His: Brilliant New Fiction by Gay Writers

Novelist Drake (Closet Case) and poet Wolverton (Black Slip), who previously collaborated both on Indivisible, an anthology of West Coast gay and lesbian short fiction, and on last month's Hers: Brilliant New Fiction by Lesbian Writers, here offer a rich, imaginative and diverse, if uneven, collection of 18 previously unpublished short stories by new and established writers. The best includes samples of both, such as Bernard Cooper's portrayal of a teenage boy who tries to deny his sexuality by setting fire to his secret stash of male pornography; Rick Sanford's description of a middle-aged gay atheist's discussion of sexuality with a much-discomfited young Hasidic man; and Matthew Stadler's look at a perplexed college man trying to accept his affair with his 14-year-old cousin and, at the same time, his envy of his sister's lesbianism. Less strong is performance artist Tim Miller's ``Tar Pit Heart,'' perhaps because it is an adaptation of part of his performance work, My Queer Body, about a high school boy's first gay date and kiss on the beach. These stories evince a wide range of characters and locales that hold the reader's interest when the grip of individual narratives occasionally wanes. But most refreshingly, narrative and eroticism are subtly entwined in this collection, and the integrity of the story is never sacrificed simply for sex. (Sept.)