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Passionate Outlier: Gay Writers and Allies on Their Work
“Frank Pizzoli is the ideal interviewer—smart, well informed, interested in his subjects and the worlds in which they operate, and thoroughly engaging as a writer.” –Patrick Merla, former editor of Christopher Street
“If, as writers, activists, and advocates, we stand on the shoulders of all those who came before us, it is our first responsibility to know who they were in their own words. Presented here are 20 interviews and reviews in which my main endeavor was to have each participant adequately portrayed.”–from the introduction of Passionate Gay Writers and Allies on Their Work, the stunning collection of interviews and book reviews from journalist and AIDS activist Frank Pizzoli, featuring an insightful afterword from Christopher Bram, author of Gods and Monsters and Eminent The Gay Writers Who Changed America.
“The interviews in this vital collection offer a thoughtful exploration into the creative minds and unique journeys of the LGBTQ writers who not only documented LGBTQ culture but shaped it.” –William Johnson, Director of National Outreach and Engagement at PEN America and Former Editor, Lambda Literary Review
“A longtime advocate and activist for the LGBTQ+ and HIV+ communities, Frank Pizzoli presents an enlightening retrospective of 20 of his interviews and book reviews, tracing post-Modern queer history in America from pre-Stonewall to the present, through the pioneering people, events, issues, and attitudes that made history. In his signature style, the well-curated selection is a must-read—extensive and incisive, engaging and vital.” –Deb Miller, NYC Editor and Writer, DC Theater Arts
“Frank Pizzoli is a gifted writer and he delightfully delivers compelling interviews that engage the readers. I highly recommend this book.” –JR Pratts, Publisher, Instinct Magazine
In 2010, Frank Pizzoli was named a Living Legend as part of Pennsylvania’s capital city Harrisburg’s sesquicentennial celebrations. His essays, book reviews, profiles, reviews, and interviews with prominent LGBTQ and other authors and celebrities have been published in LA Weekly, Raw Story, Lambda Literary Review, Windy City Times (Chicago), Brooklyn Rail, abc.com, Huffington Post, White Crane Review, Instinct, POZ, HIV Plus, AlterNet.com, Body Positive, New York Blade News, and Washington Blade, among many others, and included in the anthologies Conversations with Edmund White (University of Kentucky Press), and Crashing Edmund White by the Book (ITNA Press). He is the founding publisher and editor of central Pennsylvania’s LGBTQ newspaper The Central Voice. He is founder of the Pennsylvania-based nonprofit agency Positive Opportunities, Inc., a Points of Light Foundation award winner, that provided employment counseling and training for HIV-positive individuals from 1997 to 2017. His HIV work is cited in Queering the New Frontiers in Rural Queer Studies (NYU Press) and chronicled in Out in Central The History of an LGBTQ Community (Penn State University Press, May 2020). Pizzoli currently writes for The Village Voice and Pennsylvania Capital-Star.
“If, as writers, activists, and advocates, we stand on the shoulders of all those who came before us, it is our first responsibility to know who they were in their own words. Presented here are 20 interviews and reviews in which my main endeavor was to have each participant adequately portrayed.”–from the introduction of Passionate Gay Writers and Allies on Their Work, the stunning collection of interviews and book reviews from journalist and AIDS activist Frank Pizzoli, featuring an insightful afterword from Christopher Bram, author of Gods and Monsters and Eminent The Gay Writers Who Changed America.
“The interviews in this vital collection offer a thoughtful exploration into the creative minds and unique journeys of the LGBTQ writers who not only documented LGBTQ culture but shaped it.” –William Johnson, Director of National Outreach and Engagement at PEN America and Former Editor, Lambda Literary Review
“A longtime advocate and activist for the LGBTQ+ and HIV+ communities, Frank Pizzoli presents an enlightening retrospective of 20 of his interviews and book reviews, tracing post-Modern queer history in America from pre-Stonewall to the present, through the pioneering people, events, issues, and attitudes that made history. In his signature style, the well-curated selection is a must-read—extensive and incisive, engaging and vital.” –Deb Miller, NYC Editor and Writer, DC Theater Arts
“Frank Pizzoli is a gifted writer and he delightfully delivers compelling interviews that engage the readers. I highly recommend this book.” –JR Pratts, Publisher, Instinct Magazine
In 2010, Frank Pizzoli was named a Living Legend as part of Pennsylvania’s capital city Harrisburg’s sesquicentennial celebrations. His essays, book reviews, profiles, reviews, and interviews with prominent LGBTQ and other authors and celebrities have been published in LA Weekly, Raw Story, Lambda Literary Review, Windy City Times (Chicago), Brooklyn Rail, abc.com, Huffington Post, White Crane Review, Instinct, POZ, HIV Plus, AlterNet.com, Body Positive, New York Blade News, and Washington Blade, among many others, and included in the anthologies Conversations with Edmund White (University of Kentucky Press), and Crashing Edmund White by the Book (ITNA Press). He is the founding publisher and editor of central Pennsylvania’s LGBTQ newspaper The Central Voice. He is founder of the Pennsylvania-based nonprofit agency Positive Opportunities, Inc., a Points of Light Foundation award winner, that provided employment counseling and training for HIV-positive individuals from 1997 to 2017. His HIV work is cited in Queering the New Frontiers in Rural Queer Studies (NYU Press) and chronicled in Out in Central The History of an LGBTQ Community (Penn State University Press, May 2020). Pizzoli currently writes for The Village Voice and Pennsylvania Capital-Star.
246 pages, Paperback
Published February 18, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 9, 2025
“AN ORAL/CHORAL, LITERARY/SOCIAL HISTORY”
In his introduction to Passionate Outlier: Gay Writers and Allies on their Work, Frank Pizzoli writes: “If, as writers. activists, and advocates, we stand on the shoulders of all those who came before us, it is our first responsibility to know who they were in their own words. Presented here are 20 interviews and reviews in which my main endeavor was to have each participant adequately portrayed.” Pizzoli wonderfully succeeds in his endeavor.
The interviews and reviews in Passionate Outlier date from 2007 to 2019. Most of them were published in the Lambda Literary Review. They appear in the book in the order of their original publication dates. Frank Pizzoli’s enthusiasm at talking with these significant gay literary and cultural figures is contagious and makes for exciting reading. Once I started Passionate Outlier, I couldn’t put it down. I tried to force myself to just read two or three of the pieces at a time, but I couldn’t. I read the book in two sittings.
Pizzoli gives biographical background on each interviewee. He sometimes describes the physical setting in which he conducted the interview. His questions are pertinent and fair, and he provides the interviewees plenty of room to express themselves.
Pizzoli starts with “Edmund White Discusses ‘Gay Culture,’” the perfect piece with which to begin the collection. Pizzoli and White touch on various aspects of gay culture, beginning with the early portrayals of homosexuality by Baldwin and Vidal. I’ll always remember this quote from White: “a lot of the really interesting gay people died off in the 1980s.”
Next, Pizzoli talks with Christopher Bram about his book, Eminent Outlaws: The Gay Writers Who Changed America, then he returns to Edmund White. White says, “Invention and imagination and memory are all good tools for a novelist.” Both Bram and White mention each other in their interviews with Pizzoli. White gives us another quotable line: “Many gays think that if only they could have all the freedoms that straights enjoy, they’d be happy—which seems naïve.” The next piece—the longest piece in the book—is a beautiful conversation with Andrew Holleran, Felice Picano, and Edmund White, the last surviving members of the notorious Violet Quill group of writers.
Pizzoli talks with Martin Duberman about his book, The Martin Duberman Reader: The Essential Historical, Biographic and Autobiographical Writings. This interview could have been conducted in 2025, instead of in 2013. What Pizzoli and Duberman talk about is just as relevant to today as when the interview took place. Duberman had just finished writing his important book on Michael Callen and Essex Hemphill. Duberman’s definitions of “liberal” and “radical” should be taken into consideration by today’s activists: “By ‘liberal’ I mean those who believe we already have the finest set of institutions in the world and the only change needed is marginal. By contrast, ‘radicals’ believe that inequality has become institutionalized and what is needed is a top-to-bottom renovation.” This is my favorite interview in the book
I’m so glad that Pizzoli included his interview from 2014 with John Rechy, one of our absolute icons. They hit on many significant topics, including assimilation, gay marriage, and gays in the military. Rechy, forever the outlaw: “I hope we never become ‘straight impersonators.’” After Rechy, Pizzoli talks with Felice Picano. During this lively interview, Picano observes: “It is the job of a writer to convey a world that is gone.” Sadly, Felice Picano passed away in March 2025.
I’ve only commented on six of the twenty interviews and reviews in Passionate Outlier. The other fourteen pieces, whose subjects include Sean Strub, Christopher Isherwood, Gore Vidal, Anne-christine d’Adesky, and Daniel Mendelsohn, among others, are just as engrossing as the ones I’ve mentioned. I have only two criticisms of this book: The proofreading and copyediting could have been better. And, I wanted more interviews and reviews.
In his afterword to Passionate Outlier, Christopher Bram writes: “There’s an enormous amount of gay literary history in this well-orchestrated chorus of voices. It’s an oral/choral, literary/social history.” Grab a copy of this marvelous collection of interviews and reviews and settle down for a fascinating read.
In his introduction to Passionate Outlier: Gay Writers and Allies on their Work, Frank Pizzoli writes: “If, as writers. activists, and advocates, we stand on the shoulders of all those who came before us, it is our first responsibility to know who they were in their own words. Presented here are 20 interviews and reviews in which my main endeavor was to have each participant adequately portrayed.” Pizzoli wonderfully succeeds in his endeavor.
The interviews and reviews in Passionate Outlier date from 2007 to 2019. Most of them were published in the Lambda Literary Review. They appear in the book in the order of their original publication dates. Frank Pizzoli’s enthusiasm at talking with these significant gay literary and cultural figures is contagious and makes for exciting reading. Once I started Passionate Outlier, I couldn’t put it down. I tried to force myself to just read two or three of the pieces at a time, but I couldn’t. I read the book in two sittings.
Pizzoli gives biographical background on each interviewee. He sometimes describes the physical setting in which he conducted the interview. His questions are pertinent and fair, and he provides the interviewees plenty of room to express themselves.
Pizzoli starts with “Edmund White Discusses ‘Gay Culture,’” the perfect piece with which to begin the collection. Pizzoli and White touch on various aspects of gay culture, beginning with the early portrayals of homosexuality by Baldwin and Vidal. I’ll always remember this quote from White: “a lot of the really interesting gay people died off in the 1980s.”
Next, Pizzoli talks with Christopher Bram about his book, Eminent Outlaws: The Gay Writers Who Changed America, then he returns to Edmund White. White says, “Invention and imagination and memory are all good tools for a novelist.” Both Bram and White mention each other in their interviews with Pizzoli. White gives us another quotable line: “Many gays think that if only they could have all the freedoms that straights enjoy, they’d be happy—which seems naïve.” The next piece—the longest piece in the book—is a beautiful conversation with Andrew Holleran, Felice Picano, and Edmund White, the last surviving members of the notorious Violet Quill group of writers.
Pizzoli talks with Martin Duberman about his book, The Martin Duberman Reader: The Essential Historical, Biographic and Autobiographical Writings. This interview could have been conducted in 2025, instead of in 2013. What Pizzoli and Duberman talk about is just as relevant to today as when the interview took place. Duberman had just finished writing his important book on Michael Callen and Essex Hemphill. Duberman’s definitions of “liberal” and “radical” should be taken into consideration by today’s activists: “By ‘liberal’ I mean those who believe we already have the finest set of institutions in the world and the only change needed is marginal. By contrast, ‘radicals’ believe that inequality has become institutionalized and what is needed is a top-to-bottom renovation.” This is my favorite interview in the book
I’m so glad that Pizzoli included his interview from 2014 with John Rechy, one of our absolute icons. They hit on many significant topics, including assimilation, gay marriage, and gays in the military. Rechy, forever the outlaw: “I hope we never become ‘straight impersonators.’” After Rechy, Pizzoli talks with Felice Picano. During this lively interview, Picano observes: “It is the job of a writer to convey a world that is gone.” Sadly, Felice Picano passed away in March 2025.
I’ve only commented on six of the twenty interviews and reviews in Passionate Outlier. The other fourteen pieces, whose subjects include Sean Strub, Christopher Isherwood, Gore Vidal, Anne-christine d’Adesky, and Daniel Mendelsohn, among others, are just as engrossing as the ones I’ve mentioned. I have only two criticisms of this book: The proofreading and copyediting could have been better. And, I wanted more interviews and reviews.
In his afterword to Passionate Outlier, Christopher Bram writes: “There’s an enormous amount of gay literary history in this well-orchestrated chorus of voices. It’s an oral/choral, literary/social history.” Grab a copy of this marvelous collection of interviews and reviews and settle down for a fascinating read.
Read
February 25, 2025Jerry L. Wheeler, Out in Print
Having a background in entertainment journalism, I always enjoy interviewers who ask not only the tough questions but the well thought out ones. After all, the subject isn’t going to do the research. It falls to the interviewer, and not everyone can do it well. Frank Pizzoli has a gift for coming up with the telling question that reveals something of himself as it seeks information from his subject, and Passionate Outliers collects some of his (and their) finest moments.
Pizzoli has been actively involved in the community for a number of years, so his contacts and subjects range far and wide on the gay spectrum, from the well-known literati to artists to historians. Among the latter, I particularly enjoyed his interview with painter Duncan Hannah, his analysis of Susan Quinn’s book about Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hicks, and the interview he did with Michael Mewshaw regarding Mewshaw’s relationship with Gore Vidal. I’ve always found Vidal too intimidating to enjoy, but regarding him through Mewshaw’s lens (via Pizzoli’s questions) is a different experience and may tempt me to try Kalki again.
Of course, the cultural touchstones are here: Edmund White, Andrew Holleran, Felice Picano, Christopher Bram, Martin Duberman, and John Rechey to name a few. White and Picano have separate interviews and also form part of a triple-header with Holleran as Pizzoli tackles the Violet Quill gang in a freewheeling exchange. And in addition to Christopher Bram’s interview on the publication of his Eminent Outlaws: The Gay Writers Who Changed America, Bram also supplied an afterword to this volume, giving context to Pizzoli’s work. The interview with John Rechy is also full of wonderful bits.
This volume of interviews couldn’t be more timely than to come at the start of one of the most repressive eras we’ve faced in America. The originality, courage, talent, and sheer heart of our community reflected in these pages can and will sustain us, reminding us we have always been here and always will be.
Having a background in entertainment journalism, I always enjoy interviewers who ask not only the tough questions but the well thought out ones. After all, the subject isn’t going to do the research. It falls to the interviewer, and not everyone can do it well. Frank Pizzoli has a gift for coming up with the telling question that reveals something of himself as it seeks information from his subject, and Passionate Outliers collects some of his (and their) finest moments.
Pizzoli has been actively involved in the community for a number of years, so his contacts and subjects range far and wide on the gay spectrum, from the well-known literati to artists to historians. Among the latter, I particularly enjoyed his interview with painter Duncan Hannah, his analysis of Susan Quinn’s book about Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hicks, and the interview he did with Michael Mewshaw regarding Mewshaw’s relationship with Gore Vidal. I’ve always found Vidal too intimidating to enjoy, but regarding him through Mewshaw’s lens (via Pizzoli’s questions) is a different experience and may tempt me to try Kalki again.
Of course, the cultural touchstones are here: Edmund White, Andrew Holleran, Felice Picano, Christopher Bram, Martin Duberman, and John Rechey to name a few. White and Picano have separate interviews and also form part of a triple-header with Holleran as Pizzoli tackles the Violet Quill gang in a freewheeling exchange. And in addition to Christopher Bram’s interview on the publication of his Eminent Outlaws: The Gay Writers Who Changed America, Bram also supplied an afterword to this volume, giving context to Pizzoli’s work. The interview with John Rechy is also full of wonderful bits.
This volume of interviews couldn’t be more timely than to come at the start of one of the most repressive eras we’ve faced in America. The originality, courage, talent, and sheer heart of our community reflected in these pages can and will sustain us, reminding us we have always been here and always will be.
March 12, 2026
"Passionate Outlier" is a strong and essential read, even if its opening moments initially left me slightly disoriented as I jumped directly into the essays. Once grounded, however, the collection reveals its real power. I was struck by how seamlessly Frank Pizzoli balances intimate reflection with unfiltered reporting, allowing deeply personal moments to coexist with sharp, clear-eyed journalism.
The collection captures the texture of queer life across generations, layering individual experience with conversations that situate those stories within a broader legacy of struggle, resilience, and cultural change. The book—and Pizzoli’s life’s work—makes clear that being a “passionate outlier” is not a label to claim, but a commitment to showing up, telling the truth, and living fully.
For younger readers, ''Passionate Outlier'' offers a rare and invaluable window into the people and movements that paved today’s path toward visibility and recognition. For older readers, it functions as both reflection and recognition: a reminder of the battles fought, the losses endured, and the breakthroughs hard-won. The book speaks directly to the connective tissue between generations, preserving voices that might otherwise fade while urging today’s LGBTQ+ community to understand itself as part of a long, continuous lineage.
Above all, Pizzoli’s writing reinforces the idea that telling the truth—about ourselves, our communities, and our history—is itself a form of activism. His life and work, cited in landmark studies such as ''Queering the Countryside'' and ''Out in Central Pennsylvania'', demonstrate how journalism and storytelling shape culture far beyond the page. ''Passionate Outlier'' captures that impact with clarity and heart.
This is an essential read that I will indeed revisit again: a work that honors where we have been, clarifies where we are, and strengthens the foundation for those still finding their way. Pizzoli gives readers not only the record of a life, but the blueprint of a legacy.
The collection captures the texture of queer life across generations, layering individual experience with conversations that situate those stories within a broader legacy of struggle, resilience, and cultural change. The book—and Pizzoli’s life’s work—makes clear that being a “passionate outlier” is not a label to claim, but a commitment to showing up, telling the truth, and living fully.
For younger readers, ''Passionate Outlier'' offers a rare and invaluable window into the people and movements that paved today’s path toward visibility and recognition. For older readers, it functions as both reflection and recognition: a reminder of the battles fought, the losses endured, and the breakthroughs hard-won. The book speaks directly to the connective tissue between generations, preserving voices that might otherwise fade while urging today’s LGBTQ+ community to understand itself as part of a long, continuous lineage.
Above all, Pizzoli’s writing reinforces the idea that telling the truth—about ourselves, our communities, and our history—is itself a form of activism. His life and work, cited in landmark studies such as ''Queering the Countryside'' and ''Out in Central Pennsylvania'', demonstrate how journalism and storytelling shape culture far beyond the page. ''Passionate Outlier'' captures that impact with clarity and heart.
This is an essential read that I will indeed revisit again: a work that honors where we have been, clarifies where we are, and strengthens the foundation for those still finding their way. Pizzoli gives readers not only the record of a life, but the blueprint of a legacy.
February 25, 2025
Opening Frank Pizzoli’s book, Passionate Outlier: Gay Writers and Allies on Their Work, is like opening a treasure chest and finding gold. As a writer writing about authors and their books, Frank offers the reader a treasure of book titles for us to put on our never-ending list of next reads. Pizzoli’s interview questions are clever, studied, and suited for today. The open, yet nuanced responses from the various authors offer great insights into their writing and their thinking.
Passionate Outlier offers a rich, informative history of the queer community in a manner that keeps readers engaged with interesting stories and memories many of us will read about for the first time. Frank Pizzoli’s book is filled with the passion that comes from writers who have lived a life of community activism and commitment to the people within their community.
Passionate Outlier offers a rich, informative history of the queer community in a manner that keeps readers engaged with interesting stories and memories many of us will read about for the first time. Frank Pizzoli’s book is filled with the passion that comes from writers who have lived a life of community activism and commitment to the people within their community.
April 10, 2025
If you have read the prominent, canonical mostly gay or allied authors you must read these interviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews