Still, a carefully nuanced overview of a fascinating figure.
A vivid, intelligent portrait of the outstanding author and African American, first of Chelsea's Lives of Notable Gay Men and Lesbians.
The series' 29 announced subjects range from Sappho to Bayard Rustin, from Jane Addams to Liberace; its general editor, scholar Martin B. Duberman, describes it as providing young gays and lesbians with role models and "a continuum of experience and achievement into which they can place themselves and lay claim to happy and productive lives.'' Kenan, an award-winning novelist (Let the Dead Bury Their Dead, 1993), presents Baldwin as a subtle, extraordinarily gifted man who realized early that bitterness toward his abusive stepfather—or toward whites—was deeply damaging to himself; reconciliation was his most persistent theme, though the love he experienced, and portrayed, was almost always conflicted. Kenan discusses Baldwin's groundbreaking early fiction and essays and his role in the civil rights struggle in some detail and is forthright but unspecific on his many, mostly anonymous, liaisons and about the alcohol and celebrity lifestyle that apparently diminished his creativity later on. Like his generously quoted subject, Kenan can be eloquent, though his complex sentences occasionally pose a challenge. The big lack here is sourcing, especially for the many quotes from those who knew Baldwin—inexcusable in an otherwise carefully wrought book.
Still, a carefully nuanced overview of a fascinating figure. (B&w photos; list of Baldwin's books; "Further Reading'' (adult); chronology; index.) (Biography. YA)Pub Date: March 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-7910-2301-X
Page Count: 144
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1994
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
Evocative, elegant prose tells the true, first-person story of Samantha’s difficult childhood navigating a learning disability. Sam has dyscalculia, which severely hinders her ability to understand sequential processing. Academic skills affected include math, spelling, and grammar; other inabilities are telling time, understanding how hours pass, counting money, and dialing the phone. As a child, Sam disguises both her inability to function like other children as well as her shame and fear about it. The eventual diagnosis of “learning disabled” is a godsend, but still leaves many challenges. At age 15, Sam publishes a group-project book of her own original poems (Reach for the Moon), and although high school and college are massive challenges, she finishes both. Crippling social anxiety turns out to be caused not just by the learning disability, but also by depression. Medication brings some long-needed relief. Educational and beautifully written, perfectly demonstrating how learning disabilities can coexist with real talent. (Memoir. YA)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-439-33904-9
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2003
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