Bruce Benderson suggested inverting the original title to AFTERLIFE OF A KEPT BOY and the amazing folks at C&R Press agreed. He also suggested the 2-part structure, the (solar) kept boy period and the (lunar) afterlife. After some delays we made it to the pub date! The Press is honestly courageous publishing a queer, sex-work affirming narrative in 2025.
Links to recent press:
Caftan Chronicles Substack
New York Review of Smut Issue 1 excerpt
The Whitney Review Issue 005 (print-only) Reviewed by Journey Streams + Dale’s review of AMBIDEXTROUS by Felice Picano
VIA: Voices in Italian Americana vol 36.1 excerpt
Vacationer Magazine Profile“a must-read for summer”
I’ve been blown away by the advance praise as it comes in from authors, artists, and activists I look up to. Here are the bites:
“Rich in atmosphere, full of lyrical prose and hard-earned wisdom, I was swept away from the first page and sighing with deep satisfaction by the last. I really love this book.” ~Edgar Gomez, author of Alligator Tears: A Memoir-in-Essays
“You’re unlikely to find anything resembling this story in the archives of gay literature, or maybe any kind of literature at all.” ~Bruce Benderson, Prix de Flore winner forThe Romanian
“Corvino’s self-awareness is immediately inviting, putting the reader at ease while feeding them a buffet of debauchery that seamlessly transmutes into profound wisdom.” ~Jason Yamas, Lambda Literary Award winner for Tweakerworld
“Sex work, passion, disillusionment, wisdom and coke all overflow in this delicious diary of an unstoppable dreamer.” ~Michael Musto, columnist and author
“Corvino’s singular, amoral voice describes an unexamined life of privilege that descends into a dark complicity and back out the other end.” ~Daniel Minahan, Director of HALSTON and ON SWIFT HORSES
“…a diary of raunch and excess, a travelogue of one man’s experiences of being kept and unkept, and a reflection on important and under-considered aspects of gay male culture.” ~Audacia Ray, activist and author of Naked on the Internet
“Traces the fragile outline of the sex worker heart. Treasure this.” ~Lily Burana, author of Grace for Amateurs and Strip City
Corvino challenges us to a world view of exploitation and social justice with sex work as a path to liberation.” –Veronica Vera, author, dean of Miss Vera’s Academy, sex worker.
