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M2m New Literary Fiction- P
New from Atta Girl Press comes a witty,
poignant and compelling anthology that
features some of the most established
gay writers to date
poignant and compelling anthology that
features some of the most established
gay writers to date
Lambda Literary Award winner Karl Woelz
brings together a powerful and engaging
collection of gay writers. Those we've
come to love as well ones just breaking
into the gay literary scene. It's a dynamic
combination.
- GenresGay FictionLGBTFiction
332 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 30, 2023
(I was rereading some of these stories and in consequence have edited for clarity, but without changing any opinions, my original review - October 2023).
"Some of the finest male writers of our age are gathered here, capturing...what it means...to be gay (in the 21st century)...Here for the first time in over a decade, Edmund White, Felice Picano and Andrew Holleran...are published again together...Karl Woelz...brings together a group of writers whose work will be increasingly read over the next decade...(and) in his Afterword, Woelz keenly assesses and sharply critiques the publishing industry's recent treatment of gay writers..."
From the inside flap of the dust-jacket of the 2002 AttaGirl Press edition. This was clearly intended, or hoped, to be the first of a new series of short gay literary fiction to replace the recently cancelled Men on Men, His and Freshmen series. Unfortunately, unless some can tell me otherwise, this was a singular event. Anthologies of gay 'literary' fiction having enjoyed a certain plenitude in the 1980's and 90's have become very rare, but not unique events ('Speak My Language' by Torsten Hojer in 2015 being a worthy example).
Before I go on to review this very splendid anthology I thought I would begin by commenting on Mr. Woelz's 'Afterward'. Although much of what he says is still interesting it was clearly a reaction to the vast changes the publishing industry went through at the beginning of the century but now reads more like prescient comment on the way changes were coming to the 'gay community' a concept which cannot now be used without quotation marks or with any confidence that it actually defines a meaningful group of people. Regretting the demise of 'gay' publishing seems as pointless as bemoaning what has happened to Times Square and the Lower East Side in New York or the Eastern End and South working class boroughs of London (never mind their equivalents in Paris, Barcelona of Berlin). I am sure that Greenwich Village, New York is, except for tourists, about as fictitious a centre of 'Gay' life in New York as Old Compton Street is in London. Depressing as it may be to realise for those of us who knew, lived in and loved those times and places we are looking back on and talking about a world as utterly vanished and lost as that of the White Russian refugees who gathered in exile to talk about their lost world of St. Petersburg. At least St. Petersburg came back and the Romanovs, even ones who died abroad, have been reburied in their ancestral soil. The world of post Stonewall/liberation gays has disappeared to a more powerful agent then politics, gentrification and property prices. It is much harder to see those verities changing then it was to imagine Leningrad returning to St. Petersburg.
In the light of all this it is interesting to look through the contributors to M2M how many went on to publish multiple novels and collections of short fiction including Trebor Healey, Mitch Cullin, Greg Herren, Michael Carroll, Vestal McIntyre, J.E. Robinson, Tom House, Joe G. Hayes and Paul Lisicky. That so many fine writers of 2002 continued to write and be published can be seen as rebuttal to Mr. Woelz's doom laden jeremiad and of course gay writers have continued to write and be published without specific gay imprints and book stores. Being recognised as a 'minority' is always a two edged sword - providing exposure and a voice for writers but threatening them with ghettoization.
Almost all the writers in this anthology are still worth reading and those that aren't such as, in my opinion, Felice Picano and Robin Lippincourt, have sold enough books to offer some comfort for their inevitable descent into obscurity. What always makes me sad are the authors who are represented by a brilliant story who nothing further is heard of (or about whom I can learn nothing) in this anthology it was Robert William whose 'Japanese for Blurred Image'.
This is my second reading of this collection and it reminded me of how many of these author's novels are on my immediate TBR or even to be bought lists - J.E. Robinson, Michael Carroll and Tom House deserve particular mention; as does J.G. Hayes whose lovely story 'Jolly-Olly Petey' about two friends playing baseball inspired me (who hated baseball sufficiently to, in part, welcome being sent off to a boarding school in Ireland so I would never have to play or hear about it ever again) to buy the book it was excerpted from 'A Map of the Harbour Islands'. This is a charming and first rate collection and contemplating the careers of so many contributors I will not say that the future has turned out all right (it is disappointing how many of the contributors after producing one or more fine novels in the early 2000's have published nothing further but that has been the fate of many fine literary authors not simply gay ones) but it has not been a complete disappointment as far as gay, or any other literature is concerned. Maybe it was good for us to leave the ghetto, certainly it was inevitable, and although I admire this anthology I am glad that today no similar anthology would be published with writers from such a restricted range of backgrounds in terms of ethnicity, socio-economic and cultural backgrounds; that is a great improvement. Indeed the fact that I can confidently shelve this gay anthology as 'Literature USA' is the only real mark against it now and even in 2003 should have raised more eyebrows.
"Some of the finest male writers of our age are gathered here, capturing...what it means...to be gay (in the 21st century)...Here for the first time in over a decade, Edmund White, Felice Picano and Andrew Holleran...are published again together...Karl Woelz...brings together a group of writers whose work will be increasingly read over the next decade...(and) in his Afterword, Woelz keenly assesses and sharply critiques the publishing industry's recent treatment of gay writers..."
From the inside flap of the dust-jacket of the 2002 AttaGirl Press edition. This was clearly intended, or hoped, to be the first of a new series of short gay literary fiction to replace the recently cancelled Men on Men, His and Freshmen series. Unfortunately, unless some can tell me otherwise, this was a singular event. Anthologies of gay 'literary' fiction having enjoyed a certain plenitude in the 1980's and 90's have become very rare, but not unique events ('Speak My Language' by Torsten Hojer in 2015 being a worthy example).
Before I go on to review this very splendid anthology I thought I would begin by commenting on Mr. Woelz's 'Afterward'. Although much of what he says is still interesting it was clearly a reaction to the vast changes the publishing industry went through at the beginning of the century but now reads more like prescient comment on the way changes were coming to the 'gay community' a concept which cannot now be used without quotation marks or with any confidence that it actually defines a meaningful group of people. Regretting the demise of 'gay' publishing seems as pointless as bemoaning what has happened to Times Square and the Lower East Side in New York or the Eastern End and South working class boroughs of London (never mind their equivalents in Paris, Barcelona of Berlin). I am sure that Greenwich Village, New York is, except for tourists, about as fictitious a centre of 'Gay' life in New York as Old Compton Street is in London. Depressing as it may be to realise for those of us who knew, lived in and loved those times and places we are looking back on and talking about a world as utterly vanished and lost as that of the White Russian refugees who gathered in exile to talk about their lost world of St. Petersburg. At least St. Petersburg came back and the Romanovs, even ones who died abroad, have been reburied in their ancestral soil. The world of post Stonewall/liberation gays has disappeared to a more powerful agent then politics, gentrification and property prices. It is much harder to see those verities changing then it was to imagine Leningrad returning to St. Petersburg.
In the light of all this it is interesting to look through the contributors to M2M how many went on to publish multiple novels and collections of short fiction including Trebor Healey, Mitch Cullin, Greg Herren, Michael Carroll, Vestal McIntyre, J.E. Robinson, Tom House, Joe G. Hayes and Paul Lisicky. That so many fine writers of 2002 continued to write and be published can be seen as rebuttal to Mr. Woelz's doom laden jeremiad and of course gay writers have continued to write and be published without specific gay imprints and book stores. Being recognised as a 'minority' is always a two edged sword - providing exposure and a voice for writers but threatening them with ghettoization.
Almost all the writers in this anthology are still worth reading and those that aren't such as, in my opinion, Felice Picano and Robin Lippincourt, have sold enough books to offer some comfort for their inevitable descent into obscurity. What always makes me sad are the authors who are represented by a brilliant story who nothing further is heard of (or about whom I can learn nothing) in this anthology it was Robert William whose 'Japanese for Blurred Image'.
This is my second reading of this collection and it reminded me of how many of these author's novels are on my immediate TBR or even to be bought lists - J.E. Robinson, Michael Carroll and Tom House deserve particular mention; as does J.G. Hayes whose lovely story 'Jolly-Olly Petey' about two friends playing baseball inspired me (who hated baseball sufficiently to, in part, welcome being sent off to a boarding school in Ireland so I would never have to play or hear about it ever again) to buy the book it was excerpted from 'A Map of the Harbour Islands'. This is a charming and first rate collection and contemplating the careers of so many contributors I will not say that the future has turned out all right (it is disappointing how many of the contributors after producing one or more fine novels in the early 2000's have published nothing further but that has been the fate of many fine literary authors not simply gay ones) but it has not been a complete disappointment as far as gay, or any other literature is concerned. Maybe it was good for us to leave the ghetto, certainly it was inevitable, and although I admire this anthology I am glad that today no similar anthology would be published with writers from such a restricted range of backgrounds in terms of ethnicity, socio-economic and cultural backgrounds; that is a great improvement. Indeed the fact that I can confidently shelve this gay anthology as 'Literature USA' is the only real mark against it now and even in 2003 should have raised more eyebrows.
August 15, 2017
Ranging from first-time authors to icons in gay male literature, this compelling collection of short stories includes perspectives from older and younger gay men, with some thematic overlaps. Youth soccer ordeals, boyhood crushes, being 'the other man' in an open relationship, and even a closeted father at a fast food restaurant; these are told by a range of authors whose works (before and after this anthology's publication) included several read-worthy novels (a few are actually excerpts from later novels).
It's difficult to pick a favorite since nearly all the stories carry a maturity and unique voices. What I really appreciated was the diverse perspective, from tone and syntax to the kind of observation gay men often have toward others, from coming of age to coming out and coming to a close in life. M2M: New Literary Fiction should be added to any short story fan's collection.
It's difficult to pick a favorite since nearly all the stories carry a maturity and unique voices. What I really appreciated was the diverse perspective, from tone and syntax to the kind of observation gay men often have toward others, from coming of age to coming out and coming to a close in life. M2M: New Literary Fiction should be added to any short story fan's collection.
November 2, 2026
Quick review: M2m New Literary Fiction- P is a solid starter book on its topic and a snooze if you already know the basics. What worked: plain language and a few real-life stories that stick. What didn't: the same point gets repeated about five times. Recommend for total beginners, skip for anybody who's read two other books on this.
October 29, 2026
Straight up, M2m New Literary Fiction- P is a book about big feelings written by someone who clearly hates sentimentality, and that tension is what makes it work. Woelz, Karl undercuts every sappy moment with a dry joke, then sneaks in a gut punch anyway. Good for cynics with a soft spot, skip if you like your emotions served straight.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews