My Diva: 65 Gay Men on the Women Who Inspire Them (Hardcover)

~ Michael Montlack (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In very short, very tender essays, a variety of gay male writers, from poets to playwrights to a standup comic, pay homage to an even wider variety of women who have inspired them. Peter Dubé writes how the photography of Claude Cahun suggested a delirious world of possibilities; Jeff Oaks recalls a childhood of wearing wristbands fashioned from paper cups to emulate his model of power, Wonder Woman; Christopher Lee Nutter looks back on his closeted teenage years and how Sade taught him that there was a world somewhere that suited them better than the world they'd been born into. While a few essays are disappointingly shallow (More than smart and fabulous, Parker Posey is fall-on-the-floor ridiculous), such standout pieces as Mark Doty on Grace Paley are elegant and affectionate tributes to how these muses have been fairy godmothers and older sisters, as Montlack's introduction explains, and illustrate how complex, sustaining and lifelong are the bonds between gay men and their divas. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“There is something about these larger-than-life stars that represents our yearnings for vindication, in which we see ourselves transcending the difficulties a gay man faces in this world.”—Edward Field, on Gloria Swanson

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Product Details Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press; 1 edition (April 1, 2009) Language: English ISBN-10: 0299231208 ISBN-13: 978-0299231200 Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #613,271 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews 5 star:  (3) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:  (1)           Average Customer Review 4.0 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars You Go Girl, April 16, 2009 By  K. Oshima "graphix_geek" (SF the city of Sin) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This book is a sweet, amazing, collection of short essays that will make you laugh, cry, and cringe - honesty, love, and bi**cyness galore. It's a GREAT read. 3 of 4 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars The Bond, April 8, 2009 By  Amos Lassen (Little Rock, Arkansas) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)       Montlack, Michael, editor. "My Diva: 65 Gay Men on the Women Who Inspire Them", University of Wisconsin Press, 2009. The Bond Amos Lassen There has been something of a bond between gay men and divas who become icons. This has been true forever and before the words icon and diva were part of everyday vocabulary. A diva does not necessarily have to be a famous woman--she can be your sister or your alter ego, a godmother or a model or she can be a star. What she must be is an inspiration for whatever reason someone chooses. If you have ever needed a muse, she can be found here. Sixty-five short essays look at what diva worship is all about and how diverse it is. The book is a tribute to inspiration and it is great fun to read, filled with the joy of life and deeply felt live. We read about famous dives like Bette Midler, Barbra Streisand and of course CHER as well as two Elizabeths--the queen and Taylor, two Dianas--the princess and Miss Ross, Julia Child. There are also personal divas that made the cut. "My Diva" is written with intelligence and style and we get a different look at what a diva is and also that anyone can be one. Divas are there for us when nothing looks good except for them. They provide us with courage and ease our pain and mend out broken hearts The book is a monument to love as it shows us the adoration that many gay men have for certain women. The divas in this book give us creativity and help us understood ourselves better and their free spirits provide ammunition so we can develop out own. 2 of 3 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars An inspiring collection of stories, May 6, 2009 By  Langara "Lawgazer" (Arizona) - See all my reviews Everyone can point to that one famous person in time that inspired them when they were lost, lifted their spirits when they were sad, or gave them the strength to struggle through some hardship or challenge. That's what this book is about; a collection of wonderfully poignant stories about women throughout time who have served as an inspiration, a source of strength, or a guiding light. It's an arrangement of sweet and touching stories that expose the true heart of the authors and reveal the lifeline between the gay man and his diva. I loved it!		Most Recent Customer Reviews 1.0 out of 5 stars Meretricious twaddle A diva is by definition someone who is both larger than life and also fully human, something you would never learn from "My Diva," a collection of 65 or so vignettes that all... Read more Published 5 months ago by Richard S. Wilson Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press; 1 edition (April 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0299231208
• ISBN-13: 978-0299231200
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #613,271 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Go Girl, April 16, 2009

By	K. Oshima "graphix_geek" (SF the city of Sin) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is a sweet, amazing, collection of short essays that will make you laugh, cry, and cringe - honesty, love, and bi**cyness galore. It's a GREAT read.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bond, April 8, 2009

By	Amos Lassen (Little Rock, Arkansas) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Montlack, Michael, editor. "My Diva: 65 Gay Men on the Women Who Inspire Them", University of Wisconsin Press, 2009.

The Bond

Amos Lassen

There has been something of a bond between gay men and divas who become icons. This has been true forever and before the words icon and diva were part of everyday vocabulary.
A diva does not necessarily have to be a famous woman--she can be your sister or your alter ego, a godmother or a model or she can be a star. What she must be is an inspiration for whatever reason someone chooses. If you have ever needed a muse, she can be found here. Sixty-five short essays look at what diva worship is all about and how diverse it is. The book is a tribute to inspiration and it is great fun to read, filled with the joy of life and deeply felt live. We read about famous dives like Bette Midler, Barbra Streisand and of course CHER as well as two Elizabeths--the queen and Taylor, two Dianas--the princess and Miss Ross, Julia Child. There are also personal divas that made the cut.
"My Diva" is written with intelligence and style and we get a different look at what a diva is and also that anyone can be one. Divas are there for us when nothing looks good except for them. They provide us with courage and ease our pain and mend out broken hearts The book is a monument to love as it shows us the adoration that many gay men have for certain women. The divas in this book give us creativity and help us understood ourselves better and their free spirits provide ammunition so we can develop out own.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An inspiring collection of stories, May 6, 2009

By	Langara "Lawgazer" (Arizona) - See all my reviews

Everyone can point to that one famous person in time that inspired them when they were lost, lifted their spirits when they were sad, or gave them the strength to struggle through some hardship or challenge. That's what this book is about; a collection of wonderfully poignant stories about women throughout time who have served as an inspiration, a source of strength, or a guiding light. It's an arrangement of sweet and touching stories that expose the true heart of the authors and reveal the lifeline between the gay man and his diva. I loved it!