Tadzio Speaks

TADZIO SPEAKS

“Solitude produces originality, 

bold and astonishing beauty, 

poetry. But solitude also produces 

perverseness, the disproportionate, 

the absurd and the forbidden.”

― Thomas Mann, Death in Venice 

___________

Decades later, I remember one thing—

the way Tadzio said it helplessly at the end

“Take it,” he said, going spaz on the Lido 

Nothing is more tense and awkward—

than a relationship of two people who 

only know each other thru their eyes 

Tadzio and I met each other daily— 

we’d meet and observe each other even 

hourly but we’d pretend disinterest 

_______________

Either because of morals or perhaps—

a listlessness and pent-up curiosity, even

a hysteria of unsatisfied, unnatural urges

A suppressed need for communion but—

also a kind of tense respect, because of a

desire that was of lacking acknowledgement

Tadzio was unused to speaking about—

what he saw and felt, his erotic experiences 

more intense because he was so inarticulate 

_______________

I wasn’t a gregarious man and in Venice—

I felt even more sluggish and wayward with

a melancholy tinge preoccupying me

The sights and impressions of Venice—

I simply brushed aside without even a glance, 

solitude giving birth to the perverse, the elicit

But then I became increasingly obsessed—

by the beautiful youth Tadzio who was clearly

aware of my silent attractions and attentions

______________

We never spoke, it was a silent relationship—

that lasted until my final day there on the 

Lido beach getting him off so exquisitely

Before either one of us realized what was—

happening, he slid down his one-piece swimsuit 

and let me have what we both so desired

What impact did our encounter have on us—

decades later looking back at that fateful 

summer seminal afternoon in Venice?

_____________

Even though Tadzio was a silent Cipher—

all the way up until he leaned over my arms

and climaxed over my face and lips

I will always remember his voluptuous—

young teenage wild animal guttural tone

as he gave himself all the way to me

Tadzio was a teenager on the verge—

of young manhood, surrounded by sisters—

mother, a governess & a wealthy fag

The Little Young Men

THE LITTLE YOUNG MEN

(Les p'tits jeun' hommes)

Miklós Vadász

L'Assiette au Beurre, Paris 

1909    

Sixteen page issue of the satirical / anarchist magazine L'Assiette au Beurre with full-page illustrations and captions by the Hungarian artist Miklós Vadász, depicting gay men (not all young) in different social situations. These are not cruel, but gently mocking, and the last picture, depicting a man mourning the death of his lover, quoting Plato, is definitely sympathetic.

http://www.arberybooks.co.uk/arberydbase_text.php?id=101

Memories of a Hotel Man

MEMORIES OF A HOTEL MAN

Featuring text story and numerous well-taken photos, simply page after page of handsome rent boys from the Hotel Dakota days back when the hotel business was tres risqué. Erotic tales of the days in the hotel business with text and art that’s quite explicit including men with men, women with women, women with animals, etc. Well-done photos include a page with couple sexually involved while picture on the wall with Popeye says “Blow Me Down” as he walks along with wheelbarrow holding his large male member. Just below Popeye image is an erotic lamp of Moon Mullins. Next to last page has a photo of Moon Mullins sexually involved with Emmy, both attached to belt of weight reduction machine. Printed by The Art-Guild Press in 1935, title page has $25.00 price. Plain stiff paper cover shows tragically heavy wear and tear with majority of spine missing, back cover held on by one feeble staple only. Good with Fine/VF pages. Rare and only the second we’ve seen in our 43 years.

Strange Brother

STRANGE BROTHER 

Blair Niles (Mary Blair Rice) 

STRANGE BROTHER 

New York Times Best Seller List

[Book appears to be first edition but jacket 

states "seventh printing"] Jacket discolored / 

cum-stained and worn at edges and foot of spine; 

tear at top of spine; spine faded and worn out 

from tres much handling and re-reading by 

gawd knows how many fags over time. Boards 

worn; slightly curved at corners and top of 

spine; bottom of spine slightly crushed. 

Endpapers discoloring and small pencil mark. 

Page edges rough cut; otherwise clean. 

$1000 

A platonic relationship between a handsome

heterosexual young man and his gay brother in 

New York City during the Harlem Renaissance.

Tres risqué and truly ahead of its time.

Nervous Nelly

Ann Huey, Nervous Nellie

NERVOUS NELLIE

“I do not of course mean to disguise 

or conceal the fact that there are 

numbers of merely frivolous, or feeble 

or even vicious homosexuals, who 

practically do no useful work for society 

at all — just as there are of normal people.”

—Edward Carpenter

“The Place Of The Uranian In Society”

The Intermediate Sex

_________

I guess I’m a Nervous Nellie—

one those merely frivolous and

rather feeble fags, my dears

I doubt if Uranian Poetry—

will ever be considered as

useful work for Society

__________

I can be so vicious too—

simply a tacky drearie-dearie

bitch queen reading the beads

Especially when it comes—

to Yours Truly dontchaknow

my Muse is such a Mable

Uranian Eros

Edward Carpenter

URANIAN EROS

“Eros is a great leveler”

—Edward Carpenter

“The Place Of The Uranian In Society”

The Intermediate Sex

_______________

Perhaps true Democracy rests—

more firmly than anywhere else

on a sentiment which is forbidden

Easily passing the bounds—

of class and caste, uniting in 

the closest affection 

The most estranged ranks—

of society, noticeable in how 

often Uranians of good position 

_____________

And breeding are drawn to—

rougher types like manual workers

frequently now called rough trade

Permanent alliances grow this way—

which although not publicly acknowledged 

have a decided influence on social institutions

Such customs and political tendencies—

which would have a good deal more influence 

then usually is given by society

____________

But with a little more scope & recognition—

It’s not taking long for the usual bourgeois

Commercial world to finance post-DOMA

It is possible that something like—

the guilds & fraternities of the middle ages 

might thus have been constructed thusly

But on a more intimate & personal basis—

now than in those days, indeed with a gay

reconstruction actually now taking place

Deep Gossip

DEEP GOSSIP

“how deeply complicated it is’”

—Dennis Cooper

OUR DEEP GOSSIP, 

CONVERSATIONS

WITH GAY WRITERS 

ON POETRY AND DESIRE

______________

It gets more & more—

Complicated the further

You get into loving a guy

It gets more and more—

Inarticulate as time goes 

On and on, my dears

________________

Looking back on the—

Ones I would’ve died for

They’re all so-so now

Married, wrinkly—

There’s no way out

Male beauty just a memory

Teenage Demonic

THE TEENAGE DEMONIC

“the teenage demonic”

—Dennis Cooper

OUR DEEP GOSSIP, 

CONVERSATIONS

WITH GAY WRITERS 

ON POETRY AND DESIRE

________________

Hold on, hold on—

I know you’re here

Translate me, baby

Haunted by it—

My teen transgressive

Inarticulate Muse

___________

Hold on, hold on—

I’m hurt but I can’t

Like get enough

You send me up—

To the highest peak

But I must hold on

Bad Boy Bijou

BAD BOY BIJOU

“It’s something that’s 
part of me, that I grew 
up with, especially movies”
—John Ashbery
OUR DEEP GOSSIP: 
CONVERSATIONS WITH 
GAY WRITERS ON POETRY
AND DESIRE
_______________

Funny isn’t it—

How dreams are like

MAGIC THEATER

This morning I had—

A Gay Whooperdoozie

A Bad Boy Bijou flick

___________

Mostly movie dreams—

For me are usually dreams

Inside other dreams

I’ll wake up from some—

Riveting Melodrama and

Be inside a Dream Theater

__________

Then the dream continues—

But with a dream audience

All of us onerically enthralled

Then I'd wake up and—

Realize I'd been dreaming

Just a dream-inside-a-dream

__________

Has that ever happened—

To you maybe, like when you

Wake up in bed for real?

My dream this morning—

I woke up under the Marquee

Outside the Bad Boy Bijou

______________

The funny thing is—

Throngs of cute chicken

Couples were coming

Coming and going—

Out of the Bijou Theater

Pairs of Justin Bieber lovers

Son of Dracula

SON OF DRACULA

I don’t know—

What do I know?

What’s the sense of knowing—

I know nothing, my dears

I don’t know who I am—

Other than I’m just  a Vampire

I was born Dracula-esque—

All I can do is SUCK

Suck, flit and swish—

Innate faggotry I suppose

But what do I know?—

What’s the use of knowing?

Knowing oneself is such a drag—

Who really cares anyway?

What difference does it make?—

Cognito ergo Suck

Transylvania Blues

TRANSYLVANIA BLUES

I’m the Son of Dracula—

Bela Lugosi was my father

Elsa Lanchester my mother—

Boris Karloff my brother

James Whale my godfather—

Ernest Thesiger my sugar daddy

Hollywood simply haunted me—

Universal Pictures especially

Dracula's Daughters

DRACULA’S DAUGHTERS

Bram Stoker conjured me up—

Then Tod Browning filmed me

Miss Murnau meandered in—

Swishing her way from Budapest

Max Schreck was next—

What a Nosferatu nuisance

Lon Chaney Jr. showed up—

Drunk in the Louisiana bayous

The list of bloodsuckers grows—

Dracula’s sons and daughters

Shadow of the Vampire

SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE 

Klaus Kinski my favorite—

Actor playing evil Dracula

Better than Max Schreck—

In the original horror movie

Willem Dafoe pretty good too—

In SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE

John Malkovich as Miss Murnau—

Udo Kier as his assistant

But nobody does NOSFERATU—

Better than me tho, my dears

Naughty Nosferatu

NAUGHTY NOSFERATU

Decoding the meaning of gay vampires in popular culture has been a subject of academic debate. While some refer to it as a rather somewhat homosexual, cocksucking representation of gays in general, some see it as a gay portrayal of male sexuality without the limitations of gender roles. 

Both views can be applied to a series of gay vampire movies beginning with NOSFERATU (1922) directed by F.W. Murnau starring Max Schreck as Vampire Count Orlok who takes an interest in a young handsome real estate agent sent to to Transylvania to sell Count Orlok a new home in Germany. The film was a silent classic based on Bram Stoker’s novel "Dracula."

Tod Browning’s DRACULA (1931) came next followed by a long series of rather campy faggy vampire flicks culminating with such schmaltzy classics as SON OF DRACULA (1943) with Lon Chaney Jr. as well as a rather tres shockingly modern version entitled SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE (2000) starring John Malkovich as F.W. Murnau. Along with Udo Kier and Willem Dafoe as the new gay tres tortured version of the Max Schreck character struggling to play the role of Murnau’s cocksucking Count Dracula.

All of which simply pales the earlier rather closeted, vague ambiguities of Countess Zaleska’s lesbian sexual portrayal in DRACULA’S DAUGHTER (1936) which came toward the end of the Hays Production Code shifting the focus of LGBT representation to the 1940s and 1950s with more realistic, criminal portrayals of cocksucking gay vampires on the prowl.

Cocksucking gay vampire representation truly came out of the closet with INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE: THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES (1994) starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt which pretty much opened up the love, betrayal, loneliness and hunger of modern-day contemporary cocksucking vampirehood. 

When INTERVIEW played at the Castro Theater in San Francisco, the gay audience mocked and pooh-poohed pouty Brad Pitt’s portrayal of poor put-upon wealthy aristocrat Louis de Point du Lac as the handsome Louisiana plantation owner who’d given up on life.

The gay audience approved and were much more enthusiastic for the sardonic, campy role of Tom Cruise as cynical Lestat de Lioncourt who has no queer qualms about flaunting it as a decadent Deep South elitist cocksucker. He gives Brad Pitt the chance of a lifetime to become a creature of the night: a vampire. 

Brad Pitt accepts, and Lestat drains Louis' mortal blood dry, then raises him to the heights of queer vampirehood by giving a taste of what it’s like to be a queer cocksucker, turning Louis into a vampire. 

But Louis must learn from Lestat the ways of the vampire. It’s a bumpy ride down there in New Orleans as well as across the sea in Paris which is simply infested with the ancient Nosferatu Curse. 

The problem, though, which the gay audience at the Castro Theater picked up on was that poor Brad Pitt was always in a state of feeling guilty about being a cocksucking vampire. Anne Rice the author develops this theme quite nicely in her novelizations of the queer Nosferatu mythology.

Even though the Hays Production Code is no longer with us, still the Vampire queer meme creates a rather foreboding, forbidden impression for straight audiences and viewers of a queer cocksucking Predator, serving such long-existing stereotypes such as uncontrolled males on the prowl. 

But while the fags in the Castro Theater audience picked up on and dished Miss Pitt with a certain amount of knowing subtlety and appreciation of the queer ambiguities involved in this twin portrayal characterizations of gay vampirehood with both Pitt and Cruise—it’s still rather important and necessary to see such cocksucking roles in terms of post-INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE representations now in 2013.

As Heteronormativity, Homonormativity and Post-DOMA gay marriage developments continue, how will the gay and straight communities embrace on the screen any new Hollywood portrayals of nefarious Naughty Nosferatu?

Red Riding Hood

RED RIDING HOOD

“Fairy tales are the purest

and simplest expression of

collective unconscious psychic

processes”—Marie-Louise von Franz

The Interpretation of Fairy Tales  

________________

A transgressive shift—

In Jungian fairy tale telling

Telling the story again

This time instead of—

Evil Stepmother Witch

Doing Hansel & Gretel in

It’s Red Riding Hood—

And the Big Bad Wolf story

A la Marie-Louise von Franz

A gay Jungian retelling—

Shadow in bedroom drag

What a big Nose, my dear

________________

Deeply embedded in—

The Grimms Brothers fairy tale

The classical outré oeuvre

New archetypal images—

Forming themselves with

Tres Jungian jouissance 

The Wolf as the Shadow—

Red Riding Hood as me

My Journey thru the Woods

Homonormative narrative—

Gay fairy tale retellings

Red Riding Hood & the Wolf

__________________

Once upon a time—

There was this kid who

Didn’t know who he was

Everybody else knew—

The Evil Old Witch knew

His First Grade Teacher

She knew he was Bad—

The minute she saw him

She simply hated queers

A gay fairy tale tells—

Its own story in its own

Faggy fairytale way

__________________

Red Riding Hood—

Didn’t know he was gay

That he was born that way

It’s an Old Story—

Journey thru Dark Woods

The Shadow posing in drag

How does a gay kid—

Come out of the Closet

Is there a Wolf inside?

Seeing oneself as a—

Big Bad Wolf there

Doing Weimar Drag?

_______________

His gay Anima—

Disguising herself as

As Evil Grandmother

“My, oh my!!!—

What a Big Nose

You’ve got, Grandma!!!”

Gay sexuality—

In Bedroom Burlesque

Unconscious Cabaret

“Falling in love, again”—

Marlene Dietrich sings

“I can’t help it”

________________

“Things get better”—

Older gays are telling

Younger gays now

Things aren’t as—

Closeted as they used

To be before gay lib

Fairytale retelling—

Takes time to Actualize

In new Storytelling ways

Let Synchronicities—

Sink in and guide your

Own Intuitive Story

The Despised One

THE DESPISED ONE

“Once you start changing 

a name, you see, there's 

no reason ever to stop. 

One always hears one 

that sounds better.” 

― Evelyn Waugh, 

The Loved One

I dilly-dallied here & there—

Miss This and Miss That

And of course Miss Thing

I tried to be nice and—

Get along with everybody

Whether fags or str8ts

But after awhile though—

My dears, I simply had

To finally give it up

No matter how much—

I tried to be liked and

Loved like the Loved One

It just didn’t pan out—

I found myself labeled 

“The Despised One”

Whispering Gay Blades

WHISPERING GAY BLADES

“Death has become a 

middle class business. 

There's no future in it.”

― Evelyn Waugh, 

The Loved One

Yes, my dears—

With the excommunication

Of the prejudicial DOMA Act

It’s now quite—

Heteronormative for fags

To have gay cemeteries

That’s why we’ve—

Created for our loved ones

Whispering Gay Blades

Dignity in Repose—

That’s our middle class

Business motto now

Mr. Joyboy is waiting—

To give you a heavenly

Angelic smile, my dears

MRS JOYBOY

“Mom’s a heck of a lot

of fun isn’t she? She’s

every inch a queen!”

― Evelyn Waugh,

The Loved One

“Squawk!!! Squawk!!!”—

Goes Mrs. Joyboy’s precious

Little loud-mouthed Mina Bird

“There is no death!!!—

There is no death!!!” squawks

Then the stupid bird kicks

Every inch a queen—

As she pulls the refrigerator

Over on top of her

“Pass me the drumstick”—

She says, sprawled out

There on the kitchen floor