Books by Richard Canning

Today's most celebrated, prominent, and promising authors of gay fiction in English explore the literary influences and themes of their work in these revealing interviews with Richard Canning. Though the interviews touch upon a wide range of issues-including gay culture, AIDS, politics, art, and activism-what truly distinguishes them is the extent to which Canning encourages the authors to reflect on their writing practices, published work, literary forebears, and their writing peers-gay and straight.* Edmund White talks about narrative style and the story behind the cover of A Boy's Own Story.* Armistead Maupin discusses his method of writing and how his work has adapted to television. * Dennis Cooper thinks about L.A., AIDS, Try, and pop music.* Alan Hollinghurst considers structure and point of view in The Folding Star, and why The Swimming-Pool Library is exactly 366 pages long.* David Leavitt muses on the identity of the gay reader-and the extent to which that readership defined a tradition. * Andrew Holleran wonders how he might have made The Beauty of Men "e;more forlorn, romantic, lost"e; by writing in the first person.

The author of the acclaimed Gay Fiction Speaks brings us new interviews with twelve prominent gay writers who have emerged in the last decade. Hear Us Out demonstrates how in recent decades the canon of gay fiction has developed, diversified, and expanded its audience into the mainstream. Readers will recognize names like Michael Cunningham, whose Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Hours inspired the hit movie; and others like Christopher Bram, Bernard Cooper, Stephen McCauley, and Matthew Stadler. These accounts explore the vicissitudes of writing on gay male themes in fiction over the last thirty years-prejudices of the literary marketplace; social and political questions; the impact of AIDS; commonalities between gay male and lesbian fiction... and even some delectable bits of gossip.