Gay May Reading list

Seems I will be going gay for the month of May, my list being made up of books by, or about, gay men. It comes about because this month I did a talk about E. F. Benson, and I am in about the fourth month of a Denton Welch obsession, courtesy of a previous Barbara Pym obsession. So, here is my Queer Lit. reading list for May (from the top):

The Challoners by E. F. Benson - I don't think I have ever truly enjoyed Benson's non-Lucia fiction - it is all very much of its time. But I am going to give it another go and try this one, written in 1904.

Les Enfants Terribles by Jean Cocteau - Oh, I didn't mention my Jean Cocteau obsession as well. I am going to France in September so looking forward to visiting all of the Cocteau spots. I am also, slowly, piecing together a talk about him which I haven't pitched to anyone yet. If you want me to come and give it, let me know.

The Journals of Denton Welch - Enough said, really. And do listen to the podcast about Denton Welch on Backlisted.

Lucia Victrix and Lucia Rising by E. F. Benson - These are compendium editions which contain all six novels between them. Because I deserve it.

A Voice Through a Cloud and Maiden Voyage by Denton Welch

Cecil Beaton's Fair Lady - I have twice given a talk on Beaton in Sydney and it has been surprisingly very popular with big attendances each time. re-reading this diary of his time making the movie of My Fair Lady and considering doing the talk again somewhere else.

Three Extraordinary Ambassadors by Harold Acton - Acton is one of my favourite writers and should be better known. His books always enchant me.

Lucia in London by E. F. Benson - This means I will be reading this book twice in May, but why not? It's my favourite of the Lucia novels, and I read it at least once year. He lets Lucia get truly horrible in this one, and it's great.

As We Are by E. F. Benson, this work of memoir written late in his life is just beautiful, and at times very funny. Right up there with the Lucia books in terms of entertainment value.

Jean Cocteau by Claude Arnaud - Yep, I have to bite the bullet. I know I will love it, but gosh it's huge!

You Can Heal Your Life

One of the most legendary books in the history of the self-help genre is Louise Hay's You Can Heal Your Life. Originally self-published, it went on to become a mammoth bestseller and the source of Ms. Hay's business and publishing empire. And, in more recent years, it has broken new ground by becoming the first self-help book to be turned into a full-length motion picture.
The book is pretty much run-of-the-mill New Thought. At the time of its writing Louise Hay was a popular Science of Mind minister, and her book and career would probably have faded into obscurity under normal circumstances. But something extraordinary happened. The AIDS crisis began, and Louise Hay, with her slightly raunchy and matter-of-fact manner, her mysterious background and her frank acceptance of gay and lesbian people, became the spiritual inspiration to thousands of men who were dying from that terrible disease. Suddenly, Hay and her little book were an intrinsic part of a social and cultural moment that caught up some of the greatest and most creative minds of a generation. Leading her famous "Hay Ride" healing sessions which were packed to the rafters with gay men, Louise Hay became the first major religious figure who addressed the AIDS problem directly, and treated people with AIDS with dignity and compassion. Hers was a lone voice for some years, and her personal bravery and integrity have been, I feel, forgotten in recent years. In the early 80s very few people were saying it was alright to be gay, and this elderly lady-minister, with her old-fashioned New Thought ideas and quaint little book, was a lonely voice in the wilderness.
You Can Heal Your Life became mainstream, of course, and was for many years - and remains - a bestseller. Hay was one of the first to see the possibility of new forms of media, and released many cassettes of her meditations and other work.
The book is beautifully, if simply, written, and Hay has a great gift for getting her ideas across. She has been criticised and lampooned mercilessly over the years, but she has gone from strength to strength, becoming a powerful publishing industry tycoon with her own company Hay House, which has made the careers of many others in the self-help and metaphysical fields.
Indeed, Hay has never really written another book - her entire philosophy was so succinctly and so prefectly expressed in You Can Heal Your Life. Other books have been printed, but they are really just transcriptions of her talks and workshops, as any avid listener to her audio material can soon discover.
It makes for fun reading, and is frequently outrageous. She uses a male prostitute as an example of how to apply prosperity thinking, for example, and she suggests that people should masturbate when they feel a migraine coming on. The book consciously addresses itself to actors, artist, writers and other creative types, proving that Ms. Hay, writing from LA, knew who her core clientele would be.
But the fact remains that it is one of the most seminal and culturally influential self-help books ever to be written, and new generations of readers are constantly discovering it. Her simple prose and clear thinking make the book much more accessible than other New Thought classics, and her message of love and self-acceptance seems to continue to strike a chord in the public imagination.