An Army of Ex-Lovers: My life at the Gay Community News

by Amy Hoffman

Boston's weekly Gay Community News was "the center of the universe" during the late 1970s, writes Amy Hoffman in this memoir of gay liberation before AIDS, before gay weddings, and before The L Word. Provocative, informative, inspiring, and absurd, with a small circulation but a huge influence, Gay Community News produced a generation of leaders, writers, and friends. In addition to capturing the heady atmosphere of the times―the victories, controversies, and tragedies―Hoffman's memoir is also her personal story, written with wit and insight, of growing up in a political movement; of her deepening relationships with charismatic, talented, and sometimes utterly weird coworkers; and of trying to explain it all to her large Jewish family.

Genres: Nonfiction, LGBT, Memoir, Lesbian, Queer

166 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Amy Hoffman is a writer, editor, and long-time LGBTQ community activist in Boston. She is editor in chief of Women's Review of Books and on the creative nonfiction faculty of the Solstice MFA Program at Pine Manor College. When she is not writing, she likes reading, cooking, biking, yoga, and hanging out with her friends & her spouse, Roberta Stone. Hoffman is available to visit your book group.

Reviews

[Vivienne Overstreet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I now feel very informed. Even though most of this book was this one woman’s ideas and experiences, it all tied into bigger things and it was written in a way that made it really interesting, which I think is rare in memoirs. The people it described were fascinating and the story really brought to light a lot of things I hadn’t thought about before.

[Harneen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed everything about this book. Thanks to Amy Hoffman for capturing an important piece of history about our movement. Anyone wanting to learn more about the LGBT community and from whence we came, this is an accessible and terrific read.

[Shannon MacArthur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sorry that I can't recommend this book. I was excited to read a first hand account of the (the?) early GLBT movement in the Boston area. But the story was curiously flat and the writing wasn't very good. I work a block away from the location where most of the events in this book took place and the book gave me no feeling for it. For great social/historical perspective on Boston, but focusing on race - read 'On Common Ground' by J. Anthony Lukas.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wish it were a tad more gossipy, and to be totally honest, edited. This book needed an editor. I just wanted the author to pick a strand and go with it - gay history, her personal story, Boston history, something. But still, I read it in about 3 days. That must mean something, no?