The New Era in Sci-Fi.

In the 1950s, the post-war American empire changed the politics of the world. It took a science-fiction novel, Gore Vidal’s Messiah, to see how that change was not necessarily for the good.

“Vidal’s progress toward writing a sci-fi story about America in the grip of post-war hysteria started with the publication of his novel The City and the Pillar in 1948. Through its tale of a young man struggling with his homosexuality, Vidal inadvertently entered the realm of speculative fiction.”

Tales of the City.

Armistead Maupin talks about The Days of Anna Madrigal, the last Tales of the City novel, his Republican beginnings and his plans for life after Tales.

“Anna Madrigal is a good person by the time we meet her at the beginning of Tales, and I had to go back and find out what it was that created this person, that created the possibility of this person. And darkness was required.”

Films of 2013.

From Ryan Gosling in art house, Divine in drag and Gore Vidal in memoriam, here is a selection of Polari Magazine’s Favourite Films of 2013.

Why America Forgets Its Mistakes.

The United States of Amnesia is an appreciative look at the life and work of the late Gore Vidal, and shows a man who was always ahead of time.

“Everything we chose was to show the lineage in his thinking, to show the consistency of his analysis, and how he was ahead of his time. He’s always been ahead. When you see it over and over again it really stands out. He was pointing this out all the way. Now he’s gone and we should pay attention.”

[rating=4]
Cert: U • US: 90 min • Amnesia Productions • April 18 2013

A deft insight into the life and work of one of the twentieth century’s great public intellectuals.

“The film works to remind us what a remarkable figure Gore Vidal was and vividly illustrates how rare such liberal voices are, not only in American politics but anywhere.”

An Interview with João Ferreira.

João Ferreira, Queer Lisboa’s Festival Director, talks about how queer cinema is changing and how it remains a culture founded on desire.

“The idea was to have a very diverse programme that doesn’t look at gay or queer cinema in a narrow way but finds narratives and aesthetics that could also be called queer. We try to forget the labels and look for queerness in all kinds of films.”

Charles Pierce, by A. Loudermilk.

To celebrate LGBT History Month, 2013, Polari is publishing a daily series of LGBT Heroes, selected by the magazine’s team of writers and special contributors.

“The most famous Bette Davis impersonator in the world, he impersonated other stars too, like Mae West, Katherine Hepburn, Joan Crawford, bigger than life females who were, as Pierce often noted, ‘almost female impersonators themselves’.”

Gore Vidal, by Christopher Bryant.

To celebrate LGBT History Month, 2013, Polari is publishing a daily series of LGBT Heroes, selected by the magazine’s team of writers and special contributors.

“Larry Kramer pressed Vidal in an interview to say he was a homosexual person, to which he responded, ‘Look, what I’m preaching is: don’t be ghettoized, don’t be categorized. Every state tries to categorize its citizens in order to assert control of them.’ He subscribed to an ideal politics.”

2012 Retrospective

The Editor looks back at the year 2012 in Polari and how it has explored the LGBT subculture. Part 1: Arts and Culture.

[rating=3]
240 pages (estimated) • Rex Press • 25 August, 2012 [ebook]

Cry Shame! is the story of Graziella Serrano, the ambitious daughter of Mexico’s greatest lion tamer. It’s Vidal writing in bestseller form..

“Vidal would not allow the Kay and Everard books to be reprinted, which is somewhat telling. In August 2012, about three weeks after Vidal died, Cry Shame! was issued as an affordable ebook on Nook and Kindle. Cry shame, publishers!”