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

Contents:

• GAY SUNSHE TERVIEWS
• GAY SUNSHE INTERVIEWS, VOLUME 1
• GAY SUNSHE: ITEMS OM THE PRIVATE LLECTN OF WSTON LEYLAND
• GAY SUNSHE INTERVIEWS: 001
• GAY SUNSHE INTERVIEWS. VOL. 1
• GAY SUNSHE INTERVIEWS. VOL. 2
• GAY SUNSHE INTERVIEWS: 001 - SOFTVER
• JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS' KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE COACH TO COME OUT AS GAY MAJOR U.S. SPORTS

GAY SUNSHE TERVIEWS

DcriptnThe rerds nsist of publitns, edorial rerds, d-visual materials, and admistrative and personal rerds llected, ed and/or created by Wston Leyland as the publisher of Gay Sunshe Journal, Gay Sunshe Prs, and Leyland Publitns, 1970-2005. Hist/B Note edor, anthologist and publisher of Gay Sunshe Journal, Gay Sunshe Prs and Leyland Publitns, was born 1940 Lanshire, England. Leyland moved to Berkeley the fall of 1970 and beme volved wh the newly formed tabloid gay liberatn paper Gay Sunshe Journal.

Durg the first perd (1970) the paper was published by an pennt llective affiliated loosely wh the Berkeley Gay Liberatn Front (GLF).

GAY SUNSHE INTERVIEWS, VOLUME 1

The tle of the paper reflects part the fact that “sunshe” was a unter-culture slang word for acid (LSD) as well as the general implitns of light: the dawn of gay liberatn. The early post-Stonewall issu of Gay Sunshe Journal are filled wh much lol and natnal news of monstratns and other gay liberatn activi. The report on the San Francis gay liberatn monstratn of 1970 at the Stud bar, Gary Alr’s first-person acunt "My Gay Soul, " and Huey Newton's Black Panther manifto on gay liberatn appeared origally Gay Sunshe Journal durg this early perd.

Followg the llapse of the Berkeley GLF early 1971, the origal Gay Sunshe llective was dissolved and the paper spend. Durg this send perd the paper poed a balanced approach as a talyst the natnal gay muny, enuragg the buildg of gay alternative stctur and groups, and raisg nscns on pivotal issu.

GAY SUNSHE: ITEMS OM THE PRIVATE LLECTN OF WSTON LEYLAND

The paper published -pth material on the opprsn suffered by gay prisoners and on other gay liberatn topics, as well as solicg and prtg more gay lerary material. Several articl by Ralph Schaffer, a Los Angel gay activist, appeared the paper, as well as articl on his murr 1972. Durg the ial phase of this perd, Gay Sunshe Journal ntued to appear tabloid format but beme more -pth— number of pag per issue as well as tellectually.

GAY SUNSHE INTERVIEWS: 001

Leyland began an acclaimed seri of -pth terviews wh gay wrers and artists—subsequently published two book volum as Gay Sunshe Interviews. Durg the years Leyland actively took the iative seekg out novative and pneerg material for publitn, cludg historil and lerary says, non-Wtern gay lerature translatn, gay fictn, and gay poetry.

Among the books fund part by the grants were the Allen Gsberg/Peter Orlovsky llectn of love poems and letters Straight Hearts' Delight (1980), Jean Ge's Collected Poems (1981), the Brazilian gay novel Bom Crulo, and the anthology of gay poetry Orgasms of Light (1978). Among the volum of Lat Amerin gay lerature, Leyland's favore was My Deep Dark Pa Is Love (1983), which clud fictn (and some non-fictn) by twenty-four wrers om five untri: Brazil, Mexi, Chile, Argenta, and Cuba.

Gay Sunshe Prs—by 1991 the olst pennt gay prs the untry—ntued to publish gay lerary material and other non-fictn wh the amework of s non-prof stat. In 1984 Leyland started Leyland Publitns to publish books of gay eroti, fictn, and other pneerg material which need legally to be done unr a separate imprt.

GAY SUNSHE INTERVIEWS. VOL. 1

Sce 1991 prev h Wston Leyland next h has published some of his bt reviewed books cludg Queer Dharma: Voic of Gay Buddhists, volum 1 and 2; Out the Castro; Out of the Closet to our Hearts; and Openly Gay, Openly Christian. Keepg te to the ternatnal spe of his publitns, Wston also has published Partgs at Dawn: An Anthology of Japane Gay Lerature and Out of the Blue: Rsia's Hidn Gay Lerature.

GAY SUNSHE INTERVIEWS. VOL. 2

Prev h Wston Leyland's next h last publitn me 2004 wh his 26th volume of Meatmen: An Anthology of Gay Male Comics, pletg his eighteen-year n of the provotive seri. In-pth terviews wh gay poets, novelists, playwrights and posers published origally Gay Sunshe journal om 1974 to 1978. 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.

GAY SUNSHE INTERVIEWS: 001 - SOFTVER

’ 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.

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.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS' KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE COACH TO COME OUT AS GAY MAJOR U.S. SPORTS

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.

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.