The Homosexualization of America with Philip Anthony and Dennis Altman

A new episode of This Queer Book Saved My Life drops next week on March 19th! In our off weeks, we air the most recent episode of The Gaily Show which J.P. hosts for AM950 Radio.

On today’s episode, Hairspray is at the Ordway and the New Eagle Creek Saloon is at the Walker Art Center. Young Royals drops on Netflix. Problemista is (almost) here. Edouard Louis is back with his novel Change. Tales of The City has its tenth (!) novel out this month. And our Executive Producer Jim Pounds joins us to talk about the new film I Love You More.

Watch and Listen
Visit our show page to see all the different ways you can listen and watch The Gaily Show: thisqueerbook.com/gailyshow

Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Production and Distribution Support: Brett Johnson, AM950
Marketing/Advertising Support: Chad Larson, Laura Hedlund, Jennifer Ogren, AM950
Accounting and Creative Support: Gordy Erickson

Everyone calls me ma'am on the phone. I love it.

Today we meet Jacob Budenz and we’re talking about the book that saved their life: Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris.

Jacob is a true multi-hyphenate: musician, author, performance artist, director, and witch. Jacob published their new book Tea Leaves in 2023 and is the front person for the band Moth Broth.

Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim is an essay collection where David Sedaris lifts the corner of ordinary life, revealing the absurdity teeming below its surface. His world is alive with obscure desires and hidden motives -- a world where forgiveness is automatic and an argument can be the highest form of love.

Connect with Jacob
Website: jakebeearts.com
Instagram: @dreambabyjake

Our Bookshop
Visit our Bookshop for  new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook

To purchase Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim visit: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9780316010795

Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook

Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, K Jason Bryant and David Rephan, Natalie Cruz, Jonathan Fried, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Stephen Flamm, Ida Göteburg, Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.
Creative and Accounting support provided by: Gordy Erickson
Permission to use clips from the tracks Baba Yaga and Fairy Queen performed by Moth Broth provided by Jacob Budenz.
Audio clip from Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim read by David Sedaris is used here under the Fair Use doctrine for the purposes of literary commentary and criticism.
Music and SFX credits: visit thiqueerbook.com/music

Quatrefoil Library
Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can't buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1

When a closeted queer kid meets his fairy godfather what does he wish for?

Today we meet Ricardo Galaviz and we’re talking about the book that saved his life: Am I Blue? by Bruce Coville. And Bruce joins us for the conversation!

Ricardo (all pronouns) is the Associate Director of the Milwaukee LGBT Center.

Bruce (he/him) is the author of over 100 books including My Teacher is an Alien, Into the Land of Unicorns, and Jeremy Hatcher, Dragon Hatcher.

Am I Blue? Coming Out From The Silence is an anthology of short stories edited by Marion Dane Bauer and the title comes from the Bruce's short story Am I Blue? in which a fairy godfather offers a young queer kid three wishes.

Read more!
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote a fantastic article about this episode. Many thanks to Amy Schwabe!

Connect with Ricardo and Bruce
Ricardo's website: mkelgbt.org
Bruce's website: brucecoville.com

Our Bookshop
Visit our Bookshop for  new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook

To purchase Am I Blue? visit Bruce's website: brucecoville.com

Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our LGBT podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook

Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Jonathan Fried, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Stephen Flamm, Ida Göteburg, Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.
Creative and Accounting support provided by: Gordy Erickson
Music and SFX credits: visit thiqueerbook.com/music

Quatrefoil Library
Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can't buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1

A tomboy who wants to be Perry Mason (and has a crush on Della) included this book on job applications.

Today we meet Jean M. Gustafson and we’re talking about the book that saved her life: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

Jean M. Gustafson is a seasoned attorney who specializes in various branches of law, including employment law, elder law, criminal and family law. She is licensed in the states of Minnesota, South Dakota, Utah and Federal Court of the District of Minnesota. She has also received training in Basic Mediation. Jean is a firm believer in mediation and she has seen it obtain better results for her clients than adversarial court battles. She is currently highly involved in the Minnesota bar association serving as a diverse attorney in two affinity bars, Elder Law Education committee member and former chair of the Elder Law Institute Planning Committee.

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, it views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father--a crusading local lawyer--risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime.

Connect with Jean
website: guslaw.net
email: jean@guslaw.net

Our Bookshop
Visit our Bookshop for  new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook

To purchase To Kill A Mockingbird: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9780060935467

Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook

Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Jonathan Fried, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Stephen Flamm, Ida Göteburg, Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.
Creative and Accounting support provided by: Gordy Erickson
Music and SFX credits: visit thiqueerbook.com/music

Quatrefoil Library
Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can't buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1

Are you ready to un-ban LGBT books in real time? 

I share with you about The Banned Book Club and then I sit down with the head of the project: John Bracken who is the Executive Director of The Digital Public Library of America.

How to start reading: 

1. Download the Palace Project App for iOS or Android in the Apple App store or Google Play.
2. Open the app
3. Select Banned Book Club
4. Start reading!

Banned Book Club website: thebannedbookclub.info
Digital Public Library of American website: pro.dp.la

Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Jonathan Fried, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Stephen Flamm, Ida Göteburg, Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard
Creative and Accounting support provided by: Gordy Erickson
Music and SFX credits: visit thiqueerbook.com/music

It was such a catharsis that I took the book into the woods and acted out scenes from it.

Today we meet Leon Acord and we’re talking about the book that saved his  life: The Front Runner by Patricia Nell Warren.

Leon Acord is the author of the memoirs Expletives Not Deleted and Sub-Lebrity: The Queer Life of a Showbiz Footnote. Leon created, wrote, and starred in the TV series Old Dogs & New Tricks on Amazon Prime Video. On stage, he has performed in numerous West Coast premieres at the New Conservatory Theatre Center, including Last Sunday in June, Dreamboy, and Thief River.

The Front Runner by Patricia Nell Warren was published in 1974. With 10 million copies in 7 languages, this landmark classic is the most popular gay love story of all time.

Connect with Leon
website: leonacord.com
instagram: @leonacord
threads: @leonacord
facebook: facebook.com/leonacordactor

Content Warning
We have a conversation that references and has a general description of sexual assault. Support organizaitons: National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color network, Forge, and CenterLink. Lifelines: the GLBT National Help Center 1-888—246–7743. Trans Lifeline 1-877—565-8860. The Black Line, created with an LGBTQ+ Black Femme lens 1-800-604-5841. DeQH hotline for South Asian/DESI LGBTQ persons 908-367-3374.

Our Bookshop
Visit our Bookshop for  new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook

To purchase The Front Runner visit your local bookstore!

To purchase Leon's memoir Expletives Not Deleted visit: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9798449228505

To purchase Leon's memoir Sub-Lebrity: The Queer Life of a Showbiz Footnote visit: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9798622243110

Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook

Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Jonathan Fried, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Stephen Flamm, Ida Göteburg, Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.
Creative and Accounting support provided by: Gordy Erickson
Permission to use audio clips from the audio book Expletives Not Deleted provided by Leon Acord
Music and SFX credits: visit thiqueerbook.com/music

You go to his place to hook up. The book that saves your life is on his coffee table.

Today we meet Philip Anthony and we’re talking about the book that saved his  life: The Homosexualization of America by Dennis Altman. And Dennis joins us for the conversation!

Philip is based in Minneapolis and is host of the podcast The Downright Upright Show.

Dennis is the son of Jewish refugees, and a writer and academic who first came to attention with the publication of his book Homosexual: Oppression & Liberation in 1972. Altman is a Vice Chancellor's Fellow and Professorial Fellow in the Institute for Human Security at LaTrobe University in Melbourne.

The Homosexualization of America describes the emergence of an influential homosexual subculture as a result of the Gay Liberation Movement and examines the impact of this community on United States society. It is the follow-up to Altman's groundbreaking book Homosexual: Oppression and Liberation.

Connect with Philip and Dennis
Philip's website: am950radio.com/events/philip/
Dennis' website: scholars.latrobe.edu.au/daltman/about

Our Bookshop
Visit our Bookshop for  new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook

To purchase The Homosexualization of America visit your local bookstore!
To purchase Dennis' novel Death in the Sauna visit: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9780645732801

Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook

Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Jonathan Fried, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Stephen Flamm, Ida Göteburg, Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.
Creative and Accounting support provided by: Gordy Erickson
View the full video of Monday Conference with Dennis Altman through ABC’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/WXdAeJhR1RU?si=8gH08QHwHbaHteq3
Music and SFX credits: visit thiqueerbook.com/music

Quatrefoil Library
Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can't buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1

Today, we meet Jeff Billington and his new novel: Summer's Second.

In this novel, Asher Brock’s last summer of youth is far from ideal. His hopes for the future, including an escape from his constricting Ozark Mountains hometown, seem increasingly fragile as he faces hurdles of poverty and abuse, all while coming to terms with being gay.

Jeff Billington is the author of Chicken Dinner News and Summer's Second. He has worked as a journalist, Communications Director for a member of Congress, and for environmental and advocacy nonprofits.

Buy Summer's Second
Visit our Bookshop for new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook

Buy directly: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781648905926

Connect with Jeff Billington
Website: jeffbillington.com
Instagram: @jdbillington
Twitter: @jeffbillington
Facebook: facebook.com/jeffbillingtonauthor

Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Accounting and Creative Support: Gordy Erickson

My eighth grade brain was like: they're such great friends AND they kiss on the mouth?! That's great!

Today we meet Maya Williams and we’re talking about the book that saved their  life: The Color Purple by Alice Walker.

Maya Williams (ey/em, they/them, and she/her) is a religious Black multiracial nonbinary suicide survivor who is currently an Ashley Bryan Fellow and the seventh Poet Laureate of Portland, Maine .

​Maya's debut poetry collection, Judas & Suicide, is available through Game Over Books . And Maya's second poetry collection, Refused a Second Date, is available now through Harbor Editions.

A powerful cultural touchstone of modern American literature, The Color Purple depicts the lives of African American women in early-twentieth-century rural Georgia. Through a series of letters spanning nearly thirty years, first from Celie to God, then from the sisters to each other, the novel draws readers into a rich and memorable portrayal of Black women--their pain and struggle, companionship and growth, resilience and bravery.

Connect with Maya
Website: mayawilliamspoet.com
Instagram:  @emmdubb16
Twitter: @emmdubb16

Our Bookshop
Visit our Bookshop for  new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook

To purchase The Color Purple visit: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9780143135692.

Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook

Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Jonathan Fried, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Stephen Flamm, Ida Göteburg, Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.
Creative and Accounting support provided by: Gordy Erickson
Permission to use audio from the Kennedy Center Arts Across America - Maya Williams 'Definitions of Home' provided by Maya Williams.
Music and SFX credits: visit thiqueerbook.com/music

Quatrefoil Library
Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can't buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1

Without this book, I wouldn't have become me. And I guess I'd be married to a man.

Today we meet Adrineh Der Boghossian and we’re talking about the book that saved her life: Princess Freak by Nancy Agabian. And Nancy joins us for the conversation!

Princess Freak documents through poetry and prose texts Nancy's coming-of-age of as a shy, funny, bisexual Armenian-American woman who flees the small town of Walpole, Massachusetts to tell the stories of her family.

Adrineh Der Boghossian (no relation!) is an editor who works as a project manager for a Vancouver-based book publisher. Originally from Toronto, Adrineh taught at the American University of Armenia and researched factors affecting media trust at CRRC-Armenia.

Nancy Agabian  is a writer, teacher, and organizer. A winner of the Jeanne Córdova Prize for Lesbian/Queer Nonfiction, her new novel The Fear of Large and Small Nations is out now.

Connect with Adrineh and Nancy
Twitter: @_adrineh_
Instagram: @adrinehmacaan

Website: nancyagabian.com
Princess Freak newsletter (for updates about a reprint): nancyagabian.com/mailing-list
Instagram: @nancyagabian

Our Bookshop
Visit our Bookshop for  new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook

Princess Freak is currently out of print. You may be able to find a copy through used book retailers. Sign-up for Nancy's newsletter for updates on a reprinting (see above).

To purchase The Fear of Large and Small Nations visit: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9798985969238. In December, Nancy is donating portions of book sales to the Women's Support Center in Armenia.

Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook

Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Jonathan Fried, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Stephen Flamm,  Ida Göteburg, Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.
Permission to use clips from Literary Lights: Nancy Agabian in conversation with Aida Zilelian provided by the International Armenian Literary Alliance.
Music and SFX credits: visit thiqueerbook.com/music

Quatrefoil Library
Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can't buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1