Revised version of award-winning gay book!
“Duane Simolke's seminal work Holding Me Together is a gratifying mixture of scholarship, art, and personal expression.” –Ronald L. Donaghe, best-selling author of the gay novels All Over Him and Common Sons
Long before the 1999 publication of Duane Simolke’s book Holding Me Together, many of its poems and essays had appeared in publications and on Web sites. Simolke began finding readers from around the world, especially for the long essay that opens Holding Me Together, “Reactions to Homophobia.”
Dann Hazel used “Reactions” as one of the resources for his book Witness: Gay and Lesbian Clergy Report from the Front. Edited by Paul Harris, the book From Our Own Lips: The Book of GLBT Quotations includes a quote from “Not Worth Dying Over,” another essay from Holding. Not long after Holding’s publication, StoneWall Society gave the book a Pride in the Arts Award.
Now, Simolke presents a revised, second edition. The updated version of “Reactions to Homophobia” integrates new research, from hate crimes in Canada to the ex-gay movement in the United States. With the first edition of Holding, Simolke had left out some poems he wanted to add, because he felt they needed more work; those poems appear in the second edition. He also added introductory notes that give background to some of the works.
While not all the book’s essays and poems focus on gay issues, the overall collection reflects gay pride, celebrates gay relationships, and embraces a more universal desire for tolerance and understanding.
In a review appearing both at QMediaReviews.com and in the November 25, 2005 issue of EXP Magazine, SouthWest Edition, critic Shawn Revelle calls the revised, second edition of Holding Me Together “an inspiring and timely collection of works.” Revelle goes on to share details about the book, which he also refers to as “a worthwhile and life-affirming read.”
Simolke lives in Lubbock, Texas, and holds a Ph.D. in English from Texas Tech University. He also wrote The Acorn Stories, Degranon, and New Readings of Winesburg, Ohio. He edited and co-wrote the spin-off The Acorn Gathering, donating that book’s royalties to the American Cancer Society. Visit http://DuaneSimolke.Com to read more about his books, and for an online bibliography of the resources he used in “Reactions to Homophobia.”
Holding Me Together. Second edition, paperback, published August 2005. ISBN: 0595366732. US price: $17.95. Publisher: iUniverse. Available to order from the distributors Ingram Books or Baker & Taylor, as well as many local or online bookstores.
http://DuaneSimolke.Com
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