Results for 'brontez purnell'

William Howell: West Side Highway

More than 70 photographs documenting the “end of an era” for queer cruising culture on Manhattan’s West Side piers Throughout the 1970s and ’80s, the abandoned piers running along New York’s West Side Highway served as a hotbed of gay cruising activity as well as a haven for the broader LGBT community. By the mid-1990s, abutting neighborhoods were undergoing intense transformation through gentrification, with many dilapidated buildings and structures being demolished. The remaining piers were a gathering spot beyond the boundaries of daily life, where gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people found a place to be openly themselves. For some, the piers were a place for hustlers and sex workers to meet with their patrons. For others, the piers were a place to simply “be” in the sunshine, relaxing, free of scorn, fear or judgment, in ways not possible elsewhere at that time. The series likewise documents a New York that doesn’t exist anymore: the World Trade Center stands proud in the background of many of these photos. The surrounding habitat of the piers themselves have since been replaced with luxury apartments and a family-friendly city park. The West Side Highway Pier series depicts that, even in New York City, people had to go to extremes—to the end of a pier, at the edge of a continent, treading on unsafe structures—to be free to be their authentic selves. This series documents the final days of this once-infamous gay playground, with reverence to the historical context in which it once existed. William Howell is a Brooklyn-based photographer and artist who earned his BFA in photography from Pratt Institute and currently resides in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

1. Bambi Lake

Devour Me, Again

“There’s something upbeat and vulnerable in Bambi’s memoir in verse, beckoning us with a wink to hear her heartache, wit, loss, and triumph.”—Brontez Purnell“Bambi Lake loved beauty. Bambi Lake wanted to be famous. Gradually moving the needle, Bambi Lake’s haunted words are turning the trick, growing her fame, shooting like stars. Even in death, still, she’s making an entrance.”—Justin Vivian Bond“A moving firsthand account of not just the author’s own life but the city of San Francisco as it changed beyond recognition. It’s like a little bit Balzac’s Comédie Humaine and a whole lot of “the most interesting woman at the bar has decided to tell you about her life.” Which, thank god. Obviously. You hope she never stops.”—Harron Walker“It’s good to see that Bambi has put out books about her life because it has been one-of-a-kind and an inspiration for anyone who wants to stand up for themselves. I admire her guts and her sense of humor. Sometimes you might think that nothing gets to her but that’s not true—something gets to all of us. It’s how you ride it out that tells the world where you’re at. I believe she carries herself rather well. Long may she wave.”—Henry Rollins“Bambi is a one of a kind story of talent, free spirit, and determined survival. And imagination! Half the stuff in her Jello poem is sure news to me. But stretching things never hurt Hunter Thompson . . .”—Jello Biafra

Daniel Case: Outside Sex

With the publication of 'Outside Sex' (Dark Entries Editions), Case crafts a panorama of cruising grounds scattered across California, like hidden gems known only to those who are intimate with the pleasures of public flesh. Working from a distance, Case places himself in the position of voyeur, the watcher whose known or unknown presence fuels the thrill of it all. The result is a lush landscape of desires unleashed under the wide-open sky, free as wind and the ocean itself.

1. Daniel , Schreiber
2. Lin , Hierse
3. Mely , Kiyak

Delfi Fleisch

Die neue Literaturzeitschrift! In der ersten Ausgabe von Delfi haben wir den Tempel betreten, seine Türen und Tore geöffnet, jetzt suchen wir nach den Opfergaben, wir suchen nach glänzendem Stoff. In den meisten Sprachen gibt es nicht nur eine, sondern zwei Bedeutungsvarianten für Fleisch. Die scheinbar zivilisierte, die sezierende, die kulinarische: viande/meat . Und die zweite, die körperliche, die niedere, die kreatürliche: chair/flesh . Fleisch ist keine Kategorie, kein Konzept, Fleisch ist in Wort und Substanz fossilisiertes Begehren. Es ist Verführung und Projektionsfläche. Fleisch schafft Sinnlichkeit, es macht die Welt für uns in Klängen, Haptik, Optik, Gerüchen und Geschmäckern wahrnehmbar. Mit Beiträgen u.a. von Daniel Schreiber, Sasha Marianna Salzmann, Lea Schneider und Mely Kiyak.

1. Brontez Purnell

Ten Bridges I've Burnt

From the beloved author of 100 Boyfriends, a wrenching, sexy, and exhilaratingly energetic memoir in verse.

1. Brontez Purnell

Ten Bridges I've Burnt