This is a gem of a book. The language of Polari was used extensively in the gay community during the early 20th century. A way to speak without being overheard, using a mixture of rhyming slang, underworld cant, and loanwords. While Julian and his friend Sandy dominate the story - being one of the only mass-broadcast records of the language - the book dives in to the hidden history of its origins, how it developed, and what happened to it. Written by a professor with an excellent ability to…
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It occurs to me that I mostly read modern books. But sometimes I dip into the classics to see what modern literature is built upon. Quentin Crisp was - depending on how you read his autobiography - famous for being infamous, notorious for being Proud before Pride, or an uncompromising icon of studied awfulness. The book veers wildly between achingly painful prose and unimaginably bitchy barbs. Every page is stuffed with acid-drops of social commentary. About my immortal soul I did not…
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This is pitched as the first gay love story from a major Hollywood studio. I don't know how true that claim is - but I do know this is a funny and sweet movie. When I was at University at the turn of the century, there was a guy in our halls named "Big Gay Gareth". He was my go-to guy when I had questions about the insidious homosexualist agenda. He was instrumental in helping me understand what was, at the time, termed the QUILTBAG world. There were such a bewildering array of terms,…
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The scene: post-conference, sat in an airport, one dark winter's morning. I'm casually chatting to one of the other speakers about our mutual hate of being sat in an airport this early. His phone rings and he excuses himself to answer it. My German is pretty rusty, but good enough to understand "...Yes, I am at the airport... Yes, I'll make the flight... I have my passport... Do you want any duty free? OK... I love you." I smile at him - I know that call. "Ach!" he says to me, "My husband is …
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