RIP Edana & Glen, long live the Rainbow Chorus!

 

It's 5am on Saturday morning, I just woke up, and I'm probably still slightly drunk, and the cats are delighted to see me. My cats love it when I wake up early and allow them into the bedroom for cuddles (I have a strict no-cats policy during deep sleep).

Unfortunately, while the cats are licking my face and demanding cuddles, the Facebook updates on my phone was heartbreaking news, 

Edana’s partner, Heather, and all the family are so sorry to have to tell you of Edana’s untimely death, late on Wednesday night, here in her beloved Liguria. Edana asked us to respect her privacy in dealing with her devastating cancer diagnosis, so we know that this will be a shock to many of you. Edana would have wanted you to remember her as we all do: the passionate, vivacious woman of style, love, joy, song, curiosity and furious politics. For those in Italy, the funeral will be held in Pugliola tomorrow, Saturday 16th July at 11am, at La Chiesa Parrocchiale di Santa Lucia in Pugliola, and afterwards at the Narbostro cemetery. 

Two weeks have now passed, and I still feel a sense of mourning for Edana and another lost connection to Brighton's Rainbow Chorus, an LGBTQIA+  choir still going strongly.

Although I didn't know that Edana well, I felt a strong affinity to her. We had been Facebook friends for over 15 years, and we occasionally chatted, but in 2010 I moved from Brighton to Amsterdam, and I hadn't seen Edana in person for a very long time.

I knew Edana through choir, Brighton Rainbow Chorus, both Edana and I joined when the choir was relatively small (rehearsals with 5-10 people) and overtime it grew until the typical rehearsal was 20-30. 

I was fortunate I first got know Edana as a fun-loving, friendly, vivacious lesbian with a great jazz voice. She had such a beautiful singing voice. It was only quite a lot later that I learnt she was from a "famous family" (two of her brothers are famous movie directors/producers?).

Her sister is also a famous Anglican and OBE, she also gave this great interview to Church Times:

Loretta Minghella became the First Church Estates Commissioner in November 2017, succeeding Sir Andreas Whittam Smith.
Before arriving at Church House, she was chief executive of Christian Aid for seven and a half years, and before that, she headed up the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, a job she says got “very rocky indeed” when the 2008 financial crisis hit.
Our Editor Paul Handley spoke to Loretta Minghella about how her experience prepared her for this latest role, and how the Commissioners are pressuring companies to improve their record on climate change and executive pay, among other things.
https://soundcloud.com/user-632063010/loretta-minghella-first-church-estates-commissioner-ep-51  

I vividly remember listening to this about 5 years ago and being soo impressed with Loretta, plus a brilliant interview with Paul Handley.

I was looking forward to meeting Edana again and telling her about my progress with singing (I've been having lessons for about 5 years now, which has been worth every penny i.e. I love singing. I also wanted to tell Edana about my admiration for her sister.

The last time I saw Edana perform was a memorable occasion in the upper room The Grand Central, Brighton (the closest pub in Brighton Station); not a very grand venue but it was a lot of fun.

It was an off-beat cabaret, foreshadowing the upcoming era of Tory austerity portraited in a perverse SM style. I believe Edwina both wrote and performed all the music, so was not prancing around in SM gear. My only disappointment is that I did get to hear Edwina sing on that occasion.

Over the last two weeks, I've also been thinking about Glenn: a very accomplished musician and quite often the accompanists (piano) for the Rainbow Chorus. Glenn passed away a few of years ago - equally heartbreaking.

I watched Glen perform on many occasions in the UK and in Greece. He was a sensitive accompanist and wonderful pianist with a particular passion for Rachmaninov.

A little over nine years ago, Glen and I met through our mutual friend the composer Matthew Pollard. Matt and I were collaborating on a project that was to become This Concert Will Fall In Love With You — later recorded with additional material as the CD Clameur and Glen was Matt’s first choice to play piano. Matt and Glen had were old friends, performing together in the Tacet Ensemble and The Rainbow Chorus for example.

https://peterkenny.co.uk/tag/glen-capra/

 
RIP Edana and Glenn and long live the Rainbow Chorus!

Queer literary classics

In terms of English (and French) classics, there seem to be a surprisingly high number of queer writers amongst them. A few which spring to mind are 

* Oscar Wilde (in you face out, in the highly intolerant London 1890s)

* Henry Miller (aka The Master - although I prefer Edith Wharton as a writer)
* Proust ("extreme mummies boy", more liberal 1910s Paris)
* Thomas Mann (1900s married with 6 kids but lived in a painful state of psychological torment over his attraction to young men?)

* EM Forster (1920 Maurice)

* Christopher Isherwood's 1930's classic "Goodbye To Berlin"­

* James Baldwin (1950 Giovanni's Room)

* Armistice Maupin (70s/80s) Tales of the City (gay liberation in Sans Fransico)

* Jeanette Winterson - Why be Happy When You Could be Normal?

* Sarah Waters - one of my favourite writers and IMO going to become a classic

I recently had the pleasure of re-reading Oscar Wilde's The Portrait of Dorian Gray (1890) for the Amsterdam Queer Bookclub, and as well as the joy of revisiting this old friend. I read parts of it plus listened to a wonderful new Stephen Fry recording (Stephen Fry has the perfect voice for Wilde's prose and wit. I also saw a little bit on Netflix: a beautiful production, wonderfully acted and a great set, for me, Colin Firth rather stole the show as a particularly Faustian Lord Henry. 

One intriguing detail we discussed in the book club that trio of the three main characters represent different perspectives on Wilde himself i.e. something along the lines of:
* Basil Hallward - as Wilde saw himself?

* Lord Henry Wotton - as the world saw Wilde 

* Dorian Gray - as Wilde himself would have liked to have been seen!?

well, I'm almost certainly misquoting this significantly, but I'm intrigued and want to dig into this idea further?

Why I loved "My Brother’s Name is Jessica" by John Boyne

 

"My Brother’s Name is Jessica", a controversial book for some but I definitely enjoyed it: it is very good-humoured i.e. plenty of comedy moments, plenty of interesting (English) historical details and an original perspective on our journey towards greater transgender acceptance.

Straight off the bat, the first things to know about this book is that it is a bit controversial:

John Boyne, the author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, has hit back at those who criticised him for writing about a boy struggling to cope with the transitioning of his sibling. Boyne’s new novel for young readers, My Brother’s Name is Jessica, was attacked on social media and the novelist was criticised for writing about an issue with which he is unfamiliar. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/may/31/john-boyne-hits-back-at-critics-of-transgender-novel 

and YES he is tackling one of the defining questions for our age: over my lifetime acceptance of Gays and Lesbians has got dramatically better: when I grew up (80s) being gay was still vilified in the mainstream media: that aids was a "gay plague" and senior politicians were happy to full the "moral panic" affirming that we deserved to die in hell. This is from 1987 Hansard records (official report of all Parliamentary debates):

"On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I heard the honourable Member for Lancaster (Kellett-Bowman) say that it was quite right that Capital Gay should have been fire—", at which point he was interrupted by a point of order. Kellett-Bowman responded, "I am quite prepared to affirm that it is quite right that there should be an intolerance of evil." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaine_Kellett-Bowman#Capital_Gay_arson_attack

and is one of several low points for LGBTQIA+ acceptance in the homophobic backlash of the late 80s. I hope in 2021 this sort of shameful statement would be illegal under Hate speech laws?

However, the 1980s were very different times and Mrs. Thatcher's reaction was to show her support for Kellett-Bowman by making her a DBE (Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire). Still, while gay and lesbians in the UK are now much more wildly tolerated, the progress for the bisexual and transgender community seems a lot slower. Many people are deeply sceptical and hostile about transgender teenagers, this seems as controversial as being gay was in the 80s!? For myself, the most charming character in this novel is the confused dyslexic Sam, the younger brother: less popular and less athletic, plus struggling with his own identity as well as his Jessica's new gender identity. His journey through confusion, denial, acceptance and finally embracing the amazing diversity of life, love and humanity... is the main arc of this novel. Generally, his parents are largely preoccupied with their careers "getting to the top of the greasy pole" i.e. Sam's mother has ambitions to become the PM (Prime Minister). I was drawn towards Sam, often wanting to give a hug and reassure him that everything will be okay, things will get better: either his family need to become more understanding or he needs to break out and meet some more liberal-minded people (like his loveable and empathic hippy Aunt Rose). I can imagine that many people will see this novel as having "too many thinly drawn caricatures". I was recently hosting an Evelyn Waugh book club event (Decline and Fall - 1928) and this was also a complaint i.e. that Waugh's book has too many thinly drawn caricatures. This was a surprise to me as Evelyn Waugh, as I thought Waugh is now seen as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century? It is true his character is quickly drawn caricatures but for me, Waugh manages to "hits a nerve", he can be very funny and also shines a light on upper-middle English society in his time "warts and all". I think John Boyne's characters are also quickly drawn caricatures (this is a teen novel) but his brilliance is that he also captures the essence of these people and our time.. Sam's parents were believable and even reminded me of a former time (25 years ago) when I was teaching the daughter of an ambitious cabinet secretary who was regular in the news and possibly had her "eye on the top job"! Also, some of the best moments in the books are when John Boyne plays with our expectation and characters break out from our stereotyped imagination: I particularly enjoyed the football coach and the school nurse, who both show humanity and remind us that there is "there's nowt so queer as folk". I was at a recent DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) event and the closing comment resonated with me "remember to be kind and gentle", the underlying questions and choices in this YA (young adult) novel are tough for many and it is important to remember some people are more uncomfortable with change, myself included sometimes even if the rest of my family regard me as "extremely woke". I think the author of "My Brother’s Name is Jessica" has written a novel with the intention of reconciliation and to help all sides move forward, an ambitious target for a book, but he carries off with some humour and some aplomb. 

Music Hall - a most capacious form of performance

The following usage of capacious had me reaching for my dictionary:

It [Music Hall] was a most capacious form of performance - people would come up and perform a turn... acting, comedy, song...

I like the idea of free space it conveys!

It also makes me think of one favourite books - Tipping The Velvet by Sarah Waters. This is a wonderful tale of closeted Victorian society. I love the lesbian and gay characters, it is shocking in parts and deeply romantic too.

capacious |kəˈpā sh əs|

adjective

having a lot of space inside; roomy : she rummaged in her capacious handbag.

DERIVATIVES

capaciously |kəˈpeɪʃəsli| adverb

capaciousness |kəˈpeɪʃəsnəs| noun

ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from Latin capax, capac- ‘capable’ + -ious .

Another great tla film: Latter Days

This is a truly amazing gay love story. 100% drama, 100% romantic and 100% gay and so so sweet.

Not only is this a wonderful tail of true love with a very well paced plot but it has a serious side.. it is easier to forget the insanity and sinister side of religion.

I'm not sure why gay and lesbians are attract to spiritual movements? However I will be staying clear of the Mormons:

Having grown up a Mormon and grappled with the church's bigotry towards Blacks (they were not allowed to hold the church's priesthood when I was a member) -- I wasn't aware of the organizations policy of excommunicating gay men and women until after I left the church in 1966 -- (I was 20.) I was stunned when I learned that friends who were gay were excommunicated even after serving on missions. LATTER DAYS exposes the Mormon's persecution of gay members. The film is LONG overdue. It does an excellent job of showing how the two lead males come to terms with one another, while managing to grow up and develop more fully as individuals. LATTER DAYS has great heart, wonderful original music and an added touch of class from Jacqueline Bisset. The film brilliantly tells the story of an individual who leaves behind the confines of organized religion and reclaims his very soul.

62 out of 75 people found the following review useful:
Heartwarming Story; Long Overdue, 22 November 2004

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0345551/usercomments

Sir John Mortimer on Private Passions

Listening to on old recording (1995) of Sir John Mortimer on Private Passions. I was a bit stunned that this incredibly successful barrister should emphasise that the key for a defence lawyer is to get the jury to laugh.

Sir John Mortimer, barrister, playwright and creator of 'Rumpole of the Bailey', died last year. He was one of the very early guests on 'Private Passions', and this edition, recorded at his Buckinghamshire home and first broadcast in 1995, offers another chance to hear him talking about one of his greatest passions, music.

The more I think about the law and politics, the more dubious they seem. There is so much scope for powerful people to abuse charm, good looks, fashion, humour to sway political debate and the legal system.

As I get older, I fear that I am becoming more cynical, we appear to becoming increasingly short-sighted and dummying down?

However on the flip side, I think great progress has been made (especially in 60s and 70s) on civil liberties and the UK schools, prisons and policing becoming more humane. LGBT rights have made huge progress and we are making good progress in the UK (e.g. in the workplace taunting-gay men is now increasingly unacceptable - it happened all the time only 10 years ago)

Furthermore we are making great technological progress and hopefully we can use this knowledge to live in a more efficient way? However the 21st is going to present huge challenges. I hope our leaders will have the intelligence and integrity and reject the current trend for winning arguments in the short-term by skewing statistics, mockery, smart suits... yes this has always been there but I fear we are dummying-down and loosing out humanity.

humane |(h)yoōˈmān|

adjective

1 having or showing compassion or benevolence : regulations ensuring the humane treatment of animals.

• inflicting the minimum of pain : humane methods of killing.

2 formal (of a branch of learning) intended to have a civilizing or refining effect on people : the center emphasizes economics as a humane discipline.

DERIVATIVES

humanely |(h)juˈmeɪnli| adverb

humaneness |(h)juˈmeɪn(n)1s| noun

ORIGIN late Middle English : the earlier form of human , restricted to the senses above in the 18th cent.

Jeremy Clarkson: "alpha male" or "alpha tw*t"

I don't like Jeremy Clarkson and every time I hear his "toxic views" forced upon me in the name of humour, I think he is a sad and selfish macho man. Here are a few of things I find so upsetting about Mr Clarkson...

Clarkson scaled Ben Tongue in Sutherland in a new Land Rover Discovery for the BBC2 show, reportedly churning up fragile peat bogs and heather as he went.

The damage done will be lasting, according to the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, which says the stunt was irresponsible and likely to encourage similar destructive behaviour on other private estates.

"The virgin land Clarkson has chewed up will now take hundreds of years to be regenerated," said the council's president, John Mackenzie, the Earl of Cromartie.

"There's no excuse for this, no matter how good the Land Rover might have been. This sets a precedent and it is going to encourage even less disciplined individuals to act irresponsibly."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2004/nov/16/environment.broadcasting

His response to this criticism was totally un-apologetic - no surprise.

I think he is very toxic:

• Clarkson has long been noted for his pro-smoking viewpoint, with him even publicly smoking as much as possible on National No Smoking Day.
• On the environment, Clarkson is not sympathetic to the green agenda. He once said: "I do have a disregard for the environment. I think the world can look after itself and we should enjoy it as best as we can".
• He has little respect for groups such as Greenpeace, and believes that the "eco-mentalists" are a by-product of the "old trade unionists and CND lesbians" that hadn't gone away but merely found a new cause.
• Clarkson is not however a climate change denier, commenting on the effects of global warming - "let's just stop and think for a moment what the consequences might be. Switzerland loses its skiing resorts? The beach in Miami is washed away? North Carolina gets knocked over by a hurricane? Anything bothering you yet?"

Unfortunately I also think he is very influencial:

• Clarkson has been described as a "skilful propagandist for the motoring lobby" by The Economist

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Clarkson

equality: Action Against Hate Crime, Trafalgar Square, London

At the event I meet up with two friends from choir Steve (with me in the photo) and Angela (who took the photo) at the event.

It was obviously a very sad occasion on one level, however the atmosphere was good (it always helps if the weather holds out) and I was impressed that with absolutely minimal joint rehersal, they managed to fits us into their four-part harmony version "Seasons of love" - mostly it was quite a simple arrangement except for a few twirly bits (I was singing tenor-2 with Steve).

The event itself was very well run, some good speakers and Sandig Toksvig was a class compere.

The testimony of the pastor from St Martin's in the Field (an out lesbian priest), was truely horrific - the 10th anniversary of the Admiral Duncal nail bombing attack.

There were quite a few politican (Steve knew a few of the greens personally) and also a stand-up comic (the event needed some light relief).

Finishing on You'll Never Walk Alone worked well (although Steve was disappointed that they dropped Hand in Hand).

Lastly the testimony from Ian's friends brought a tear to the eye - he sounded like a good regular guy (apparently his sister was on the stage too but understandable couldn't bring her speak).

Stonewall - a tribute

This was a fascinating program, talking about the gay rights campaigning group Stonewall. The more I learn about Stonewall the more impressed I become.

Listening to me made quite angry at times, in particular when right wing started banging on about as homosexual as a bunch of sodomites try to pervert young boys... or how they hoped and expected us to be wiped out by AIDS. These moments in the program made me very angry and sad.

Sue brings together the men and women who founded the gay rights campaign group, Stonewall. She is joined by Sir Ian McKellen, Matthew Parris, Lisa Power, Michael Cashman and Olivette Cole-Wilson.

In 1989 a small group joined forces in a campaign against a law now known as Section 28. This law banned councils from 'promoting homosexuality' or 'promoting the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship'.

The gay rights scene at the time was radical and activist and there were no campaign groups engaging both gay men and lesbians together. Stonewall aimed to create a professional lobbying group that would fight against the discrimination of lesbians, gay men and bisexuals. Dubbed Stonewall to signal doggedness and to commemorate the New York riots in which gay protestors had fought back against police brutality two decades before, it called for full legal rights, which still seemed a loony-left pipe dream.

Stonewall's moderate tone attracted criticism from more radical veterans of the gay rights movement, but also lent its advocates greater media respectability and a hearing from government ministers.

Since its inception, Stonewall has led the way with an impressive number of reforms, pressing ministers and taking test cases to court. These reforms include the repeal of Section 28, equalising the age of consent, permitting civil partnerships and overturning the ban on gays in the military. Another legacy has been to allow gay and lesbian politicians into the mainstream - not just demanding equal rights, but as representatives of the wider community.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00mpmm4

To me Stonewall represents the intelligence and tolerant side of the English culture. Whilst I understand the frustration of the more militant elements of gay-right campaigners, Stonewall is highly effective and is building bridges so that the LGBT community is not perceived as "sick minority" (pitied but tolerated/decriminalised), no we are a colourful-jewel of modern society :)

My favourite moment was when the Stonewall paid homage to Peter Thatchel as an A* ground-breaking political activist. There was a good comparison with the more radical elements of the "suffragette movement". We need campaigner's like Peter, in the last couple of years I have been particularly impressed with (1) his campaign against "murder music" (a British Consular in Jamaica was killed last month... the police found the words "batty boy" scribbled beside his bed) and (2) within the UK legal system (a) religious beliefs are in some way mitigation against

and discrimination on grounds of sexuality and (b) apposed new legalisation in the UK where discrimination on grounds of sexuality is not treated in the same way as other types of discrimination... these are hard problems and if we don't fight our corner we will slip back...

suffragette |ˌsəfrəˈjet|

noun historical

a woman seeking the right to vote through organized protest.

Great Lives: Boris Johnson on Samuel Johnson

This was an interesting program, my father has always admired Samuel Johnson while I have found the way he is portrayed in the press, is often a bit smug, jingoistic and offensive:

Matthew Parris presents the biographical series in which his guests choose someone who has inspired their lives.

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, nominates Samuel Johnson, writer of the great dictionary. Dr Johnson's biographer, Peter Martin, joins the discussion.

As for Boris Johnson, I personally find him arrogant, boorish, out-of-touch and a perfect example of why the country shouldn't be dominated by a clique lead from the old upper-class institutions of eton-charthouse-winchester-harrow-oxbridge... This is quite a complex problem as these institution certainly are the elite of educators, have incredible strong histories, attract many of the very best teachers and students. Despite a brief period in the 60s & 70s when a more open society and new state institutions became fashionable, these old class-riddled institutions have few rivals.

Anyway I was intrigued by this program, mediated by the Mathew Paris, one of the very few conservative MPs, I like and respect (I'm please to say that I admired Mathew Paris' before I learnt that he was also gay man).

I elarnt quite a lot about Samuel Johnson and I was left with a slightly more favourable impression of him. Although I am still mystified why anyway would say anything so misogynistic and plain offensive as his awful quip regarding women preachers:

Sir, a woman's preaching is like a dog's walking on his hind legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all.

Despite my more positive outlook regarding Samuel Johnson, my contempt and dislike of Boris Johnson increased another notch.. I don't understand why he would praise The Sun and The Mail for the bold rudeness, political incorrectness.. I can see the point he is trying to make, but to me it is so weak but maybe to a more conservative mind these are qualities?

Matthew Paris, as a openly gay brought up with great finesse, a quote from one of Boris Johnson's "political incorrect" speeches:

if gay marriage was OK - and I was uncertain on the issue - then I saw no reason in principle why a union should not be consecrated between three men, as well as two men, or indeed three men and a dog.

It was a quote Boris foresaw that Matthew was going to raise and he tried to "talk over" Matthew, almost shouting him down to take control of the conversation and to try to drive the conversation away from this intensely nasty, bullying quip. However it was with great finesse, after Boris had blustered the conversation towards his own safe terriority, that Matthew

If you want to see more of the same, I have more on a blog post from May 2007:

http://davetravelogue.blogspot.com/2008/05/new-london-mayor-boris-vs-ken.html

Lastly both men, while have rare talents and are hard-working (workaholics?) the have common flaws.. their arrogance and conceit, alienate as many people as they inspire?

jingo |ˈji ng gō|

noun ( pl. -goes) dated chiefly derogatory

a vociferous supporter of policy favoring war, esp. in the name of patriotism.

PHRASES

by jingo! an exclamation of surprise.

ORIGIN late 17th cent. (originally a conjuror's word): by jingo (and the noun sense) come from a popular song adopted by those supporting the sending of a British fleet into Turkish waters to resist Russia in 1878. The chorus ran: “We don't want to fight, yet by Jingo! if we do, We've got the ships, we've got the men, and got the money too.”

nepotism |ˈnepəˌtizəm|

noun

the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends, esp. by giving them jobs.

DERIVATIVES

nepotist |ˈnɛpətəst| noun

nepotistic |ˌnepəˈtistik| |ˈnɛpəˈtɪstɪk| |-ˈtɪstɪk| adjective

ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from French népotisme, from Italian nepotismo, from nipote ‘nephew’ (with reference to privileges bestowed on the “nephews” of popes, who were in many cases their illegitimate sons).

misogynist |məˈsäjənist|

noun: a man who hates women.

adjective: reflecting or inspired by a hatred of women : a misogynist attitude.

DERIVATIVES

misogynistic |məˌsäjəˈnistik| |məˈsɑdʒəˈnɪstɪk| |-ˈnɪstɪk| adjective

finesse

noun

1 masterly finesse skill, skillfulness, expertise, subtlety, flair, panache, élan, polish, artistry, virtuosity, mastery.

2 a modicum of finesse tact, tactfulness, discretion, diplomacy, delicacy, sensitivity, perceptiveness, savoir faire.

3 a clever finesse winning move, trick, stratagem, ruse, maneuver, artifice, machination.

gay icons: Noel Coward

I understand why people might persceive Noel Coward as outdated - but he is a gay icon for me

This graphic captures the joy of Coward's world for me!!

Noel Coward’s Outdated Defiance

by James Kirchick

First published in The Washington Times, June 12, 2009

Noel Coward's "Design for Living" — now in revival by the Shakespeare Theatre Company — shocked audiences when it premiered on Broadway in 1933. It's not hard to see why.

The play, about a polyandrous relationship between two men and a woman, makes no apologies for its liberationist view of sex and relationships and could hardly be more direct in its sympathetic presentation of gay attachment. "Design for Living" was considered so risque that Coward had to wait until 1939 before staging a production in London for fear of offending British censors.

Seen today, the play shocks, but for an altogether different reason: Its message is so outdated that it's bewildering why any theater would put it on except for its curatorial interest as a period artifact.

http://www.indegayforum.org/news/show/31850.html

Books: Before Night Falls - Reinaldo Arenas

This is not an easy book. Compelling, fascinating, shocking are the terms I would use, other opinion's from my local LGBT group were vile, disgusting and liar.

The following (from wikipedia) gives you a good, nutural idea of the themes of the book:

The film offers an episodic look at the life of Cuban poet and novelist, Reinaldo Arenas (1943-1990), from his childhood in the province of Orienteto his death in New York City. As a youth he joins Castro's rebels. By 1963 he is studying in Havana. He meets the wealthy Pepe, an early lover; their love-hate relationship lasts for years. His writing and openly gay lifestyle get him into trouble: he spends two years in prison, writing letters for other inmates and smuggling out a novel. Later he befriends Lázaro Gómez Carriles, with whom he lives stateless and in poverty in Manhattan after leaving Cuba in the Mariel boatlift. When asked why he writes, he replies cheerfully, "Revenge."

So why such strong reactions, apparently the liberal intelligentsia loved in the states:

His autobiography, Before Night Falls was on the New York Times list of the ten best books of the year in 1993. In 2000 this work was made into a film, directed by Julian Schnabel, in which Arenas was played by Javier Bardem.

In many ways his life was shocking, tough and highly alienated. Like many gay men, he has lots of sex, simply for the pleasure of it. Is it possible that the isolation and misserable poverty of living under a brutal regime (Castro's Cuba in the 1960s was hard on gay men), pushed him into an even more licentous life-style.

While sympathising with the local book group, he was at times vain, difficult and not an easy person to live with; I did despite this like him. He wasn't the sort of person who would become a close friend probably but he was colourful, highly articulate and deeply sensual.

The book group discussion reminded my of a very good joke my aunt and uncle told me recently regarding "intellectual elites":

Q: What it the collective noun for a group of academics

A: A spite

This is harsh but there is an element of truth here - a good joke.

Arenas spends much of the book with petty ill will and hatred to his colleagues, friends and lovers. It was an intensely stressful life where form allies cross and double-cross each other. Throughout the book there is a deep sense of paranoia.

Indeed he has much to fear, he is inprisoned for a couple of years and brutually tortured. Actually the prison itself it utterly savage and with prisonners left to almost starve, abusing and attacking each other; several prisonner are brutually murdered while in prison.

Peter Tatchell has written a very good piece regarding this film and gay/human rights in Cuba:

In the name of the new socialist morality, homosexuality was declared illegal and typically punishable by four years' imprisonment. Parents were required to prevent their children from engaging in homosexual activities and to report those who did to the authorities. Not informing on a gay child was a crime against the revolution. Official homophobia led, in the mid-1960s, to a mass round-up of gay people without charge or trial. Many were seized in night-time swoops and locked up in forced labour camps for "rehabilitation" and "re-education".

The repression did not begin to ease until the mid-1970s, and even then it was not because Cuba's leaders recognised their error. They halted mass detentions and reduced sentences largely because they were shamed by the international protest campaigns organised by newly formed gay liberation movements. A more significant softening of attitudes took place in the 1980s. With the advent of Aids, the Cuban authorities eventually showed greater tolerance towards homosexuals in order to win their confidence and support for safer sex. At around the same time came the secondment to Cuba of east German doctors and psychologists, who viewed homosexuality as a natural minority condition.

The 1979 penal code formally decriminalised homosexuality, but the legal status of lesbian and gay people in Cuba is still ambiguous. Homosexual behaviour causing a "public scandal" can be punished by up to 12 months in jail. Discreet open-air cruising in public squares and parks is tolerated, although often kept under police surveillance. Homosexuals are still deemed unfit to join the Communist party, and this can have an adverse impact on a person's career when appointments depend on party membership. Lesbian and gay newspapers and organisations are not permitted. The Cuban Association of Gays and Lesbians, formed in 1994, was suppressed in 1997 and its members arrested. Gay Cuba? Not yet.

It appears that AIDS has pushed the authorities to take a more realistic view of the world, but there is clearly much much more which needs to be done...

Where to start my blog: my boyfriend is so cool and cute!

Where to start my blog: my boyfriend is so cool and cute. We've been together for ever now and it's good. Nadjib has the classic gaelic temperament (i.e. fiery) and is not always as compromising as an English gentlemen ought to be but the last 8+ years have been great. I must say that Nadjib is very clever and one thing which fascinates me about our relationship is that while I am mathematician at heart with a passion for IT and working out, while Nadjib is a linguist with a passion for philosophy, IT and virtual reality gaming. Intellectually we are quite different but it seems to work well. I have even learnt passable French now (something Mr Elkins, my old French teacher and a very good man, would be very surprised and pleased to see/hear).

I think this drawing of Nadjib is so cool, it was done by a rather eccentric Japanese friend of Nadjib's in Luton. She was really talented musically and great at manga + she liked my cooking :) However she was also extremely temperamental and somewhat unreliable. Still an unforgettable picture Kaori!