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Best Sellers December 1994 Local authors Kevin DiLallo and Jack Knunholtz top the men’s list again this month with their ridiculously successful Unofficial Gay Manual, which was number one — by a wide margin — at every bookstore polled. Meanwhile, Mabel Maney’s parodies of the fabled Nancy Drew mysteries are looking like the beginnings of a successful franchise; the most recent, called The Case of the Good-For-Nothing Girlfriend, jumps onto our list in the number one slot. Women's Books 1. [-] Th« Case of the Good-For-Nothing Girl friend, by Mabel Maney (Cleis Press, trade paper back, $10.95). Nancy Clue and Cherry Aimless, R.N. set out to clear housekeeper Hannah Gruel of murder charges « 2. [-] Painted Moon, by Karin Kallmaker (Naiad Press, trade paperback, $9.95). An architect and a fa mous artist find love in a snowbound cabin 3. [2] Body Guard, by Claire McNab (Naiad Press, trade paperback, $9.95). The sixth mystery for Australian sleuth Carol Ashton 4. 131 Serving In Silence, by Margarethe Cam < “ ’ B <-. V i.'J -. ,J. •_. , mi-y '^""-’■" -"~-i' Vo® * ■■ mermeyer (Viking, clothbound, $22.95). The story of a decorated Vietnam vet who came out 5. [10] Hollywood Lesbians, by Boze Hadleigh (Barricade Books, clothbound, $21.95). Interviews with Moorehead, Stanwyck, and more 6. [9] Divine Victim, by Mary Wings (Plume, trade paperback, $9.95). An inheritance comes with ghostly strings attached 7. [1] Venus Envy, by Rita Mae Brown (Bantam, trade paperback, $5.99). Coming-out comedy set in Charlottesville 8. [-] Murder at Montlcello, by Rita Mae Brown (Bantam, clothbound, $19.95). Troubles begin when Harry and her pets look into a 200-year-old murder • 9. [-] The Penguin Book of Lesbian Short Stories, ed. by Margaret Reynolds (Penguin, trade paperback, $13.95). Great brief fiction by and for Lesbians 10. [4] The Total Zone, by Martina Navratilova and Liz Nickles (Villard, clothbound, $21). Mystery on the tennis courts Men’s books 1. [1] The Unofficial Gay Manual, by Kevin Di Lallo and Jack Krumholtz (Doubleday, trade paper back, $12.50). How to be a stereotype on $100,000 a year 2. [-] B-Boy Blues, by James Earl Hardy (Alyson, trade paperback, $9.95). “Girlfriendz” in the hood 3. [5] Men on Men 5, ed. by David Bergman (Plume, trade paperback, $11.95) New short fiction by and for Gay men 4. [2] The Folding Star, by Alan Hollinghurst | (Pantheon, clothbound, $24). A love story after James and Mann. 5. [-] Out In America, by Michael Goff and the staff of Out magazine (Viking Studio Books, clothbound, $34.95). A day “in the Life” of America 6. [3] What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality, by Daniel Helminiak (AlamoSquare, trade paperback, $9.95). Examining Scripture vis d vis Gay lives 7. [7] Glamourpuss, by Christian McLaughlin (Dutton, clothbound, $19.95). The adventures of a semi-closeted soap star 8. [-] Queer and Loathing: Rants and Raves of a Raging AIDS Clone, by David B. Feinberg (Viking, clothbound, $22.95). Polemics and raillery on AIDS and Gay politics 9. [-] Dead On Your Feet, by Grant Michaels (St. Martin’s, trade pa perback, $8.95). Boston hairdresser/sleuth Stan Kraychik gets his fingers into another messy do 10. [-] The Penguin Book of Gay Short Stories, ed. by David Leav itt and Mark Mitchell (Penguin, trade paperback, $13.95). The editors’ somewhat narrow-minded notion of what s best in Gay fiction Numbers in [brackets] indicate last month’s ranking. A dash (-) means the book was not included in last month s list. This month’s best sellers list reflects the best-selling books at the following stores: Lamb da Rising (Washington, D.CVBaltimore/Rehoboth Beach, Del.), Lammas Women's Books and More (D CyBaltimore), A Different Light (New York/San Francisco/West Holly wood) Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop (N.Y.), Glad Day Bookshop (Boston), New Words (Cambridge, Mass.), Giovanni’s Room (Philadelphia), Sisterhood Bookstore (Los Angeles), Outwrite Bookstore and Coffeehouse (Atlanta), Crossroads Market (Dallas and Houston) Liberty Books (Austin, Tx.), Common Language (Ann Arbor, Mich.), A Broth er’s Sh(Minneapolis), People Like Us (Chicago), Unabridged Books (Chicago), and White Rabbit Books (Raleigh and Greensboro, N.C.). __Trey Graham John Boswell Remembered By Dr Robert Goss The Boston Globe ran the obituary of Dr. John Boswell, who died two days before Christmas due to complications of HIV. My reaction consisted of dismay, anger, and sorrow. Another wonderful person and tremendous gay scholar has fallen to this plague. How many more will fall to HIV? I said a prayer for John Boswell, for his lover, family, and friends. I prayed in thanksgiving for what he gave me and other queer Christians. His scholarship has empowered other gay/lesbian scholars, theologians, cleigy, and Christians to reclaim a history for themselves. I remember a recent conversation at a Christmas party with a Jesuit priest who had been at the Gregorian University in Rome. Some American Jesuit, he said, had faxed sections of Boswell’s latest book, Same-sex Unions in Premodem Europe, to professors at the Gregorian. The Jesuit priest had recounted how a few professors attacked the premises of Boswell’s book on a liturgical rite blessing same-sex unions. Their catty comments focused on his supposedly “loose” translations of certain Greek terms and the impossibili ty of the Greek churches blessimg same-sex unions. The priest reminded the Gregorian professors that Boswell was a brilliant medieval historian from Harvard University and now Chair of the Department of Medieval Studies at Yale Uni versity. When reminded of this fact, one professor remarked that Boswell was justifying his homosexual lifestyle in his book and that he had AIDS. Both remarks intended to dismiss Boswell s work! these com merits will certainly not be the last to dismiss die threat of Boswell's scholarship. From my own years as Jesuit, I found that Jesuit recre ation room banter was often as catty as any group of drag queens "reading" one another. That last statement is more revealing about Jesuit recreation rooms than about drag queens. In the particular case of a pontifical university such as the Gregorian, professors are very Eurocentric and dis Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality John Boswell missive of American scholarship; they are misognistic and obviously homophobic. They cannot conceive of history outside of the intellectual blinders from which they read or misread it. For example, they have consistently deny the fact that women were priests in early Christianity. They would not certainly admit the existence of a liturgical rite that blessed same-sex unions. John Boswell has made significant contributions to the gay and lesbian community. He has spoken on a number occassions to various gay/lesbian Christian groups, national conferences, and conventions. Though I have met Boswell and have heard him speak on several occasions, 1 will limit my remarks to his scholarly accomplishments for the gay and lesbian community. John Boswell was a brilliant linguist, a virtual polymath of classical, medieval, and contemporary languages. He was an excellent historian, immersed in social sciences and anthropology. Significantly, Boswell used his talent for history for gays and lesbians to reclaim our past. Boswell’s Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality was hailed one of the ten best books in 1980, and the New York Times Book Review described Boswell as “a major historian.” His book, furthermore, won the American Book Award for Histo ry. His work is written with an attention to historical detail and scholarly erudition, delighting his torians and the educated reader I with a host of substantive and fas cinating footnotes. Boswell’s ' book challenged the contempo rary ignorance about the history of Christianity ana nomosexuaiuy. t ie prcsemcu an <mcmauvt history overlooked by scholarly blinders and prejudice. His work has been debated for more than a decade by biblical scholars, historians, and theologians. Boswell has made sig nificant in-roads in the theological academy and is cited reg ularly in the footnotes of prominent Christian theologians. He has changed the way that theologians view the history of Christianity' and Christians with same-sex attractions. continued on page 15 Two Books for Gay Christians What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality by Daniel A. Helminiak. Alamo Square Press. Paperback, $9.00 Reviewed by Dr. Robert Goss With What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality, Dan Helminiak has made a significant contribution to the queer community. He examines the supposed texts of terror in the Bible that are used against us and digests the latest scholarly research on those scriptural texts. On a number of occasions, I lectured on the issue of the Bible and homosex uality for concerned queer Christians, university students, and churches. Dan’s book provides a condensed and read able travel guide through the biblical texts that are frequently cited against us for those who never had the opportunity of taking a biblical course using informed historical-critical and literary methods. Reading a scriptural verse or story literally and out of its narrative context (failing to look either at the verses or chap ters before and after) is frequently practiced by the religious right. Such readings lead to misreadings of the scriptures. Dan Helminiak notes that literal reading differs from histori cal-critical reading of texts. Historical-critical reading of biblical texts requires long study of archeology, history, lan guages, anthropology, and minute analysis of words and texts. When we examine th'e texts frequently applied to gays and lesbians though the lens of historical-criticism, we find out that the Bible can no longer be used to condemn homo sexuals. The bible takes no direct stand on homogenital acts nor on the morality of gay and lesbian relationships. Only through faulty (or homophobic) translations and misreadings can one condemn homosexuality. I have two minor problems with Dan H e 1 m i n i a k ’ s treatment of Paul. He makes a statement "Les bianism was not a major topic of knowledge or discus-sion in the Greco-Roman world." He needs to iook at the work of Bernadette Brooten. a les bian biblical scholar who has written on the subject and is Close lO iinismng a major vvuik on iciiiaii iiumuwuuuMii m the ancient world and early Christianity. Paul had a problem with female homoerotic acts because it violated the Jewish gender/holiness codes that understood a woman as subordi nate to her husband. For Paul, having sex with another woman was to become male, violating or confusing the gen continued on next page What the Really Says About Homosexuality Daniel A. Helminiak, Ph D. John S Spong at fiX Nj
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