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Out in Paperback: A Visual History of Gay Pulps
Out in Paperback is a wonderfully entertaining look at gay mass-market paperback cover art that throws new light on the important role of the book publishing industry in the development of gay popular culture. Richly illustrated with over a hundred covers of gay-themed “pulps” published between 1948 and 1998, this fascinating visual history provides new insights into a striking form of gay imagery.
Following the huge demand for portable reading material during World War II, paperback publishing exploded in the postwar years. At the same time, the Kinsey report and a spate of novels and non-fiction studies about male homosexuality suggested new and sensational subject matter. Literature, mass culture, and the emerging homosexual underground combined in the accessible pulp paperback with its striking, interpretive packaging. For many readers – including young, isolated gay men–an eye-catching, pocket-sized paperback cover on a drugstore rack provided their first intriguing look into a previously concealed gay world.
What were the messages behind the emblematic images and flashy graphics? For whom were they intended? What was their impact on a rapidly changing North American society? Ian Young, author of The Stonewall Experiment: A Gay Psychohistory and an authority on gay publishing, probes beneath the surface of gay pulp covers to reveal their underlying, sometimes surprising, messages.
Following the huge demand for portable reading material during World War II, paperback publishing exploded in the postwar years. At the same time, the Kinsey report and a spate of novels and non-fiction studies about male homosexuality suggested new and sensational subject matter. Literature, mass culture, and the emerging homosexual underground combined in the accessible pulp paperback with its striking, interpretive packaging. For many readers – including young, isolated gay men–an eye-catching, pocket-sized paperback cover on a drugstore rack provided their first intriguing look into a previously concealed gay world.
What were the messages behind the emblematic images and flashy graphics? For whom were they intended? What was their impact on a rapidly changing North American society? Ian Young, author of The Stonewall Experiment: A Gay Psychohistory and an authority on gay publishing, probes beneath the surface of gay pulp covers to reveal their underlying, sometimes surprising, messages.
80 pages, Paperback
First published September 18, 2007
33 people want to read
About the author
Ian Young
24 books5 followersIan Young is an English-Canadian poet, editor, literary critic, and historian. An alumnus of the University of Toronto, he founded Canada's first gay publishing company, Catalyst Press, in 1970. His work has appeared in Canadian Notes & Queries, The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide, Rites and Continuum, as well as in more than fifty anthologies. He was a regular columnist for The Body Politic from 1975 to 1985 and for Torso between 1991 and 2008.
Young is best known for his work as editor of the anthology The Gay Muse and the bibliography The Male Homosexual in Literature. He was interested in ceremonial magic during the 1980s and was a founding member of the Hermetic Order of the Silver Sword.
His most recent book, Encounters with Authors (2013), featured historical and critical essays on the work of three noted Canadian LGBT writers, Scott Symons, Robin Hardy and Norman Elder. [wikipedia]
Young is best known for his work as editor of the anthology The Gay Muse and the bibliography The Male Homosexual in Literature. He was interested in ceremonial magic during the 1980s and was a founding member of the Hermetic Order of the Silver Sword.
His most recent book, Encounters with Authors (2013), featured historical and critical essays on the work of three noted Canadian LGBT writers, Scott Symons, Robin Hardy and Norman Elder. [wikipedia]
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 3, 2020
An excellent visual guide to gay paperbacks of the 20th century. On the downside, it's only 100 pages long. Would love to see an expanded edition showcasing the authors entire collection.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 8, 2022
A very interesting look at the evolution of paperback cover art from the 40's until recently, illustrated with the book covers the author discusses. My only problem is that it is too thin a volume, and I was left wanting more examples.
May 4, 2019
An interesting, albeit light, history of gay pulp fiction (and some nonfiction). Got me interested enough to want to read some of the titles!
August 1, 2013
"Americans were introduced to the realities of homosexual life not by radio or TV, nor by The New York Times or the Mattachine Society, but by the paperback revolutions that brought gay and lesbian books into every American town."
The above quote is the primary--and extremely convincing--thesis to Young's brief overview of the gay paperback publication industry and its quick evolution over the course of the 20th century (he generally eschews lesbian lit, which has, as he acknowledges, its own separate and complex history). A number of nice details and synopses are included, but the text is extremely cursory, so the real draw is the gorgeously reproduced images drawn from Young's own collection of over 1,200 paperback titles (most of which are now housed in a rare books collection at the University of Toronto, which itself says a lot). The tendency to cluster together different images often provides a more eloquent testament to changing styles, social mores, and queer visibility in American culture than the text itself does. Best considered as an introduction for further avenues of inquiry.
The above quote is the primary--and extremely convincing--thesis to Young's brief overview of the gay paperback publication industry and its quick evolution over the course of the 20th century (he generally eschews lesbian lit, which has, as he acknowledges, its own separate and complex history). A number of nice details and synopses are included, but the text is extremely cursory, so the real draw is the gorgeously reproduced images drawn from Young's own collection of over 1,200 paperback titles (most of which are now housed in a rare books collection at the University of Toronto, which itself says a lot). The tendency to cluster together different images often provides a more eloquent testament to changing styles, social mores, and queer visibility in American culture than the text itself does. Best considered as an introduction for further avenues of inquiry.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews