A Day for a Lay: A Century of Gay Poetry [Hardcover]

Gavin Geoffrey Dillard (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1999

From Greece's forthright Cavafy to France's renegade Genet; from Oscar Wilde's beloved Lord Alfred Douglas to Ginsberg and the Beats; from senior poets such as Harold Norse to the kids who will be writing poems in the new millennium--Gavin Dillard, one of the world's best-loved contemporary poets, has gathered the best of the 20th Century gay poetry "lest it be lost to us except in the lonely vaults of queer archives."

Editorial Reviews

Review

For Blowjob Power by Antler [pseud.]
Hot Summernight Cloudburst Rendezvous by Antler [pseud.]
The Immortality Of Boylove by Antler [pseud.]
On My Way To Lake Michigan Sunrise On The Milwaukee Lakefront by Antler [pseud.]
Shying Away by Antler [pseud.]
What Every Boy Knows by Antler [pseud.]
A Day For A Lay by Wystan Hugh Auden
Explanation by William Barber
A Fuck Poem In The Tradition Of Reality by William Barber
The Gay Poet by William Barber
Hustler Joe by William Barber
Book Of Maps, Sels. by Dan Bellm
Boy Wearing A Dress by Dan Bellm
Transfigured by Dan Bellm
The Blueberry Man by David Bergman
The Guide Of Tiresias by David Bergman
A Part For Horn by David Bergman
The Psalm Of Prometheus by David Bergman
Coming In For A Landing by James Richard Broughton
Disorderly Elations: Two Adams In A Sonoma Wood by James Richard Broughton
Litany For The Lord Of My Chakras by James Richard Broughton
Memento Of An Amorist by James Richard Broughton
The Word For No Is Yes by James Richard Broughton
Love Of Men by Edward Carpenter
Through The Long Night by Edward Carpenter
At The Next Table by Constantine P. Cavafy
The Bandaged Shoulder by Constantine P. Cavafy
Before Time Alters Them by Constantine P. Cavafy
Days Of 1901 by Constantine P. Cavafy
Days Of 1903 by Constantine P. Cavafy
Hidden Things by Constantine P. Cavafy
In Despair by Constantine P. Cavafy
In The 25th Year Of His Life by Constantine P. Cavafy
In The Taverns by Constantine P. Cavafy
Picture Of A Youth Of Twenty-three by Constantine P. Cavafy
Their Beginning by Constantine P. Cavafy
The Tobacco-shop Window by Constantine P. Cavafy
Two Young Men, 23 And 24 Years Old by Constantine P. Cavafy
Where I Lingered And Lay Upon The Beds by Constantine P. Cavafy
Birds Of The Night by Luis Cernuda
Bergamot by Justin Chin
The Only Living Man In The World by Justin Chin
Zoo Animals by Justin Chin
The Book Of God's Madness: 3 by Ralph Chubb
Boys On The Quay by Ralph Chubb
Song Of My Soul: 3 by Ralph Chubb
The Sun Spirit by Ralph Chubb
Autopyrotechnics by Kirby Congdon
Daredevil by Kirby Congdon
Hero Comic by Kirby Congdon
Horse-opera by Kirby Congdon
Motorcyclist: 1 by Kirby Congdon
Motorcyclist: 2 by Kirby Congdon
David Cassidy Now by Dennis Cooper
First Sex by Dennis Cooper
Greg Tomeoni by Dennis Cooper
Mark Clark by Dennis Cooper
Scott Van Der Karr by Dennis Cooper
Steve Nelson by Dennis Cooper
Bodybuilder by James M. Cory
Memoir: Spring, '77 by James M. Cory
Wife by James M. Cory
Courting Rodney by Gavin Dillard
Drinking Trebor's Pee by Gavin Dillard
Goatboy by Gavin Dillard
It's Been A Long Time Since I've Lived With A Straight Boy by Gavin Dillard
Jeske by Gavin Dillard
The Lure by Gavin Dillard
Orange Kitty Bleeding by Gavin Dillard
Smoke Rings by Gavin Dillard
Tomales Point by Gavin Dillard
The Wife Of Lot by Gavin Dillard
Yellow Snow by Gavin Dillard
63rd Street Y by Mark Doty
The Death Of Antinous by Mark Doty
Homo Will Not Inherit by Mark Doty
Turtle, Swan by Mark Doty
In Praise Of Shame by Alfred Bruce Douglas
Two Loves: To The Sphinx by Alfred Bruce Douglas
Passages: 18. The Torso by Robert Duncan
Sonnet: 1 by Robert Duncan
This Place Rumord To Have Been Sodom by Robert Duncan
7. Old Acquaintance by Edward Field
Breakfast by Edward Field
Dirty Old Man: Two Variations by Edward Field
The Moving Man by Edward Field
Street Instructions: At The Crotch by Edward Field
Ode To Walt Whitman by Federico Garcia Lorca
The One Condemned To Death by Jean Genet
Come All Ye Brave Boys by Allen Ginsberg
Night Gleam by Allen Ginsberg
Please Master by Allen Ginsberg
Sweet Boy, Gimme Yr Ass by Allen Ginsberg
Elegy by Thomson William Gunn
Gift by Thomson William Gunn
The Miracle by Thomson William Gunn
Sweet Things by Thomson William Gunn
Cinnamon Man by Michael Hathaway
The Club by Michael Hathaway
I'm Not A Punching Bag But by Michael Hathaway
Me & Ratboy Run The Gamut Of Literary Lovers by Michael Hathaway
What Would Grandma Think? by Michael Hathaway
Camping Out by James Kirkup
Damn The Culture Ministry by James Kirkup
Elegy For Pier Paolo Pasolini by James Kirkup
Gay Boys by James Kirkup
Meson Brujo by Edward A. Lacey
Poeme Des Amours Fugitifs by Edward A. Lacey
Ramon by Edward A. Lacey
Rejean by Edward A. Lacey
Daddy by Michael Lassell
Dancer(s) With Dick(s) At The 1 Saloon, Key West by Michael Lassell
How To Be A Hedonist by Michael Lassell
How To Watch Your Brother Die by Michael Lassell
Times Square Poem: 3. Stud by Michael Lassell
Times Square Poems: 1. Gino by Michael Lassell
Times Square Poems: 2. The Going Rate by Michael Lassell
Times Square Poems: 4. How To Find Love In An Instant by Michael Lassell
The Prodigal Son Writes Home by Timothy Liu
Reading Whitman In A Toilet Stall by Timothy Liu
The Size Of It by Timothy Liu
Heartthrob by Michael Gregg Michaud
How To Be A Gay Literary Icon by Michael Gregg Michaud
The Night Joe Dallesandro Puked On Me by Michael Gregg Michaud
The Night Keanu Reeves Kicked Me In The Face by Michael Gregg Michaud
Big Thick Dick by Harold Norse
Byron Alfonso by Harold Norse
To Mohammed At Parting by Harold Norse
To Mohammed At The Cafe Central by Harold Norse
To Mohammed At The Height by Harold Norse
To Mohammed In The Hotel Of The Palms by Harold Norse
To Mohammed On Our Journeys by Harold Norse
You Must Have Been A Sensational Baby by Harold Norse
Having A Coke With You by Frank O'hara
Homosexuality by Frank O'hara
Second Sex Experiment by Peter Orlovsky
Some One Liked Me When I Was Twelve by Peter Orlovsky
Maundy Thursday by Wilfred Owen
Sonnet To My Friend, With An Identity Disc by Wilfred Owen
Storm by Wilfred Owen
To Eros by Wilfred Owen
A Boy Ran After A Train by Sandro Penna
Here The Dear City by Sandro Penna
In A Dingy Theatre Pit by Sandro Penna
The Insomnia Of The Swallows. The Quiet by Sandro Penna
It Is Enough, Loving Boys by Sandro Penna
My Boy Is Light And Nimble by Sandro Penna
Sadness Of Love, Where The Boy's by Sandro Penna
The Sky Is Empty. But In The Dark Eyes by Sandro Penna
Still It Is Sweet To Find Yourself by Sandro Penna
To Sit At An Unknown Table by Sandro Penna
Unsteady My Peace Under The April Sky by Sandro Penna
When My Boy Appears At The Inn by Sandro Penna
When The Light Weeps On The Street by Sandro Penna
You Descend The Black Stairs Of My Tavern by Sandro Penna
Carnival Man by Robert Peters
Cousins by Robert Peters
Night Visitor by Robert Peters
Nude Father In A Lake by Robert Peters
Snapshot Of Older Cousin Masturbating by Robert Peters
Tommy Mcquaker by Robert Peters
Aches-les-bains by Felice Picano
The Deformity Lover by Felice Picano
Straight Man by Felice Picano
In The Hands Of The Enemy by Vyautas Pliura
Scott by Vyautas Pliura
These Aren't The Boys I Got Butterflies In My Stomach Over by Vyautas Pliura
Thomas by Vyautas Pliura
Blueberries by Kirk Read
Truck Stop Buddies by Kirk Read
White Hot by Kirk Read
Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair by Reginald Shepherd
Eros In His Striped Blue Shirt by Reginald Shepherd
Johnny Minotaur by Reginald Shepherd
A Muse by Reginald Shepherd
For Sonny Cozzi by Adrian Stanford
I Love Much by Adrian Stanford
In The Darkness, Fuck Me Now by Adrian Stanford
Sacrifice by Adrian Stanford
Statement by Adrian Stanford
Envoy by Takahashi Mutsuo
Myself In Disguise Of A Sacred Prostitute by Takahashi Mutsuo
Myself With A Motorcycle by Takahashi Mutsuo
Ode by Takahashi Mutsuo
Romance Of The Rose by Takahashi Mutsuo
Hustler by Trebor
Jesus Christ, St. Sebastian, Etc., Etc by Trebor
We Started Out Janitors by Trebor
The Boy by David Trinidad
Delphi by David Trinidad
Dream Creatures by David Trinidad
The Gift Of Dionysus by David Trinidad
Love Poem by David Trinidad
Pavane by David Trinidad
Androgyne, Mon Amour by Tennessee Williams
The Interior Of The Pocket by Tennessee Williams
Winter Smoke Is Blue And Bitter by Tennessee Williams
Given In Person Only by Mark Wunderlich
The Trick by Mark Wunderlich
Colossus Of Rhodes by Ian Young
For Constantine Cavafy by Ian Young
Home On The Range by Ian Young
Honi Soit Qui May Y Pense by Ian Young
Sex Magick by Ian Young
Sex Magick: Epilog by Ian Young
Standing And Kneeling Figures by Ian Young
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

Product Details

• Hardcover: 303 pages
• Publisher: Barricade Books; First Edition edition (June 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569801347
• ISBN-13: 978-1569801345
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,662,036 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #84 in Books > Gay & Lesbian > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Gay

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Poetry Reaches Deep into the Gay Spirit, June 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Day for a Lay: A Century of Gay Poetry (Hardcover)

"A Day for a Lay" came first to my attention as an "underground" poem by WH Auden. My friend, the Late Cade Ware, a Gay Activist in Washington, DC, brought it to me and we marveled at its wonderful images and sensual awareness. How we longed for more gay poets. Well, there are gay poets of great passion. Not sentimental boy meets boy, or the the bathos of death poets, but poets that give us insight to power of life!

Gavin Geoffrey Dillard, a remarkable Gay poet himself, edited "A Day for a Lay -- A Century of Gay Poetry." As clear in his introduction, Dillard wrote that he "...leaned toward intimacy versus politics" in this centennial anthology. He maintained that intimacy "is more authentic, more timeless, and bucks the masculinist agenda." The poets included are Edward Carpenter, Constantine Cavafy, Lord Alfred Douglas, Federico Garcia Lorce, WH Auden, Tennessee Williams, Harold Norse, Allen Ginsberg, Ian Young, Antler, Vytautas Pliura, Jim Corey, Mark Doty, Timothy Liu, and Kirk Read to name just a few of this powerful gathering of great Gay writers.

Mutsuo Takahashi's introductin to his "Ode," he says so sacredly: In the name of man, member, and the holy fluid, AMEN.

This is the heart of this gathering of Gay poets.

To me this is one text I want on my bedside table to read just before going to sleep. The power in these words says that "being a Gay man is a mystic, marvellous being."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Century of Great Gay Poetry, May 30, 2000

By 

vytautas pliura - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Day for a Lay: A Century of Gay Poetry (Hardcover)

The amazing thing about this anthology is that it combines poets who were born before our Civil War here in the USA and baby boomers poets. This is a remarkable international gathering of poets, from France, Genet; from England, Edward Carpenter; Japan, Takahashi; Spain, Lorca; ...to name a few. I learned a lot about gay poets from this anthology and I searched for more poems in other collections from my two favorite poets in this collection, Lorca and Carpenter; and really enjoyed what I found. It was this collection that opened up the world of gay poets to me and I thank Gavin Dillard for the care he took in assembling this volume. I am very excited to have been included in this volume, and would like to hear from others who have been included in these pages, and Readers who like what they see here in this book. I thank Amazon.com for providing this network for those interested in the world of literature. I would like to thank Michaud for his poem, "How To Watch Your Brother Die" a poem that deeply touched me. I am out of the closet in this reveiw as far as my e-mail goes, people wishing to connect with me can do so at: [e-mail]

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Already submitted......A Century of Gay Poetry, June 3, 2000

By 

vytautas pliura - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Day for a Lay: A Century of Gay Poetry (Hardcover)

This is not a review, I already submitted a review on the 30th of May, 2000 But I wanted to sumit a correction in the body of my review. I mentioned the poem "How to watch your brother die" and I attributed it to the wrong poet, the poet is Lassell, NOT Michaud. Thank you for letting me suggesting this correction in the body fo the review. And I understand that it best to let readers rate the number of stars in the rating system......forgoing contributors in this anthology, who may be biased. Thank you...for this opportunity to reach out in your space here at Amazon.com