'best new gay fiction' not best new gay short stories - it is only publishing what it says it will.

One of the great strengths of this series is that, particularly under Stambolian, the literary merit of the contributors was so high. If there is other work by any of the authors published here you can be sure it is worth reading - the anthology is almost a guide to what you 'should' read - what is so depressing is that so many of the works of the authors here are only available second hand - often only great price.

Get and read this volume - I can't imagine anyone being disappointed.

Quotes saved for future use from Robb Strangers:

Gay literature, is such a thing existed, was not just literature produced by gay writers or devoted to the subject of hom*osexuality. It was also the body of writing in which gay men and women discovered themselves regardless of the authors intentions or sexuality.'

'...To read a work of literature as an expression of heterosexual desired is literary criticism; to read it as an expression of hom*osexual desire is 'appropriation' of 'prurience'. Associating something in one's own life is either 'conscripting a writer for the cause' (gay) or 'demonstrating its universal relevance' (straight)...'

A solid if fairly narrow collection of perspectives and voices. The good ones really capture a moment in time of transition for gay men, that murky time before HIV/AIDS was a full blown crisis but people knew something was wrong, like a monster lurking under the bed. Stand outs include White's "Oracle" and Holleran's "Friends at Evening" (expectedly), as well as Patrick Hoctel's "Bad Pictures", Bruce Boone's "David's Charm" and Robert Gluck's "Sex Story". Worth a read if you stumble upon a copy.

Not as good as subsequent volumes in this series. A handful of standout stories with great writing and emotional depth (Felice Picano, Ethan Mordden, Robert Ferro) interspersed with the bleak and perverse. (What do I mean by perverse? Nothing hom*ophobic about it, I simply don't want to read about feces play during sex, OK?)