Victor J. Banis ~ Spine Intact, Some Creases
From: Borgo Press
If I was to look for the most “informed opinion” on the whole Lambda Literary Foundation wankfest. I think I would look to someone who is not only a gay writer but also a gay writer who actually lived the real world discrimination and the real world prejudice of the tough times. The real tough times, you know, like in the 50s and 60s when they could arbitrarily put a gay man in prison for simply writing what were considered by law offensive books about gay people. Such a person would almost certainly be someone I consider pretty dang clear headed and straight forward in their take on such things Gay Literary being that they helped contribute so much to the forming of that genre to begin with. They would also probably have some clue what the purpose of those LLF awards were supposed to be originally.
That person would be Victor J. Banis who just wrote about this matter.
My favorite part and one I can agree with whole heartedly…
Hmm. Just like the U.S. Military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy. You can be queer and serve in our armed forces so long as you’re willing to pretend to be heterosexual. And, yes, you can be a heterosexual woman and submit to the Lammies, so long as we all understand that you are declaring yourself to be queer. And they wonder why folks don’t hold them in greater respect?
I do have to say Victor is someone I respect and admire and someone who had to handle far more fear and hate in our recent past than I have had to. Sure I faced ten years of discrimination while serving in our military but even I cannot begin to imagine walking in those Victor J. Banis shoes. They are mighty big, so ignore my new comer opinion all you want but give respect where it is due.
I know Lambda Literary will ignore Victor. They always have and most likely will continue to do so because they want to control what is considered Gay Lit and how it is narrowly defined by their insular politics. I don’t have to buy their opinion though and you don’t have to either because now there is the Internet and growing access to eBooks and with all that the freedom to read and hear what one of the Pioneers of our gay literary history actually has to say.
Oh and be sure to pick up Victor’s new biography.
Tags: Lambda Literary Foundation, Victor J. Banis
Emilie wrote,
In 2006, I got the opportunity to hear Victor Banis speak at a local university. He spoke about “the bad old days.” For instance, he’s written about this: “In 1964, I was indicted on federal charges of conspiracy to distribute obscene material…” He also talked about how he was harassed by the government for several years. Some of those stories he’d written in the sixties had just been re-issued, so I got signed copies of That Man from C.A.M.P.: Rebel Without a Pause and Tales from C.A.M.P.: Jackie’s Back. The more I learn, the more I appreciate having had the opportunity to hear him speak and to realize his influence as a trailblazer. Those Jackie Holmes stories are pretty darned entertaining, too.
Link | September 26th, 2009 at 10:40 am