Gay Sunshe: Items om the private llectn of Wston Leyland - Peter Harrgton Journal - The Journal

Contents:

• GAY SUNSHE
• WAS KC OM THE SUNSHE BAND GAY?
• GAY SUNSHE: ITEMS OM THE PRIVATE LLECTN OF WSTON LEYLAND
• KANSAS CY PERFORMER KC SUNSHE REFLECTS ON 'DREAM E TE' YEAR AS MR. GAY AMERI 2022
• GAY ROOTS. AN ANTHOLOGY OF GAY HISTORY, SEX, POLICS, AND CULTURE
• GAY SUNSHE #16 INCOMPLETE

GAY SUNSHE

Gay Sunshe was a radil unrground newspaper om Berkeley, created for the gay muny as an alternative to the more nservative gay prs, like SIR’s magaze Vector and to the existg unrground prs Berkeley, like the Berkeley Barb and the Berkeley Tribe, which did ver many gay issu, but wasn’t created for the muny.

However, the goal of Gay Sunshe was the explore the tersectg radil polics of the Bay Area, not to be a sgle issue newspaper like past nservative gay publitns. What is need is a newspaper that will reprent those who unrstand themselv as opprsed— polilly opprsed by an opprsor that not only is down on homosexualy, but equally down on all thgs that are not whe, straight, middle class, pro-tablishment… It should harken to a greater e— the e of human liberatn, of which homosexual liberatn is jt one aspect—and on that level ma s stand. An article wrten by Konstant Berlandt Gay Sunshe om September 1970, “Fly Oakland, ” monstrat the growg ti of Gay radils the East Bay rejectg the gay nightlife scene San Francis and turng towards lol bars.

WAS KC OM THE SUNSHE BAND GAY?

In 1980, Allen Gsburg wrote a letter to the Gay Sunshe Journal, praisg ‘s prentatn of lerary history hherto kept the closet by the ami.

’ Established Augt 1970 Berkeley, California, Gay Sunshe began life as a tabloid reportg on the gay liberatn movement that gaed momentum Ameri after the Stonewall uprisgs of 1969. When the llective which ran the publitn disband 1971, was taken over by Wston Leyland, a wrer, edor and former Catholic prit who had joed Gay Sunshe early on s ceptn. Unr Leyland’s edorship, the publitn began to clu more gay lerary ntent and, 1973, moved to San Francis and rebrand as the Gay Sunshe Journal, providg a platform for the work of gay artists and wrers.

In 1975, Leyland’s operatn branched out to book publishg, foundg the Gay Sunshe Prs as a not-for-prof enterprise, publishg publishg anthologi of homoerotic poetry and translatns of gay lerature om other cultur. The prolific output of Leyland’s publishg ventur has renred him one of the most fluential and active figur gay publishg and, 1980, he won the Stonewall Book Award for his work as edor of Now the Volno: An Anthology of Lat Amerin Gay Lerature.

GAY SUNSHE: ITEMS OM THE PRIVATE LLECTN OF WSTON LEYLAND

Hherto unknown wrers, both om the ntemporary Amerin ntext of the liberatn movement and wrers om diverse cultur, languag and historil perds (llected anthologi eded by Leyland), were given voice through Gay Sunshe, exposg challengg, sensual and eply betiful gay wrg, often for the first time. This selectn of rari, the highlights om a llectn of 35 ems om Leyland’s private library, appears plete wh several unpublished letters and Leyland’s own pi of books published by the Gay Sunshe Prs, the hardback and luxe issu, most of which went to librari and are nsequently very srce. Addnal works by Gore Vidal, Tennsee Williams and Allen Gsberg, signed and some s bearg personal scriptns to Leyland, are reprented alongsi several anthologi of terviews, poems and letters which monstrate the pneerg project of the Gay Sunshe Prs.

This py has an appropriate later associatn for the gay poet’s first llectn, wh the ownership scriptn, “Wston Leyland, His Copy”.

First edn, first prtg, very srce cloth issue, publisher’s own py, number two of 10 pi signed by Leyland, of the first Gay Sunshe Prs publitn, and one of the earlit openly gay poetry anthologi. Angels of the Lyre was the first book publitn of Gay Sunshe Prs, prtg poems by gay poets such as Joe Braard, Charl Henri Ford, Allen Gsberg, Gerard Malanga, Harold Norse, Frank O’Hara, and many more. Laid is a typed letter signed om Young to Leyland dated 15 May 1974 discsg var gay publishg events and Young’s attendance of the Anarchist ‘Live and Let Live Ftival’ at Hunter College, New York, “Lots of gay anarchists there”, and mentng E.

KANSAS CY PERFORMER KC SUNSHE REFLECTS ON 'DREAM E TE' YEAR AS MR. GAY AMERI 2022

Lacey’s The Forms of Loss (1965), “the first openly gay book to be published Canada”, remendg Leyland review Lacey his Gay Sunshe Journal.

The wrappers issue for both volum is mon, but the vast majory of the cloth issu of the Gay Sunshe Prs were sold to librari, and are nsequently rare. Gay Roots was advertised as “an anthology encyclopaedic sle, Gay Roots llects the bt wrgs om the turbulent early 1970’s, the very begng of morn gay liberatn, right up to the prent day.

Work om Gay Sunshe Journal the groundbreakg tabloid that served as a fom and talyst for the revolutn unrway appears together wh some of the most talytic gay wrg published by Gay Sunshe Prs, the olst ntug gay book publisher the Uned Stat.

GAY ROOTS. AN ANTHOLOGY OF GAY HISTORY, SEX, POLICS, AND CULTURE

Tennsee Williams wrote 1977 of Gay Sunshe: ‘The only pletely lerate and ser Gay Journal wh which I’m acquated. ’ Five books one, wh sectns on ‘Gay History, ’ ‘Gay Sex and Polics, ’ ‘Gay Bgraphy and Lerary Essays, ’ ‘Gay Fictn, ’ and ‘Gay Poetry, ’ Gay Roots is tend for every gay person sirg to reclaim a rich cultural tradn.

The book was origally published anonymoly bee no one England (least of all Osr Wil) uld afford to acknowledge open thorship of a book which homosexual acts are scribed mutely and celebrated wh abandon. It is a verable talogue of gay lovemakg, and may ed be rightly nsired the first gay novel the English language. The first letter, dated 26 November 1982, prais the prent publitn, mentns meetg John Rechy, and discs other matters of gay publishg.

GAY SUNSHE #16 INCOMPLETE

A radil Left LGBTQ+ journal origally begun as a project of the Gay Sunshe llective, which beme associated wh Gay Sunshe Prs after the llective spltered. Adam* said was dangero to e out as gay his home untry and feared beg forced to an arranged marriage wh a said he was "so lucky" to wed his soulmate, Ray, Manchter and wish everyone uld marry who they love.