Book excerpt: A collection of gay erotic writings tracing the development of a gay identity from the late 19th century to just before the Stonewall Inn riots Long before the rise of the modern gay movement, an unnoticed literary revolution was occurring, mostly between the covers of the cheaply produced pulp paperbacks of the post-World War II era. Cultural critic Michael Bronski collects a sampling of these now little-known gay erotic writings—some by writers long forgotten, some never known and a few now famous. Through them, Bronski challenges many long-held views of American postwar fiction and the rise of gay literature, as well as of the culture at large. CONTENTS Part One Mainstream Fiction: Not Particularly Hiding in the Shadows Harrison Dowd, The Night Air, Dial Press, 1950 Lonnie Coleman, Sam, David McKay, 1959 Part Two The New Gay Novel: Happier Homos and Happier Endings James Barr, "Spurr Piece" from Derricks, Greenberg, 1951 Jay Little, Maybe—Tomorrow, Pageant Press, 1952 Part Three Truly Pulp: "Gay" Life in the Shadows Michael De Forrest, The Gay Year, Woodford Press, 1949 Vin Packer (Marijane Meaker), Whisper His Sin, Fawcett Gold Medal Books, 1954 Ben Travis, The Strange Ones, Beacon Book, 1959 James Colton (Joseph Hansen), Lost on Twilight Road, National Library, 1964 Jeff X, The Memoirs of Jeff X, Zil, 1968 Part Four Out of the Twilight World: The Sexual Revolution Goes Lavender The Boys of Muscle Beach, Guild Press, 1969 (reprint from the 1950s) Richard Amory, Song of the Loon, Greenleaf Classics, 1966 Carl Corley, My Purple Winter, PEC French Line, 1966 Jack Love, Gay Whore, PEC French Line, 1967 Chris Davidson, A Different Drum, Ember Library/Greenleaf Classics, 1967 Part Five The World Split Open: Life and Literature After Stonewall Marcus Miller, Gay Revolution, Pleasure Reader, 1969 Bruce Benderson, Kyle, Crusier Classics, 1975 Victor Jay, The Gay Haunt, Traveller's Companion, 1970 John Ironstone, Gay Rights, El Dorado Editions, 1978 Appendix: Gay Novels, 1940-1969 Bibliography