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Review

True Stories by Felice Picano– a man considered to be a founder of modern gay literature – is an extraordinary collection of portraits from the author’s past. In the preface to this vivid volume the author refers to this particular memoir – Picano has written several – as an “autobiography in the negative”. Rather than write solely of himself, Picano means to give the reader a clearer understanding of himself by introducing the reader to people in his past who took center stage in his life. In other words, people who either influenced, moved, or affected him in profound and significant ways.

Each of the stories of varying length and tone has a beginning, middle and an end. Some of the characters you’ll have heard of - W.H. Auden, Tennessee Williams, Bette Midler to name a few. Others you will not have been aware of - the objects of a few childhood crushes, the author’s father, influential and brilliant gay publishing associates for example. The cast of characters is interestingly varied, yet all of these separate portraits are melded seamlessly into an intensely intimate and cohesive whole. It matters not whether you’ve heard of the people Picano writes of. This book isn’t about name dropping and the lives of the purely famous. Each story is linked implicitly by the common thread that is Picano himself.

Lucky for us Picano is drawn to exceptionally unique often eccentric characters with uncommon individuality. And lucky for us Picano writes so beautifully. His narrative is full of grace and candor. Whether writing of lively encounters in happening New York City – where he lived both pre and post Stonewall and AIDs- or relating warmly recollected stories about the people of his youth, Picano’s tales are always richly detailed, powerfully poignant and thoroughly engrossing. They are a vibrant evocation of our storied gay past told in a style that is as down to earth as it is transcendent.

 -- Matthew Styles