Merle Miller: On Being Different

What It Means to Be a Homosexual. USA 2012, 74 pp., brochure, € 12.29
Kostenloser Versand ab 20 Euro Bestellwert.
Penguin USA
Originally published in 1971, »On Being Different« is a pioneering and provocative book about being gay in America. Just two years after the Stonewall riots, Miller wrote an essay for The New York Times Magazine, entitled »What It Means to Be a Homosexual«, in response to a homophobic article in Harper's Magazine. Miller's writing, described as »the most widely read and discussed essay of the decade«, along with an afterword chronicling his inspiration and readers' responses, became one of the earliest memoirs to affirm the importance of coming out. This updated edition includes a foreword by Dan Savage and an afterword by Charles Kaiser to highlight the impact of Miller's classic work. Forty years later, the issues Miller raised are still being discussed and argued about.

John Schwartz: Oddly Normal

One Family's Struggle to Help Their Teenage Son Come to Terms with His Sexuality. USA 2012, 290 pp., hardbound, € 23.49
Kostenloser Versand innerhalb Europas.
Penguin USA
Three years ago, John Schwartz, a national correspondent for »The New York Times«, got a call that every parent hopes never to receive: his 13-year-old son, Joe, was in the hospital following a suicide attempt. Mustering the courage to come out to his classmates, Joe had delivered a tirade about homophobic and sexist attitudes that was greeted with unease and confusion by his fellow students. Hours later, he took an overdose of pills. Joe recovered and returned to his family. Determined to help their son feel more comfortable in his own skin, Schwartz and his wife, Jeanne, launched their own search for services and groups that could help Joe know he wasn't alone. Interweaving his narrative with chapters on psychology, law, and common questions, Schwartz shares lessons about helping gay kids learn how to cope in a potentially hostile world.

Bill Morgan and David Stanford (eds.): Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg: The Letters

USA 2012, 500 pp., brochure, € 18.79
Kostenloser Versand ab 20 Euro Bestellwert.
Penguin USA
Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg are the most celebrated members of the literary movement called the Beat Generation, linked together not only by their shared sensibility but also by a deep and abiding friendship, one that colored their lives and greatly affected their writing. Extraordinary in its range, quality, and intimacy the correspondence between the two of them began shortly after Kerouac and Ginsberg first met in 1944, and with few interruptions continued until Kerouac's death in 1969. Both men were committed, from early on, to a life in literature, and their letters were an important workshop in which their ever-changing ideas were shared and endlessly debated. In these letters, one discovers passionate self-portraits and a vivid record of the cultural scene they created.

Zach Wahls with Bruce Littlefield: My Two Moms

Lessons of Love, Strength, and What Makes a Family. USA 2012, 234 pp. with b/w photographs, hardbound, € 23.95
Kostenloser Versand innerhalb Europas.
Penguin USA
On January 31, 2011, Zach Wahls addressed the Iowa House Judiciary Committee in a public hearing regarding a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in Iowa. The then 19-year-old son of a lesbian couple proudly proclaimed: »The sexual orientation of my parents has had zero effect on the content of my character.« Hours later, his speech was posted on the Internet, where it quickly went viral and became YouTube's No.1 political video of the year, racking up nearly 20 million hits. In his book, Zach Wahls discusses the lessons he's learned about love, strength, and family. He explores the values his two moms, Jackie and Terry, taught him - values driven home by his journey toward Eagle Scout. In many ways, his upbringing was very normal - yet, growing up with two moms, he knows what it's like to feel different and to fear being bullied, or worse.