Pulp Friction: Uncovering the Golden Age of Gay Male Pulps

A collection of gay erotic writings tracing the development of a gay identity from the late 19th century to just before the Stonewall Inn riots

Long before the rise of the modern gay movement, an unnoticed literary revolution was occurring, mostly between the covers of the cheaply produced pulp paperbacks of the post-World War II era. Cultural critic Michael Bronski collects a sampling of these now little-known gay erotic writings—some by writers long forgotten, some never known and a few now famous. Through them, Bronski challenges many long-held views of American postwar fiction and the rise of gay literature, as well as of the culture at large.



CONTENTS

Part One
Mainstream Fiction: Not Particularly Hiding in the Shadows
Harrison Dowd, The Night Air, Dial Press, 1950
Lonnie Coleman, Sam, David McKay, 1959

Part Two
The New Gay Novel: Happier Homos and Happier Endings
James Barr, "Spurr Piece" from Derricks, Greenberg, 1951
Jay Little, Maybe—Tomorrow, Pageant Press, 1952

Part Three
Truly Pulp: "Gay" Life in the Shadows
Michael De Forrest, The Gay Year, Woodford Press, 1949
Vin Packer (Marijane Meaker), Whisper His Sin, Fawcett Gold Medal Books, 1954
Ben Travis, The Strange Ones, Beacon Book, 1959
James Colton (Joseph Hansen), Lost on Twilight Road, National Library, 1964
Jeff X, The Memoirs of Jeff X, Zil, 1968

Part Four
Out of the Twilight World: The Sexual Revolution Goes Lavender
The Boys of Muscle Beach, Guild Press, 1969 (reprint from the 1950s)
Richard Amory, Song of the Loon, Greenleaf Classics, 1966
Carl Corley, My Purple Winter, PEC French Line, 1966
Jack Love, Gay Whore, PEC French Line, 1967
Chris Davidson, A Different Drum, Ember Library/Greenleaf Classics, 1967

Part Five
The World Split Open: Life and Literature After Stonewall
Marcus Miller, Gay Revolution, Pleasure Reader, 1969
Bruce Benderson, Kyle, Crusier Classics, 1975
Victor Jay, The Gay Haunt, Traveller's Companion, 1970
John Ironstone, Gay Rights, El Dorado Editions, 1978

Appendix: Gay Novels, 1940-1969
Bibliography