february18,2005
139
BOOKS
Walking Higher: Gay Men
Write About the Deaths
of Their Mothers
Edited by Alexander Renault; Xlibns Corporation,
2004; $24-99 softcover
Gripping stories
tions of “tools” and masturbation techniques,
“Wednesday, 2 a.m.” is one of the tamest tales
in the collection. Two “straight” guys get it on
in a car in the middle of the night while a gay
man enjoys the scenery from his hidden perch
on a fire escape.
Moving on to “Diving the Pit,” a homy
man meets a dark and dangerous punk kid in a
mosh pit. When they retire to a private spot,
they partake in a golden shower, robust rim
ming and other indixir sports.
“Memories of War,” the most tender of
these yams, portrays a meeting of the groins
that is not just a onetime encounter between
strangers. Two soldiers meet on a North Caroli
na military base, do the nasty in one of the
guys’ apartments and—gasp!—continue to
connect in the coming weeks.
For those who prefer monogamy
to chance encounters with garbage
men, Tangled Sheets is surely the
wrong cup of tea. Ford creates an
absurd, borderline-offensive fantasy
world where just about every guy has
a well-chiseled hxly and an enor
mous cock. Also perplexing is the
fact that there are no repercussions
to unsafe sex.
But let’s face it: Ford describes
such diverse carnal interludes that
just about every hot-blooded gay
man will get some kicks from these stories. You
just might have to do a lot of cringing before
you find your sweet spot. JF1
Gay men write about the deaths of their mothers
and erotic encounters with others
by
S tephen B lair
11T he death of a mother changes a
I person on a fundamental level,”
I writes Alexander Renault, editor
relationships with our moth
of Walking Higher. In this touching, and
ers. To his credit, Renault
sometimes gut-wrenching, essay collec
includes a variety of cultural
tion, 30 U.S., Canadian and Irish gay
perspectives. In “Cancion
men reminisce about their mothers’
Para Mi Ama (Mother’s
indelible impact on their lives. With
Song),” RigoBerto Gonzalez
emotions ranging from sadness to bitter
affectionately describes his
ness, they grapple with their mothers’
Mexican mother’s attempts
deaths from cancer, suicide, alcoholism
to learn English and her
and other causes.
obsession with the Blondie
ElMTIS .!>< ALtXA..'£k Rl*AULT
Renault discloses the rationale for
hit “The Tide Is High.” In
this project in his introduction. During
“Mistaken Identity,” Ken
I
the past two decades, he says, many gay men
Saragosa writes about the straight mother-gay
predeceased their mothers because of AIDS.
son experience from a Japanese American
Now that the disease is treatable, more gay
perspective.
men outlive their parents. What better time for
Max Pierce’s “Escape from the Valley of the
gay men to reflect on their bond with their
Dolls” is perhaps the most unsettling essay in
mothers?
the collection. His beautiful mother, a huge fan
So why are dead fathers excluded from this
of Hollywtxxl melodramas, overdosed on Sec
discussion? Since gay men typically have more
onal when he was just a boy. To pay tribute to
turbulent relationships with their fathers than
her love of sacrificing movie characters like
with their mothers, maybe Renault was con
Stella ITallas, Pierce writes: “Mama died so that
cerned that the inclusion of father-son dynam
I might live. In that sense she gave me life, not
ics would have turned this btxtk into a celebra
once, but twice.”
tion rather than a memorial.
Walking Higher may appear to be of interest
Overall, the essays in Walking Higher are
only to gay men who have lost their mothers.
sensitive and well-written. And, for better or
But the bwk’s universal themes should appeal
for worse, they push us to re-examine our own
to readers from all demographics.
Tangled Sheets:
Tales of Erotica
by Michael Thomas Ford; Kensington Books,
2005 ; $ 1 4 softcover
nytime. Anywhere. Anybody.
These are the ground
t M rules in Tangled Sheets, a
new collection of erotic tales
by self-described pornographer
Michael Thomas Ford. In
2004, the author published a
how-to manual called Ultimate
Gay Sex and won a Lambda
Literary Award for Last
Summer, a novel set in
Provincetown.
The prolific Ford has also
conjured up dozens of down-
and-dirty short stories that first
appeared in steamy magazines like Blueboy and
Honcho. This book includes previously pub
lished material along with stories that have
never before seen the light of day.
The amorous acrobatics in Tangled Sheets
may titillate or repulse, depending on your
erotic proclivities. Despite its explicit descrip
1
STEPHEN B lair is a Portland free-lance writer
who once grew his hair long because Karen Black
told him it would look great.
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