The Bat-Poet by Randall Jarrell with pictures by Maurice Sendak
Someone once suggested this tiny book to me, and I’ve forgotten who, but they were right. The bat’s a bit different from his peers – he’s the colour of coffee with a dab of cream in it - and he longs to write poems about the other creatures in the forest. These are met with blank incomprehension and confusion as much as they are delight. Only the chipmunk seems to understand what he’s up to in this lovely, subtle book.
Of Echoes Born – Stories by ‘Nathan Burgoine
I adored this collection of cleverly interlocking stories. They’re all very proudly Queer and Canadian, drawing together a cast of hot, gifted and often psychic men. Very sensitively and beautifully written, I think, conjuring up a kind of utopian village that I want to return to.
MAYBE THE MOON by Armistead Maupin
The umpteenth time I’ve read this in the last 27 years, but the last was 2011, so it seemed about time to pick up once again. It’s like spending some lovely, hectic, hilarious days back in 1993 with Cady and Renee and their circle of friends, enemies and lovers, trying to get by and making a living in the cheaper end of Hollywood. It’s last Cady’s chance to get back into the spotlight, ten years after starring as a rubber-encased elf in a classic children’s movie and the book is really about her resilience, wit and talent. Also, it’s a love story at heart, between Cady and Neil, and what really stood out for me on this read was their overnight stay on the island of Catalina. It’s a beautiful episode in a novel that’s sexy and remarkable book for so many reasons. It’s political in a cross and forthright way that I really appreciate just now. It’s Maupin’s best book by a long way, and I say that as a ‘Tales’ fan.
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