I was first introduced to the work of Daniel A. Olivas when I was the editor of OutsiderInk.com, and it was a treat to return to his fiction. The storI was first introduced to the work of Daniel A. Olivas when I was the editor of OutsiderInk.com, and it was a treat to return to his fiction. The story he published with me is the lead story, “Los Angeles, 1970,” a piece that deftly navigates the challenges faced by immigrants and their children and a boy’s confusion regarding a sexually manipulative priest. The story showcases Olivas’ talent for capturing a unique and often unheard perspective. There is a spectrum of characters in his stories: protective to overly proud fathers, determined daughters, lesbian lawyers, cocky weathermen, strong older women, as well as a hot and not always welcoming Los Angeles, which is a character appearing it each piece. The author serves up a slice of life with dexterity and dash of humor. Layered into his stories is a current of music: jazz, pop, rock, and Mexican standards. The book is solid throughout, but there are some standouts: The chilling reality-based “Summertime” about a white supremacist opening fire on a Jewish community center and “19” a humorous take on the Y2K debacle, but for me it is the “cautionary” tales that I enjoyed most, reminding us that life is short and we should be true to ourselves: “Res Judicata”, “Weatherman” and my personal favorite, “Voir Dire,” in which a man discovers his ability to write fiction and his parents still dismiss him as an idiot; a mixture of hope and humor! ...more
Having been an androgynous girly-boy in the 80’s I empathized with the majority of Grave’s characters. There is no ambiguity here, these underage boysHaving been an androgynous girly-boy in the 80’s I empathized with the majority of Grave’s characters. There is no ambiguity here, these underage boys want other underage boys, desperately, and will do whatever is necessary to get their attention and keep it, including: drugs, emulational falttery, and agreeing to anything they want to do like Monster Truck rallies, attacking girls, and letting them “stick it in.” The POVs in these stories are primarily children who have experience beyond their years, but not maturity. There is absolutely no parental guidance; in fact the few parents who appear are worse off than their dysfunctional children. Running counter to the above observations, the stories are fraught with an innocence and blind hope that can be endearing. As an editor it was gratifying to see 2 stories I had published in VelvetMafia.com in a larger setting, “Curls and Curls” and “Seahorse”, which are standouts in this volume. And this is a testimonial to the 80’s, with nostalgic homages to Pop Rocks, Happy Meals (with toys), Night Flight, “puffers,” Ritalin, and equal doses of Tiffany, Debbie Gibson and Def Leppard. Although on the slim side, this is a riveting one-sitting read that will take you to the wrong side of the tracks in Leomister (Lemon-stir, we are told it is pronounced), a polluted manufacturing town in Massachusetts. PS the presentation of the book by Chelsea Station Editions is beautiful....more
I had the good fortune to meet Mr. Crisp in the mid-90s through performance artist, Penny Arcade, who I worked with when she staged "Bitch!Dyke!FaghagI had the good fortune to meet Mr. Crisp in the mid-90s through performance artist, Penny Arcade, who I worked with when she staged "Bitch!Dyke!Faghag!Whore!" at the Village Gate. Mr. Crisp was—without a doubt—an original person. In New York he was known for his purple fedora, lavender ascot and the elegant way he held himself, his bearing so regal that he was artfully cast as Queen Elizabeth in Sally Porter’s film of Virginia Woolf’s gender-shifting “Orlando”. His startlingly honest observations about societies’ quirks are from an outsider’s point of view and are delivered with Mr. Crisp’s patented charmingly acerbic and self-effacing humor and the driest wit imaginable. At the core of this auto-biography is a man who is a walking contradiction in terms. Mr. Crisp is a social misfit who lives openly, though quietly, as a flamboyant homosexual in pre-sex-lib London. He is peacock-proud of his appearance, literally becoming artwork (his primary profession is as an artist’s model), and his most fascinating subject is himself, yet he also revels in his deficiencies in keeping house and confused about the chaos he creates by his alternative appearance. He pokes gentle fun at his friends and marginalized flatmates, especially the hooligans and diligently unoccupied denizens of SoHo. You will either find him hysterical or sad, but most likely somewhere in between. A picture of Dorian Gray, only funny and with extensively more flair....more
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