^A couple of my favorites from this review. Lately I’ve been reflecting on the particular estrangement of Gen X–analog kids in a digital context, living through a reckoning on the homophobia and supremacist oppression largely unchallenged in our youths.
LAST CALL doc
Back in 2019, writer Elon Green contacted me about his book “Last Call,” about the murders of four gay men in Manhattan in the early 90s at the hands of a nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital. I provided some background on the bar and hustling scenes of the time. His book is the basis of… Continue reading LAST CALL doc
“The Marielito” at OUTSpoken
He began telling me his story—his passage on the Mariel Boatlift, that flotilla of undesirables— reluctantly at first, mainly to put a stop to my nervous chatter. “I was sent to prison for falling in love with a classmate. Fausto had the head of a puma, and he loved me back. His mother reported me… Continue reading “The Marielito” at OUTSpoken
“Plus One” in RFD Magazine
His next party, Magnum, named for the extra-large condom, changed all that. He co-produced it with Johnny at the Park, an upscale venue in Chelsea; gossip columnist Michael Musto called it a “a raunchy gay sleaze fest.” It got wild at the opening night party: a horny and very flexible ballerino performed what I have… Continue reading “Plus One” in RFD Magazine
Interview: Alex Cheves for Lambda Lit
DC: In the chapter “Backroom” you describe reciting W.S. Merwin’s “For a Coming Extinction” to two lovers. In the poem, Merwin says to the whale, “We who follow you invented forgiveness / And forgive nothing” (5-6). So given your upbringing and its challenges, where are you on forgiveness? AC: That’s a beautiful segue. It’s a… Continue reading Interview: Alex Cheves for Lambda Lit
“Spit and Glitter” in Crooked Fagazine No 9
During the performance–a choreographed extravaganza with colorful costumes, set pieces, props, and a background video, set to a remix to “Theme from Love Boat”–the cannon fired over the packed gallery, coating the crowd in the stuff. Some sought to avoid the cannon’s fire, but packs of us ran right into it. I found it marvelous,… Continue reading “Spit and Glitter” in Crooked Fagazine No 9
Memoir Excerpts in Emerge Antho 2021
Emerge is an anthology from Lambda Literary with contributions from the ’21 Emerging Fellows in nonfiction, fiction, YA, poetry, and playwrighting. The anthology was edited by Michael Chang. There are two excepts from my memoir-in-progress, My Colonizer: A Kept Boy and his Afterlife. In the living room, Andrés and I sat on matching chairs, gilt… Continue reading Memoir Excerpts in Emerge Antho 2021
Lambda Lit Fellows Reading at NYC’s LGBT Center
Lambda Literary 2021 Emerging Fellows–Poets, Fiction, and Nonfiction writers–gathered in person and virtually to read their works in progress at the LGBT Center. The event was funded by NYC City Arts Corps, a grant program which “supports artists who live and work in NYC, while giving New Yorkers opportunities to experience cultural programming across the… Continue reading Lambda Lit Fellows Reading at NYC’s LGBT Center
Chapter in The Routledge Handbook of Male Sex Work, Society, & Culture.
Originally planned as the follow-up to 2014’s Male Sex Work & Society from Harrington Park Press (left), this academic text book was eventually picked up by UK-based Routledge Press after Bill Cohen, Harrington Park’s founder, passed away. It was Bill Cohen who first approached me to contribute to this project, and encouraged me along the… Continue reading Chapter in The Routledge Handbook of Male Sex Work, Society, & Culture.
Queer Slam Podcast
I appear on episode 33 of the Queer Slam Podcast along with LA-based writer Molly Thornton, who read a touching poetic tribute to queer LA. A memorable line: “the half-naked sparkle princes would gallop out of the lot and around the corner towards us/’You’re almost there, keep going!’ we would tell them….” I read excepts… Continue reading Queer Slam Podcast