Publisher's Weekly Review
Interviewing eight contemporary gay male writers, this collection teases out the attachments between personal life and art-making practices in the dynamic world of queer poetry. Hennessy (Outside the Lines: Talking with Contemporary Gay Poets) is of equal measure an astute, studied academic and an enthusiastic fan of the collected writers. His intellect becomes a clever through line, adding cohesion to the diverse voices and philosophies of Edward Field, John Ashbery, Richard Howard, Aaron Shurin, Dennis Cooper, Cyrus Cassels, Wayne Koestenbaum, and Kazim Ali. While those who aren't already fans of these poets might find their interest lagging from time to time, there are enough singular and surprising moments to earn back the reader's attention-that incredibly rare occasion of hearing John Ashbery discuss the link between his sexuality and his writing style, for instance, or Wayne Koestenbaum's declaration that writing a particular poem felt like "diving into the wreck, but the drowned vessel was my father's anus." These moments are the strength of the text, allowing insight into the poet's work that evades the dry tedium of much criticism and is instead untethered through the free flow of conversation, favoring further questions rather than reductive answers. In short, Hennessy gives the poets generous space to speak, and in this space the book succeeds. B&w illus. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Library Journal Review
Hennessy (editor, The Gay and Lesbian Review Worldwide; Outside the Lines: Talking with Contemporary Gay Poets) interviews eight very different leading poets-Edward Field, John Ashbery, Richard Howard, Aaron Shurin, Dennis Cooper, Cyrus Cassells, Wayne Koestenbaum, and Kazim Ali-to explore the deep associations, commonalities, and divergences among them. The interviews, each a chapter long, cover the men's histories, what motivates their writing, who has influenced them, how sex and sexual orientation intersect with their writing, their current projects, and many more free-ranging topics. Hennessy approaches these conversations with a deep understanding of each of the poets and their body of work, allowing him to ask poignant questions and extract the maximum information from each writer. The interviews have an easygoing and comfortable style, giving the reader an intimate feeling of being present to share in and listen to their conversations. Verdict Hennessy successfully presents readers with a snapshot of modern gay poetry while placing the individual poets within the wider American literary landscape. A foreword by Christopher Bram is a bonus; the inclusion of a selected bibliography of the poets' work, a list of recommended reading, and a list of anthologies and journals are all value-added features. Poets and readers of poetry and LGBT literature will enjoy Our Deep Gossip.-Mark Manivong, Lib. of Congress, Washington, DC (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
