Wild Animals I Have Known: Polk Street Diaries and After [Paperback]

Kevin Bentley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 28, 2002

Kevin Bentley faithfully kept a frank, literate diary of his experiences as a young gay man living in San Francisco in the 1970s. In passages that are arousing, thoughtful, and funny, he details a scene of unrivaled sexual hedonism. First and foremost an erotic record, Wild Animals I Have Known is also the diary of a bookish, terrified, exuberantly promiscuous, and laughably romantic gay man’s exploits during the heyday of San Francisco’s gay bohemia. “[Bentley’s] writing is direct, intelligent, savagely funny, and very, very erotic.” — Kevin Dax, author of D.O.C. Lust Letters

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

In the late 70s there was a massive migration of young gay men to San Francisco. They left home in droves, travelling by plane, bus, Pinyo or Volkswagen. Struggling to make ends meet, many worked in bookstores and restaurants, all the while taking advantage of a scene of sexual hedonism.

"Hope springs eternal for young KB, who blows into San Francisco in 1977 at the age of 21 and sees romantic possibility in every denim bulge, every cruisy glance, every trail of kisses that leads to bed. A literate and literary observer, he unapologetically guides the reader -- squirt by squirt -- through a tempestuous era, surviving fire, earthquake, plague, psychotic boyfriends, and other natural disasters with humor and libido intact. I was moved to find an entire emotional life crammed into these pages: loss, love, fear, doubt, joy." --Don Shewey, author of "Sam Shepard," contributor to "Best Gay Erotica 2000"

"Unrepentant in its frank look at sex, while at the same time subtly addressing the complexities of relationships and the human heart, Wild Animals I Have Known recalls The Orton Diaries and Notes of a Desolate Man in both its honesty and directness ... Erotic, funny, sad, and devastatingly true." --Mitch Cullin, author of Tidelands

"Very moving and also very unusual, these exciting diaries are filled with warmth, humor, San Francisco history, and the fascination of an honest and courageous life." --Jerry Rosco, author of Glenway Wescott Personally

Product Details

• Paperback: 270 pages
• Publisher: Green Candy Press (January 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931160082
• ISBN-13: 978-1931160087
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #414,218 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #54 in Books > Gay & Lesbian > Biographies & Memoirs > Gay

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Puts the sex back into homosexuality., May 7, 2002

By 

Jesse Monteagudo "book nook" (Plantation, Florida USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wild Animals I Have Known: Polk Street Diaries and After (Paperback)

Too much gay writing these days tries to ignore the very thing that makes us gay - men having sex with men. Kevin Bentley's frank diary entries puts gay sex where it belongs, right in the center of his narrative.

Memoirs of gay life in San Francisco's golden age - between Stonewall and AIDS - are precious and few, in part because so many of the men who lived during that period are dead. "Wild Animals I Have Known", in my humble opinion, is the best memoir of 1970's San Francisco gay life that I have read so far. Though Bentley is as apolitical as most gays then or now - he ignored Harvey Milk and spent the White Night Riots getting the clap from a trick on a rooftop - by living an openly gay life he acted out the ideals of gay liberation. Bravo, Kevin!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A dramatic, vividly portrayed, and legendary gay milieu, July 6, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wild Animals I Have Known: Polk Street Diaries and After (Paperback)

Kevin Bentley's remarkable memoir, Wild Animals I Have Known: Polk Street Diaries And After, is set in San Francisco during the late 1970s and is based on Bentley's personal diary. In 1997 he was 21 years old, bookish, exuberantly promiscuous, laughably romantic, terrified new arrival. A young gay man arrived in the "gay mecca" that was San Francisco, a place where he would stay until his fortieth year. Here detailed are the gay bars, baths, a quirky old financial district book store, a funky apartment building on Nob Hill, street fairs, and side trips to Monterey, Santa Fe, and even West Texas. But it is the stories of love, sex, self-doubt, friendship, and unapologetic partying that comprised the basic elements of the gay lifestyle that truly grab the reader's total attention. Wild Animals I Have Known is an autobiographical "picture window back through time" offering a dramatic, vividly portrayed, and legendary gay milieu.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Real-Life "Tales", May 7, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Wild Animals I Have Known: Polk Street Diaries and After (Paperback)

If you liked Armistead Maupin's fictionalized tales of 70s-era San Francisco, you'll find Kevin Bentley's memoir a fascinating complement to them--or a wonderful stand-alone read. Bentley's diaries detail his coming of age and his hunt for Mr. Right and Mr. Right Now in San Francisco's glory days. Funny, graceful, dirty, and moving--what a great mix! I highly recommend this.