Drifting Toward Love: Black, Brown, Gay, and Coming of Age on the Streetsof New York (Hardcover)

by Kai Wright (Author)
Key Phrases: pier kids, gay kids, queer kids, East New York, Crystal Street, Christopher Street (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Journalist Wright (Soldiers of Freedom) evokes the passage to gay identity for three young men of color in this impressionistic, often disjointed account. The narrative juxtaposes vignettes from the lives—particularly the sexual lives—of Manny, a 14-year-old Brooklynite of Puerto Rican and Jamaican heritage who had leadership skills so natural he was all but unable to control them; Julius, a 22-year-old African-American transplanted from north Florida to New York who is equally capable of stunning achievement and devastating self-destruction; and Carlos, a 25-year-old Puerto Rican who is a caretaker by nature. These are gracefully written, sympathetic profiles, but they are only loosely tied together by the young men's overlap at an informal shelter for queer youth in East New York, Brooklyn. Additionally, Wright's brief historical background— of East New York, Puerto Rico, Greenwich Village and the house ball scene, as well as of theories of homosexuality and reference to diverse statistical studies—reveal that he has done his homework, but this reportage fragments, more than it supports, the already tenuous structure. Wright brings Manny's, Julius's and Carlos's dilemmas, confusion and curiosity to light, but not into sharp focus. (Jan.)
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Review
"Prostitution, homelessness, drugs and violence against gay men of color are all discussed in unflinching, at times wrenchingly intimate detail, alongside touching reminiscences of first love and the initial realization of a "different" sexuality . . . An important book about an often-marginalized group." --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press (January 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807079685
• ISBN-13: 978-0807079683
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,122,138 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exploring Reality, January 4, 2008

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

Wright, Kai. "Drifting Toward Love: Black, Brown, Gay, and Coming of Age on the Streets of New York". Beacon Press, 2008.

Exploring Reality

Amos Lassen

Being homeless is a problem and among the homeless are gay kids of which 25% have dropped out of school because of harassment The rate of HIV among these kids is high and getting higher. Kai Wright writes about this in "Drifting Toward Love" and he reports that these problems are intensified among young men of color. In their search for the basic emotional necessities of life, they have to deal with the pitfalls of the street. Wright looks at three young men--Manny, Julius and Carlos--all of them men of color living in Brooklyn. By using these three, Wright is able to bring forth the issues of how sexual politics affect the lives of many. The topics of prostitution, drugs and violence as well as homelessness are all looked at and examined in great and intimate detail which is accompanied by memories of love and the realization of sexual difference.
We get a voice dealing with the struggles of gay youth of color and even though the book is about New York, what Wright writes about could be true anywhere. The stories he relates are real and they show a ray of hope for the future. The stories of Manny, Julius and Carlos not only tell of their dilemmas but of their confusion and they bring the issues to the written page. It is one thing to hear stories like these, it is another to see them in writing.
These teens are brave, creative and resilient. What they have to go through may rile us to anger but they likewise inspire us. Wright is a journalist who writes like a novelist. What he writes about is truth and he makes us think about the way "at-risk" kids are regarded by the society at large. Wright has the talent of being able to bring together true stories with emotion and thereby give us a picture that makes us examine ourselves.
The community that Wright writes about is one that most of us do not see because we do not care to see it. The book is also wonderful for young people who are realizing their sexuality and negotiating it. It lets them know that they are not alone. All of us had to make difficult choices as we came of age and, I am sure, that the majority of those choices were not made with help from an outside source. "Drifting Toward Love" can serve as that source. Much too often choices are forced upon our youth or the options that do exist are not good. The youth we meet here want and attempt to create a life in which they are free to be whom they are. They believe they can get to a place like that even with the terrible odds that they face. This is a form of heroism in my mind. If we all would feel the way they do, perhaps there would not be so much hatred in the world.

4.0 out of 5 stars drifting toward love: black,brown,gay, December 1, 2008

By	Robert White "rw" (atl,ga) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

this book was a good read i learn a lots like high hate crime is upstate and all around.