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Sceptre Strange Relations Masculinity, Sexuality and Art in Mid-Century America.
'Textured literary portraits of the masculine mind and body'
Raymond Antrobus, author of The Perseverance
In October 1960, James Baldwin and John Cheever spoke on a panel together at San Francisco State College. The troubled state of American society was under discussion, which Baldwin incisively diagnosed as a 'failure of the masculine sensibility'.
Strange Relations explores this crisis in mid-century masculinity and the lives and works of four bisexual writers who fought to express and embody alternate possibilities. Building on Walt Whitman's philosophy of the love between men, Ralf Webb considers the ways in which Tennessee Williams and Carson McCullers, as well as Cheever and Baldwin, resisted in their art, as well as in their relationships, the damaging expectations of contemporary gender and sexuality.
With a curious, intelligent and sensitive gaze, Ralf Webb sheds new light on each writer. Together, these artists offer a powerful and moving argument for a transformative new masculinity, grounded in fluidity, love and intimacy.
'Webb's writing is of a quality rarely seen, and his book returns you to the world slightly changed, equipped with another angle of vision on the quiddity of man'
Diarmuid Hester, author of Nothing Ever Just Disappears
Raymond Antrobus, author of The Perseverance
In October 1960, James Baldwin and John Cheever spoke on a panel together at San Francisco State College. The troubled state of American society was under discussion, which Baldwin incisively diagnosed as a 'failure of the masculine sensibility'.
Strange Relations explores this crisis in mid-century masculinity and the lives and works of four bisexual writers who fought to express and embody alternate possibilities. Building on Walt Whitman's philosophy of the love between men, Ralf Webb considers the ways in which Tennessee Williams and Carson McCullers, as well as Cheever and Baldwin, resisted in their art, as well as in their relationships, the damaging expectations of contemporary gender and sexuality.
With a curious, intelligent and sensitive gaze, Ralf Webb sheds new light on each writer. Together, these artists offer a powerful and moving argument for a transformative new masculinity, grounded in fluidity, love and intimacy.
'Webb's writing is of a quality rarely seen, and his book returns you to the world slightly changed, equipped with another angle of vision on the quiddity of man'
Diarmuid Hester, author of Nothing Ever Just Disappears
- GenresNonfictionQueerLGBT
352 pages, Paperback
Published June 5, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 16, 2025
4.25
I picked this book up at the library because it’s partially about james baldwin (my favourite author) and i thought it sounded interesting. this book was more than interesting though.
it provided a insight into mid-century america, one i am only mildly aware of as a gen-z australian person, and also an insight into 2025. mid century america is a period many would consider us to have greatly distanced ourselves from yet in reading this we clearly are still stuck within many of these ideals. there is a passage that speaks so closely to ‘the male loneliness epidemic’ that i found myself in shock.
the analysis of the featured author’s work and the parallels of it to their lives was fascinating. i had not heard of carson mccullers before reading this (and i did find this part of the book the hardest to get through) but i find myself now wanting to read her work. i learned a lot about the author’s and their work. you do not need to really know their works before reading this as it explains the most important texts.
i found the walt whitman stuff at the start of the book a bit unnecessary, interesting in it’s own right but not desperately tied to the rest of the book. i also found the book generally to sometimes be slightly tangential.
overall, i thoroughly enjoyed this.
I picked this book up at the library because it’s partially about james baldwin (my favourite author) and i thought it sounded interesting. this book was more than interesting though.
it provided a insight into mid-century america, one i am only mildly aware of as a gen-z australian person, and also an insight into 2025. mid century america is a period many would consider us to have greatly distanced ourselves from yet in reading this we clearly are still stuck within many of these ideals. there is a passage that speaks so closely to ‘the male loneliness epidemic’ that i found myself in shock.
the analysis of the featured author’s work and the parallels of it to their lives was fascinating. i had not heard of carson mccullers before reading this (and i did find this part of the book the hardest to get through) but i find myself now wanting to read her work. i learned a lot about the author’s and their work. you do not need to really know their works before reading this as it explains the most important texts.
i found the walt whitman stuff at the start of the book a bit unnecessary, interesting in it’s own right but not desperately tied to the rest of the book. i also found the book generally to sometimes be slightly tangential.
overall, i thoroughly enjoyed this.
February 21, 2025
Actually really enjoyed this but probs would have loved it even more if i’d read any of carson mccullers or tennessee williams lol
September 25, 2025
“Repairing masculinity, addressing that isolation, involves closing off the space between men, which may be no more than a quarter of an inch. It means being able to give affirmative intimacy to one another, and this is only possible if all kinds of intimacy between men - including the possibility of sexual desire and connection - are ratified. […] all forms of affirmative male intimacy, wherein love is the propellant, need to be recognised and endorsed.” In Strange Relations: Masculinity, Sexuality and Art in Mid-Century America, Ralf Webb focuses on a range of 20th century American writers (who we might now put under the umbrella term queer), their lives and works, to explore how masculinity has been in crisis for over a century, how the crisis is rooted in misogyny, patriarchy, imperialism, capitalism, and how it might be solved in time. Using Walt Whitman as a precursor to the c20 writers, Webb sets up ideas of masculinity, homosexuality, and nature as being implicitly connected. From there we jump ahead to the interconnected lives, experiences and work of Tennessee Williams and Carson McCullers, who (in addition to becoming friends and mutual fans) live and write outside the sexual norms of the times, and are often scrutinising and/or skewering masculinity in their writings. (“Why, Tennessee asked himself, ‘do they strike us? What is our offense?’ He knew the answer. It is because ‘we offer them a truth which they cannot bear to confess except in privacy and the dark — a truth which is inherently as bright as the morning sun’.” I loved this, not least as it reminded me of an iconic Shon Faye quote about patriarchy fearing “the gleaming opulence of our freedom”.) From there, Webb looks at John Cheever, addiction and repression, and finally James Baldwin, race and socioeconomics. From ideas of utopia, freedom, struggle and intersectionality to a paragraph referencing both Paul Mescal and The Simpsons (in a move that is surely designed to satisfy me personally), this is a wide-ranging and convincing deep-dive that I enjoyed very much.
October 27, 2025
An interesting insight into the American society’s perception of masculinity and sexuality was through the five writers and their works – Walt Whitman, Carson McCullers, Tennessee Williams, John Cheever and James Baldwin. How rigid, narrow-minded, violent, misogynistic and fragile mindset and belief that the average American men held.
Different writers held their own very takes towards sexuality and masculinity – some were in denial and homophobic; some sought the ultimate form and aim was to be with nature; transfiguration of sexuality and gender through imagination, accepting oneself. Webb reveals the five authors blended their views towards the themes in their works with fluidity and determination.
I was the least familiar with Whitman’s works. I guess the nature of his work being poetic and quite otherworldly with the strive towards the natural world and past made me difficult to comprehend. On the other hand, the lives of McCullers, Williams and Baldwin fascinated me the most. This book makes me want to dig deeper into James Baldwin’s works – the complex intersectionality while maintaining the humanity of the characters. To find out more about McCullers and Williams’ works, and possibly Cheever’s short “Clancy in the Tower of Babel”.
Different writers held their own very takes towards sexuality and masculinity – some were in denial and homophobic; some sought the ultimate form and aim was to be with nature; transfiguration of sexuality and gender through imagination, accepting oneself. Webb reveals the five authors blended their views towards the themes in their works with fluidity and determination.
I was the least familiar with Whitman’s works. I guess the nature of his work being poetic and quite otherworldly with the strive towards the natural world and past made me difficult to comprehend. On the other hand, the lives of McCullers, Williams and Baldwin fascinated me the most. This book makes me want to dig deeper into James Baldwin’s works – the complex intersectionality while maintaining the humanity of the characters. To find out more about McCullers and Williams’ works, and possibly Cheever’s short “Clancy in the Tower of Babel”.
August 2, 2025
Strange Relations is one of the best pieces of cultural criticism I have read in recent years. In biographising the lives of American authors - Walt Whitman, Carson McCullers, Tennessee Williams, John Cheever and James Baldwin - Webb surgically dissects masculinity and sexuality as it presents in life and art, ultimately exposing the chains the American psyche attaches to queer men.
It is difficult for some authors to maintain their through-line, yet Webb consistently brings his well researched critique to the fore whilst deftly pivoting between biography and criticism. I particularly appreciated the way he interweaves the stories of his chosen authors, ensuring they are not self-contained narratives but overlapping experiences. For example, the work of Baldwin is not separate from the life of Williams, rather they are intrinsically related.
I learnt a lot from this book - the introduction and epilogue draw a full circle, and Webb stuns with his ability to lucidly explode the limitations of masculinity and sexuality as to highlight how all these artists sought a love and life grounded in fluidity and intimacy.
It is difficult for some authors to maintain their through-line, yet Webb consistently brings his well researched critique to the fore whilst deftly pivoting between biography and criticism. I particularly appreciated the way he interweaves the stories of his chosen authors, ensuring they are not self-contained narratives but overlapping experiences. For example, the work of Baldwin is not separate from the life of Williams, rather they are intrinsically related.
I learnt a lot from this book - the introduction and epilogue draw a full circle, and Webb stuns with his ability to lucidly explode the limitations of masculinity and sexuality as to highlight how all these artists sought a love and life grounded in fluidity and intimacy.
August 12, 2024
Ralf Webb's "Strange Relations" looks at masculinity, misogyny, homophobia and racism in mid-20th century America through the eyes of four bisexual writers, their influence and responses to their work. The four writers are dramatist Tennessee Williams, novelist Carson McCullers, short story writer and novelist John Cheever and novelist, essayist and civil rights activist James Baldwin. However, before doing so, Webb writes about a 19th century queer poet, who is one of the towering influences on American literature: Walt Whitman, author of "Leaves of Grass", the poetry collection that during his lifetime went through various editions, each edition containing new poetry.
He explores Whitman's belief in the importance - and even the primacy - of a masculinity freed from the cultural restraints that so often distort it, a masculinity that embraces emotional, spiritual and physical closeness. He suggests that Whitman's legacy enables later writers to push the boundaries of what it means to be a man. However, he is not uncritical of Whitman's legacy, arguing that Whitman's emphasis on attributes like virility, athleticism and vigour can feed into gender stereotypes, at the same time as his belief in love between men challenges them.
Carson McCullers was born a woman, but dressed as a man most of the time and had relationships with both men and women. Webb looks at the ways in which her novels - and particularly "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" and "Reflections in a Golden Eye" - challenge accepted gender and sexuality binaries. He also looks at the ways her lifestyle blurred boundaries.
His discussions on the great dramatist Tennessee Williams, who was a close friend of Carson McCullers, look particularly at the way his plays - and particularly his two most famous works "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" - showcase the dangers of toxic masculinity. He also points out that Williams was one of many victims of the censorship that was then a feature in both the theatre and cinema. In the theatre, some scenes had to take place off-stage. And when "A Streetcar Named Desire" was turned into a film, major changes had to be made to the script, with some scenes and references having to be removed or changed.
John Cheever, one of America's greatest short story writers, was a troubled individual who spent so much of his life suppressing his homosexual urges and becoming an alcoholic in the process. He felt his role as a husband and his desire for other men were in contradiction and he was never able to resolve this within his own life. In his many short stories about suburban life, he explored this contradiction, none more so than in "The Swimmer" from 1964, in which the main character, Ned, swims naked in the various ubiquitous pools that adorn suburbia and faces hostility in the process.
Of all these writers, it is the work of James Baldwin which is most explicit in its presentation of male sexuality. In his powerful novels such as "Giovanni's Room" and "Another Country", we see the blurring of gender and sexuality binaries, as well as the tragic consequences of denying who and what one is. In "Another Country" as well as in his non-fiction , he explores racism, including the racism present in many white gay and bisexual men. He also explores homophobia among African-Americans, something that became even more relevant when fellow civil rights activist Eldridge Cleaver attacked Baldwin for writing scenes featuring inter-racial gay sex. At the time, Baldwin felt unable to respond because he didn't want to be seen to be attacking the leader of the Black Panthers.
This is a fascinating look at the work of five great American writers, one that places their work in the context of America's gender, sexual and racial mores of the time.
He explores Whitman's belief in the importance - and even the primacy - of a masculinity freed from the cultural restraints that so often distort it, a masculinity that embraces emotional, spiritual and physical closeness. He suggests that Whitman's legacy enables later writers to push the boundaries of what it means to be a man. However, he is not uncritical of Whitman's legacy, arguing that Whitman's emphasis on attributes like virility, athleticism and vigour can feed into gender stereotypes, at the same time as his belief in love between men challenges them.
Carson McCullers was born a woman, but dressed as a man most of the time and had relationships with both men and women. Webb looks at the ways in which her novels - and particularly "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" and "Reflections in a Golden Eye" - challenge accepted gender and sexuality binaries. He also looks at the ways her lifestyle blurred boundaries.
His discussions on the great dramatist Tennessee Williams, who was a close friend of Carson McCullers, look particularly at the way his plays - and particularly his two most famous works "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" - showcase the dangers of toxic masculinity. He also points out that Williams was one of many victims of the censorship that was then a feature in both the theatre and cinema. In the theatre, some scenes had to take place off-stage. And when "A Streetcar Named Desire" was turned into a film, major changes had to be made to the script, with some scenes and references having to be removed or changed.
John Cheever, one of America's greatest short story writers, was a troubled individual who spent so much of his life suppressing his homosexual urges and becoming an alcoholic in the process. He felt his role as a husband and his desire for other men were in contradiction and he was never able to resolve this within his own life. In his many short stories about suburban life, he explored this contradiction, none more so than in "The Swimmer" from 1964, in which the main character, Ned, swims naked in the various ubiquitous pools that adorn suburbia and faces hostility in the process.
Of all these writers, it is the work of James Baldwin which is most explicit in its presentation of male sexuality. In his powerful novels such as "Giovanni's Room" and "Another Country", we see the blurring of gender and sexuality binaries, as well as the tragic consequences of denying who and what one is. In "Another Country" as well as in his non-fiction , he explores racism, including the racism present in many white gay and bisexual men. He also explores homophobia among African-Americans, something that became even more relevant when fellow civil rights activist Eldridge Cleaver attacked Baldwin for writing scenes featuring inter-racial gay sex. At the time, Baldwin felt unable to respond because he didn't want to be seen to be attacking the leader of the Black Panthers.
This is a fascinating look at the work of five great American writers, one that places their work in the context of America's gender, sexual and racial mores of the time.
March 12, 2025
A book I wouldn’t have picked up but for being on the shadow judging panel for the Sunday Times young writers award. This is a well researched and beautifully written book that examines in detail 4 writers’ literary works with in-depth analysis, weaving a compelling and engaging narrative that brings to life an interesting period in America’s history that is grappling with themes of masculinity, queerness, love and desire. Through the writers lives and works, Webb highlights the fluidity of sexuality and identity and draws parallels to homophobia being a form of misogyny. It is clear Webb is passionate about these writers’ works which are examined in quite some detail. Other than Tennessee Williams’ plays, I’m not familiar with the works of the other writers, which having read this book, does provide unfortunately spoilers for Cullers, Cheevers and Baldwin’s key literary works. I definitely enjoyed the perspectives that Webb shares on TW’s works given my familiarity with his plays as well as the theatre/film adaptations.
July 29, 2025
Strange Relations is more than a cultural history. It’s a moving meditation on the way art, desire, and identity intertwine in the messiness of (hu)man relationships.
Ralf Webb’s bold and intimate debut navigates the emotional landscapes of masculinity, queerness, love, and grief through poetic portraits and fragmented narratives, centering four historical queer figures : Walt Whitman, James Baldwin, John Cheever, and Tennessee Williams.
Webb dissects the tensions between traditional male roles and queer vulnerability with unflinching honesty and lyrical precision. Masculinity, in this collection, is both a burden and a space for reinvention — shaped by class, romantic entanglements, and the longing to be truly seen. His voice is tough, tender, and incisive, offering a powerful reimagining of what it means to be a man, a lover, and an artist.
Strange Relations is a vital read for anyone interested in the intersections of gender, race, sexuality, and creative expression.
Ralf Webb’s bold and intimate debut navigates the emotional landscapes of masculinity, queerness, love, and grief through poetic portraits and fragmented narratives, centering four historical queer figures : Walt Whitman, James Baldwin, John Cheever, and Tennessee Williams.
Webb dissects the tensions between traditional male roles and queer vulnerability with unflinching honesty and lyrical precision. Masculinity, in this collection, is both a burden and a space for reinvention — shaped by class, romantic entanglements, and the longing to be truly seen. His voice is tough, tender, and incisive, offering a powerful reimagining of what it means to be a man, a lover, and an artist.
Strange Relations is a vital read for anyone interested in the intersections of gender, race, sexuality, and creative expression.
July 5, 2024
Webb's work is both a rejoinder to the heteropatriarchal strictures and binaries which render the tenderness between men suspect, and a powerful testament to loving and letting oneself be loved; the tragedy, if there is one, of the lives he draws into conversation with one another is that of the damage done when one refuses or thinks oneself unworthy of desire and affection. Strange Relations is written with great compassion, great humanity, and great poetry--the latter in particular a refreshing thing in works of prose non-fiction.
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October 15, 2024read 26 pages for college
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December 19, 2024will the Polaroid fade or be restored
December 25, 2024
Fantastically written in itself and a wonderful synthesis of these crazy queer writers. This book is a gateway to a future of joyful, historical queer men’s literature.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews