Comments on: From Boys to Men: Gay Men Write About Growing Up http://www.gleeuta.org/37-from-boys-to-men-gay-men-write-about-growing-up.html Tue, 11 May 2010 03:14:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Terrance H. Heath http://www.gleeuta.org/37-from-boys-to-men-gay-men-write-about-growing-up.html#comment-129 Terrance H. Heath Mon, 19 Apr 2010 03:45:35 +0000 http://www.gleeuta.org/37-from-boys-to-men-gay-men-write-about-growing-up.html#comment-129 Thomas, David, Sean, Marc, Dexter, Johnny, Alex, Brian. I can remember their names and recite them like a roll call of saints and demons; the boys who, largely unbeknownst to them, drew me out of myself and let me to myself all at once in those years between the kindergarten-era dawning of my nascent queerdom to the high-noon of becoming a full fledged 'mo. Some teased, some taunted, and some were tender. But we never, ever touched. <br /> <br />I thought I'd nearly forgotten them, but they're still with me. This book, with its highly readable essays, brought them back to me. But more than that, with every essay it brought back to me parts of the the boy that I was, introduced him to the man became, and let us finally finally embrace each other. Back then he wanted to know that everything would be turn out alright, like the boys in this book. Now I can assure him that it did. <br /> <br />The the rare book that can take you back to a time that wasn't necessarily a happy one when you lived through it, and not only make you want to go there but also make you want to linger. This is one of those rare books. Rating: 4 / 5 Thomas, David, Sean, Marc, Dexter, Johnny, Alex, Brian. I can remember their names and recite them like a roll call of saints and demons; the boys who, largely unbeknownst to them, drew me out of myself and let me to myself all at once in those years between the kindergarten-era dawning of my nascent queerdom to the high-noon of becoming a full fledged ‘mo. Some teased, some taunted, and some were tender. But we never, ever touched.

I thought I’d nearly forgotten them, but they’re still with me. This book, with its highly readable essays, brought them back to me. But more than that, with every essay it brought back to me parts of the the boy that I was, introduced him to the man became, and let us finally finally embrace each other. Back then he wanted to know that everything would be turn out alright, like the boys in this book. Now I can assure him that it did.

The the rare book that can take you back to a time that wasn’t necessarily a happy one when you lived through it, and not only make you want to go there but also make you want to linger. This is one of those rare books.
Rating: 4 / 5

]]> By: Thomas Houser http://www.gleeuta.org/37-from-boys-to-men-gay-men-write-about-growing-up.html#comment-128 Thomas Houser Mon, 19 Apr 2010 01:30:00 +0000 http://www.gleeuta.org/37-from-boys-to-men-gay-men-write-about-growing-up.html#comment-128 The authors included in here will astound. Very well conceived and produced. Each story is just short enough to keep you reading until you've realized the book is over. Joe Jervis is extremly talented and just happens to be my friend for over 20yrs. I'm proud to know him. I hope he is grateful to his muse Terrence. Rating: 5 / 5 The authors included in here will astound. Very well conceived and produced. Each story is just short enough to keep you reading until you’ve realized the book is over. Joe Jervis is extremly talented and just happens to be my friend for over 20yrs. I’m proud to know him. I hope he is grateful to his muse Terrence.
Rating: 5 / 5

]]> By: Java http://www.gleeuta.org/37-from-boys-to-men-gay-men-write-about-growing-up.html#comment-127 Java Sun, 18 Apr 2010 23:53:44 +0000 http://www.gleeuta.org/37-from-boys-to-men-gay-men-write-about-growing-up.html#comment-127 This is a terrific book. Each story is different, but there is unity in how the men experienced childhood from a distinctively gay perspective. Rating: 5 / 5 This is a terrific book. Each story is different, but there is unity in how the men experienced childhood from a distinctively gay perspective.
Rating: 5 / 5

]]> By: Tony Tsang http://www.gleeuta.org/37-from-boys-to-men-gay-men-write-about-growing-up.html#comment-126 Tony Tsang Sun, 18 Apr 2010 21:38:57 +0000 http://www.gleeuta.org/37-from-boys-to-men-gay-men-write-about-growing-up.html#comment-126 Each and every story captivates you with it's little quirks that you may or may not be able to relate to. And even if you can't, you can almost feel it happen to yourself as you read through it. <br /> <br />An honest piece of work put together by many of today's great writers. Definitely a recommended read. Rating: 5 / 5 Each and every story captivates you with it’s little quirks that you may or may not be able to relate to. And even if you can’t, you can almost feel it happen to yourself as you read through it.

An honest piece of work put together by many of today’s great writers. Definitely a recommended read.
Rating: 5 / 5

]]> By: Amos Lassen http://www.gleeuta.org/37-from-boys-to-men-gay-men-write-about-growing-up.html#comment-125 Amos Lassen Sun, 18 Apr 2010 19:48:57 +0000 http://www.gleeuta.org/37-from-boys-to-men-gay-men-write-about-growing-up.html#comment-125 Gideonse, Ted and Robert Williams, editors. <br /> "From Boys to Men", Da Capo Press, 2006. <br /> <br />Growing Up and Coming Out <br /> <br />Amos Lassen <br /> <br />Being gay and young is the focus of Ted Gideonse's and Robert Williams's "From Boys to Men", an anthology of 21 essays written by gay men. We all know what it is like to feel different and these selections deal with young gays who experience the world in ways unlike their straight friends. There is something there that is indefinable but unmistakably gay. The selections remind us of how alike we all are and yet how different. All of us want to be accepted and that is the key. <br /> There is a variety of authors and a variety of stories but in essence that desire to be accepted is the same. Some of the essays are by established writers while others are by unknowns and it is the difference in the stories that make this anthology so interesting. I found myself remembering things I thought I had erased from memory. I remembered being the boy that I was before I became the man that I am and the sensitivity of the essays selected is powerful. <br /> Sometimes we need to be reminded of how we grew as painful or as happy as it was because it is those experiences that we had that are reflected in the way we view and deal with the way we live now. Each selection is well written and deeply personal and honest. <br /> Rating: 4 / 5 Gideonse, Ted and Robert Williams, editors.

“From Boys to Men”, Da Capo Press, 2006.

Growing Up and Coming Out

Amos Lassen

Being gay and young is the focus of Ted Gideonse’s and Robert Williams’s “From Boys to Men”, an anthology of 21 essays written by gay men. We all know what it is like to feel different and these selections deal with young gays who experience the world in ways unlike their straight friends. There is something there that is indefinable but unmistakably gay. The selections remind us of how alike we all are and yet how different. All of us want to be accepted and that is the key.

There is a variety of authors and a variety of stories but in essence that desire to be accepted is the same. Some of the essays are by established writers while others are by unknowns and it is the difference in the stories that make this anthology so interesting. I found myself remembering things I thought I had erased from memory. I remembered being the boy that I was before I became the man that I am and the sensitivity of the essays selected is powerful.

Sometimes we need to be reminded of how we grew as painful or as happy as it was because it is those experiences that we had that are reflected in the way we view and deal with the way we live now. Each selection is well written and deeply personal and honest.

Rating: 4 / 5

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