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Introduction—Michael Montlack
Sappho (630 BC): Love, I Implore You in Polyester Lapels—Michael Broder
Queen Elizabeth I (1533): Heart of a King—Patrick Letellier
Virginia Woolf (1882): This Perpetual Revision of Thought—Brian Teare
Margaret Dumont (1882): Duchess of Dignity—Christopher Murray
Bessie Smith (1892): Empty Bed Blues—Sam J. Miller
Claude Cahun (1894): Masks, Makeup, Meaning—Peter Dubé
Gracie Allen (1895): Comic Muse—Lloyd Schwartz
Lotte Lenya (1898): Divine Weltschmerz—David Bergman
Gloria Swanson (1899): Sunset Boulevard—Edward Field
Agnes Moorehead (1900): Afternoons as Endora—Richard Blanco
Marlene Dietrich (1901): Falling in Love Again—Walter Holland
Joan Crawford (1905) and Bette Davis (1908): "But ya AHHH, Blanche!"—David Trinidad
Lucille Ball (1911): Flaming Redhead—Lawrence Applebaum
Mahalia Jackson (1911): Divine One—Forrest Hamer
Julia Child (1912): Life's Ingredients—Bill Fogle
Billie Holiday (1915): Lady Day—Alfred Corn
Edith Piaf (1915): A Share of Pain—Gregory Woods
Evita Perón (1919): Santa with a Soundtrack—Guillermo Castro
Grace Paley (1922): O Stone! O Steel!—Mark Doty
Ava Gardner (1922): Small Town Girl—Chris Cleo Creech
Aurora de Albornoz (1926): Tia Divina—Scott Hightower
Joan Sutherland (1926): Dame Joan and I—Gary Ljungquist
Eartha Kitt (1927): Purrrfectly Detached—D. A. Powell
Betty Berzon (1928): Dinners with the Diminutive Diva—Jim Van Buskirk
Jeanne Moreau (1928): Living Dangerously with Jeanne—Collin Kelley
Two Fat Ladies (Jennifer Paterson) (1928): Cocktails with Jennifer—Jack Lynch
Audrey Hepburn (1929): Adoration and the Icon—Joseph Campana
Elizabeth Taylor (1932): The Über-Diva—Scott F. Stoddart
Anna Moffo (1932): Her Funeral—Wayne Koestenbaum
Ms. Kiki Durane (Depression Era): Her Sound and Fury—Christopher Schmidt
Nina Simone (1933): I Got It Bad for Bangles & Diamonds—Regie Cabico
Julie Andrews (1935): My First Maria—Mark Wunderlich
Tina Turner (1939): Tina & I—Jim Elledge
Karen Black (1939): Diva of the Deranged—Michael Schiavi
Raquel Welch (1940): As My Mother—Ron Palmer
Julie Christie (1941): The Cocteau Girl—Cyrus Cassells
Helen Reddy (1941): Before Anarchy—Richard Tayson
Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter) (1942): Exploring the Amazon—Jeff Oaks
Diana Ross (1944): How to Reign Supreme—Jericho Brown
Rocío Dúrcal (1944): The Day She Died—Rigoberto González
Bette Midler (1945): First Loves—Steven Cordova
Jessye Norman (1945): Als Ob Ich Säuseln Hörte—Dante Micheaux
Liza Minnelli (1946): Everybody Loves a Winner: Five Lessons from Liza—Jason Schneiderman
Cher (1946): History (1987–2)—Aaron Smith
Laura Nyro (1947): All She Asked of Living—Michael Klein
Stevie Nicks (1948): "And Wouldn't You Love to Love Her?"—Michael Montlack
Jessica Lange (1949): Isn't It a Laugh?—Allen Smith
Patti Lupone (1949): Patti's Turn, In the Key of Diva—Jonathan Howle
Wendy Waldman (1950): Seeds and Orphans—Paul Lisicky
Cyndi Lauper (1953): The Sadness in Her Rasp—Steven Riel
Rickie Lee Jones (1954): The Duchess of Coolsville—Timothy Liu
Annie Lenox (1954): Desire, Despair, Desire: Some Notes on Annie Lennox & Tension—RJ Gibson
Siouxsie Sioux (1957): Black Eyeliner and Dark Dreams—Benjamin Harper
Auntie Mame (Rosalind Russell) (1958): "I'm Going to Open Doors for You, Doors You Never Even Dreamed Existed"—Lewis DeSimone
Kate Bush (1958): The Invisible Diva—Reginald Shepherd
Jamie Lee Curtis (1958): When the Artist Met His Muse—Vince A. Liaguno
Sade (1959): The Other Material Girl—Christopher Lee Nutter
Taylor Dayne (1962): "Tell It to My Heart"—Peter Covino
Björk (1965): With Regards to Ms. Gudmundsdottir—John Dimes
Kristin Hersh (1966): "Is Sticky Ever Blue?"—Mark Bibbins
Céline Dion (1968): Cirque du Céline—Jim Nason
Parker Posey (1968): A Pocket Full of Posey—Michael J. Andrews
Margaret Cho (1968): How to Break Every Oriental Stereotype in the Book—Kenji Oshima
Mary J. Blige (1971): I Take Shallowness Seriously—Jeffery Conway
Princess Leia (1977): Leia's Kiss—Christopher Hennessy
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| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
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Steven Kraemer
reviewed My Diva: 65 Gay Men on the Women Who Inspire Them on August 10, 2010
My Diva: 65 Gay Men on the Women Who Inspire Them
(as reviewed at the-defibrillator.blogspot.com)
For culture vultures like me, My Diva is a thrill to behold. Edited by poet and fiction writer Michael Montlack, the book includes clever, urbane, campy, and ernest essays about some of my favorite pop culture icons. Encomiums include Grace Paley by Mark Doty, Margaret Cho by Kenji Oshima, and Eartha Kitt by D. A. Powell.
Honestly, there's an embarrassment of riches here, and some of the best essays are about lesser-known women or by emerging authors. One of my favorite essays, which jerked tears and titters during the reading last week and earned special notice from queer theory legend Camille Paglia, is "Auntie Mame," by Lewis DeSimone. The author (who's reading more of his own work next Tuesday at the Harvey Milk Branch of the SF Public Library at 7 p.m along with Paul Hufstedler and Donny Lobree) mixes insightful film commentary with poignant self-revelation and sissy-boy memoir to create an essay that stands out and stands on its own, even as it fits nicely with the book's theme.
Another favorite essay of mine is "Wendy Waldman" by fiction author Paul Lisicky, mainly because Waldman is a wonderful songwriter, redolent of Laura Nyro and Joni Mitchell, whose fame hasn't risen to her '70s contemporaries' levels, despite having written or cowritten such gems as "Mad Mad Me" (Maria Muldaur), "Pirate Ships" (Judy Collins, The Cure), "Save The Best for Last" (Vanessa Williams), and several Linda Ronstadt numbers.
If My Diva succeeds in shining light on hidden gems, my one complaint'the complaint at every reading, says Montlack'is that too many great divas have been left out. Among the refusniks I most miss are Joni Mitchell, Judy Garland, Blossom Dearie, and Judy Holliday. Luckily, the book has been such a success already that a sequel may be just a year or two away. For now, Montlack, who celebrates his birthday this weekend in San Francisco, is busy promoting the first edition, as well as entertaining the idea of publishing a book of companion poems about the 65 divas, all written by the essay authors (most of whom are distinguished poets).
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Add My Diva: 65 Gay Men on the Women Who Inspire Them, From Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Midler, and Diana Ross to Queen Elizabeth I, Julia Child, and Princess Leia, these divas have been sister, alter ego, fairy godmother, or model for survival to gay men and the closeted boys they once were. And anyone—straight , My Diva: 65 Gay Men on the Women Who Inspire Them to the inventory that you are selling on WonderClubX
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Add My Diva: 65 Gay Men on the Women Who Inspire Them, From Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Midler, and Diana Ross to Queen Elizabeth I, Julia Child, and Princess Leia, these divas have been sister, alter ego, fairy godmother, or model for survival to gay men and the closeted boys they once were. And anyone—straight , My Diva: 65 Gay Men on the Women Who Inspire Them to your collection on WonderClub |
