The Mayor of Oak Street – Vincent Traughber Meis (NineStar Press)

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NineStar Press

Nathan Landis, dubbed “the Mayor of Oak Street” by his father, knows a lot of secrets: in 1960s Illinois, where small-town residents mind each other’s business, he has a habit of entering into the unlocked homes of his paper route customers, and so knows who keeps a less-than-spotless house, who might be addicted to diet pills, which unmarried couple of female roommates might be…something more than just roommates. Of course, Nate himself has his own secrets: the aforementioned habit of trespassing, his own growing dependence on the diet pills he steals, and the slowly dawning awareness that he might be…different.

These secrets all come to a head—explosively—after Nicholas Baronian and his family move to Oak Street. The athletic, musical, cultured doctor immediately captivates Nate, who enters Dr. B’s empty house at every opportunity. It is during one such “visit” that Nate spies Dr. B going down on James Beard, his tennis partner, when his wife is out of town. And finally, some years later, when Mrs. Baronian uncovers the truth and shoots James, it is Nate who helps Dr. B deal with the immediate fallout. Although not implicated in the ensuing scandal, once Dr. B leaves town, Nate relies more and more on drugs to cope; first with the stresses of high school, then the stresses of attending Tulane, and the perils and pitfalls of coming out and first love. And when Nate’s relationship with Marc, his first boyfriend, ends, along with an unexpected chance meeting with Dr. B, Nate’s downward spiral culminates with a visit to the ER.

Meis’ novel defies easy categorization: darker than most coming-of-age stories (it has a trigger warning on the copyright page), it likewise guarantees no happy ending for these potential lovers, or even that Nate will escape his self-destructive trajectory. The carefree mix of sex, drugs, and found family reminds one of Tales of the City, albeit set in New Orleans instead of San Francisco. But it is the turbulent events of the Sixties and Seventies (e.g., the Vietnam War, Kent State) playing out in the background that reinforce the novel’s somber tone. For all that Meis uses actual historical events to ground his novel, it is not a “historical” novel as such; for example, while Woodstock is mentioned, Nate attends a similar music festival in Florida instead. Similarly, the Stonewall Riots are mentioned in passing, but it is the the devastating fire at the Up Stairs Lounge in 1973 that Meis focuses on; that tragedy actually takes center stage for several chapters and propels the narrative, forcing matters between Nate and Dr. B to a climax. Although Meis may not have intended to write a historical novel, The Mayor of Oak Street does provide a glimpse of a more “innocent” time, as the era between Stonewall and the onslaught of AIDS is sometimes portrayed, seen through the eyes of a flawed protagonist. The view, however, is not nostalgic: finally having his fill of secrets, Nate looks unflinchingly at his own life, and the times he lived in, and lays all those secrets bare.

Reviewed by Keith John Glaeske

The Audacity of a Kiss: Love, Art & Liberation – Leslie Cohen (Rutgers University Press)

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Rutgers University Press

Anyone who’s made the pilgrimage to the Stonewall Inn in NYC’s Christopher Park has seen George Segal’s “Gay Liberation” sculpture of two men standing and two women conversing on a bench. Despite the repeated vandalism, calls of Segal’s “whitewashing,” and other controversies surrounding the monument, it remains an empowering testament to the endurance of gay men and women everywhere. Like many artists, Segal worked from models, using friends of his–including the couple on the bench, Leslie Cohen and her wife, Beth Suskin, as detailed in Cohen’s recent autobiography, The Audacity of a Kiss.

Posing for statuary is not Cohen’s only claim to posterity, however. She was also a mover and shaker in the New York City art scene for many years as well as one of the cofounders of NYC’s first women-owned women’s nightclub, Sahara. Although she does cover those achievements, The Audacity of a Kiss is also effective and interesting when relating the life behind the deeds.

Frank regarding the failings of both her prison-bound father and her abusive brother, she is equally plain-spoken about the adoration of her mother, who became in part the only role model she had, and we can all relate to Cohen’s awkward entrance into puberty with all its conflicting feelings and enforced gender role difficulties. We also share the wonderful feelings of possibility in her college years, where she’s almost there in terms of career and study, but still has miles to go regarding her sexuality. This, however, is where she first meets the woman who would many years later become her wife, Beth.

Out of school, she became involved in the art world through Robert Pincus-Warren, managing galleries and finding herself sexually. Once that last piece falls into place, she seems to gain a purpose. Along with some friends, she decides to buck the male Mafia-owned bar trend and go into business with Sahara, the first women-owned nightclub for women. It was an immediate success, featuring live music and fundraisers on Thursday night, throwing Cohen into contact with names like Pat Benetar, Bella Abzug, Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinam, Jane Fonda, and Patti Smith. But, as any bar owner will tell you, managing one is a balancing act. She becomes disenchanted with late nights and cocaine, and eventually the bar is shuttered by the building’s owner, and she has to start over.

Cohen’s story is punctuated by bouts of starting over, especially with the support of Beth, who comes back into her life married. They begin a rollercoaster affair, eventually ending up with each other. Cohen relates the story of her life with candor and a far less self-serving attitude than you’ll find in many autobiographies. Although it’s a short-ish, quick read, The Audacity of a Kiss is interesting and relatable. Well worth the time spent.

JW

© 2021 Jerry L. Wheeler

Kiss the Scars on the Back of My Neck: Stories – Joe Okonkwo (Amble Press)

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Amble Press/Bywater Books

It’s been a long time since Okonkwo’s brilliant novel, Jazz Moon, so I was stoked when I heard Amble Press was releasing a collection of Joe Okonkwo stories. And they had a lot to live up to. Jazz Moon was notable for its rich characterizations and deft plotting, but I needn’t have worried. Kiss the Scars on the Back of My Neck more than lives up to that promise.

Betrayal looms large in Okonkwo’s work: betrayal of family, of friends, of love, and even of self. This betrayal slaps the reader lightly in the first story, “Picnic Street,” sucker punches you in “Skin,” and delivers a fierce right cross with “Paulie”. Of this initial triptych, the latter two stories had the most impact for me. The protagonist of “Skin” suffers from body image issues, using those issues to destroy a new love. Its final scene, though inevitable, is heartbreaking and will linger in your memory. “Paulie” sees the title character betraying his family, especially his mother, with a devastating act that both shames and empowers him, schooling the boy in the fragility of relationships and how easily they can be decimated. His realization that he is good at creating such castrophe is truly chilling.

“Gift Shop” is an interesting piece in which betrayal is the catalyst rather than the denouement. Our protagonist, Nina, finds out about her husband’s infidelities with a younger man only to have him ask to move said young man into the house and the relationship. He doesn’t want a divorce, but wants to live in perfect marital harmony with both of them. Nina considers this the last straw and says she’s moving out. But she doesn’t do so. Paralleling that storyline, Nina also finds her position at the museum gift shop where she works usurped by a younger, hipper, man. You’ll never see the resolution coming.

“The Girls’ Table” is the first story to feature Cedric, a young Black man who is one of the main protagonists in the title piece. In “Fluff,” an older man finds employment in an unexpected place. Okonkwo returns to the Harlem Renaissance of Jazz Moon in “You Can’t Do That to Gladys Bentley,” which tells a tale of intolerance featuring the controversial, cross-dressing nightclub star, and then tugs at your heart with “Cleo,” a simple tale of a man and his cat.

The final story, “Kiss the Scars on the Back of My Neck” sees the return of Cedric, now a grown bisexual denizen of Queens and an opera buff who has a fight with his girlfriend Melanie and goes to see Madame Butterfly, meeting a cultured, uptown Black artist named Paul. Both relationships are rocky, uneven power struggles, but, again, it takes a betrayal for Cedric to make a decision between his two paramours.

Kiss the Scars on the Back of My Neck is a high-powered collection of well told stories, full of the kind of engaging characters we’ve come to expect from Okonkwo. There’s not a duff one in the bunch. Highly recommended!

JW

© 2021 Jerry L. Wheeler