Contra/Diction

Alternate Titles

• Contradiction

Description

Keenly surveying the borders of queer male community and identity, the fictions of "Contra/Diction", a collection of stories by queer male writers from the U.S. and Canada, resist simple answers to complex questions. They suggest that while the "gay community" is becoming more "accessible" and "visible", there are regions and mindstates that cannot or refuse to subscribe to it, recognizing the plurality of gay identity. Mordant, coarse, and full of angry, wry truths, *Contra/Diction* asks pressing questions of both the culture of queer men and the larger world in which it is often uncomfortably enmeshed. The nightmare and paradise of sexuality, love, and community are viewed from different perspectives, along with issues of race, economics, violence, politics, and homophobia. Pulling no punches, *Contra/Diction* is a snapshot of queer male life in North America at the cusp of the millennium.

Description

Contra/Diction is a collection of stories - full of rage, wonder, and bereavement - that represent the plurality of gay identity confirming, as suggested in the Introduction, that not all gay men "drive to Ikea, go to the gym and buy new ties for their management-level positions before taking in the latest stage hit.". In these stories, the nightmare and paradise of sexuality, love, and community are viewed from different perspectives, along with issues of race, class, violence, politics, and homophobia: dark fantasies about hustlers and one-night stands, cautionary tales about murderers and dreamers.

Subjects

Genres

• Fiction.