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Made Up: An anthology of LGBT fiction from Liverpool and Merseyside
Do you know where Winnie the Pooh currently lives? Are you aware of the real reason Margaret Thatcher pursued her infamous Clause 28 anti-lgbt campaign? And what's it like to relive a Welsh gay love affair whilst sitting on a little green bus? Or spy post-coital Irish lesbians in their second flush of lust? What is the correct answer to the question, What is room? And exactly who does Beryl in the corner shop work for? What about obsession - just how strong can one woman's passion for another be? And finally, why do communists wear make-up? You'll find the answers to these and other questions that you never knew that you needed to know in this collection of Lgbt writing. Mental health, politics, love, sex, infatuation, fun, ballet, and cigarettes are all in the mix. Made Up gives voice to Lgbt Scousers and Merseysiders and those who have chosen Liverpool and it's environs as home. Liverpool is a city (in)famously dubbed "the pool of life" and the writing in this volume falls under that heading. Sad, funny, strange, unique and yet universal, expect the unexpected.
104 pages, Paperback
Published January 10, 2018
7 people want to read
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June 6, 2023
I bought this collection because it featured stories by Joseph Lavelle whose work I admire, I have a soft spot for 20th century UK working class gay writers (I am aware that comes dangerously close to appearing to describe another sort of preference) who were not recognised or given the support and recognition, of and by mainstream publishers or press and as a result have remained obscure and unrecognised. I enjoy reading and reviewing them in the hopes of attracting new readers to their work. Unfortunately I wish I had purchased 'Alone Among the Germans' (I still hope too) because I imagine it would have been a happier reading experience.
The main criticism I have with this volume is that it describes itself as 'An Anthology of New LGBTQ+ Writing from Liverpool and Merseyside' and while the writing was 'new' in the sense that it hasn't been published elsewhere what it was not was a 'new' selection in terms of new voices. It doesn't say that it is but an anthology published in 2018 from the 'Merseyside LGBT Creative Writing Group' should, I thought, include young writers. But it doesn't. Looking at a group photograph of the writers featured it is clear that most of them are of my generation (and I am 65). So we have stories, not very good ones, about Margaret Thatcher and the Miners Strike which was in 1984-85, nearly fifty years ago! How many new generations of writers have come along since then? How much has the world of, to use their own term, LGBTQ+ moved on, changed, faced new battles, etc.? If your passions are trapped making satirical smut about Thatcher what relevance have you?
I don't mean to sound so harsh but I was so disappointed. I remember that in 2001 P-P Harnett an author who I highly recommend you to discover) edited an anthology 'Gay Times Book of Short Stories: The Next Wave' and every story was by an unknown never previously published, mostly but not exclusively young, gay, male authors (not as inclusive as the LGBTQ+ of the anthology under review but equally unknown) and it made, and still makes, fantastic reading. I had hoped for something equally surprising. I was willing to accept that the writers might not all be as polished and professional but I expected new voices, views, insights, and stories. Perhaps they should have had P-P Harnett edit this anthology, after all he recognised in his previous anthology for Gay Times* had included a great story by an unknown writer, Joseph Lavelle.
What we have here are stories that could have been written, and maybe were, decades ago. It is with great sadness that I say this anthology is a waste of time.
*Gay Times is a now defunct UK gay newspaper which at one time had a first rate literary page and gave extensive coverage to literary gay writers. Peter Burton, who I also edited some marvellous anthologies, was responsible for most of this.
The main criticism I have with this volume is that it describes itself as 'An Anthology of New LGBTQ+ Writing from Liverpool and Merseyside' and while the writing was 'new' in the sense that it hasn't been published elsewhere what it was not was a 'new' selection in terms of new voices. It doesn't say that it is but an anthology published in 2018 from the 'Merseyside LGBT Creative Writing Group' should, I thought, include young writers. But it doesn't. Looking at a group photograph of the writers featured it is clear that most of them are of my generation (and I am 65). So we have stories, not very good ones, about Margaret Thatcher and the Miners Strike which was in 1984-85, nearly fifty years ago! How many new generations of writers have come along since then? How much has the world of, to use their own term, LGBTQ+ moved on, changed, faced new battles, etc.? If your passions are trapped making satirical smut about Thatcher what relevance have you?
I don't mean to sound so harsh but I was so disappointed. I remember that in 2001 P-P Harnett an author who I highly recommend you to discover) edited an anthology 'Gay Times Book of Short Stories: The Next Wave' and every story was by an unknown never previously published, mostly but not exclusively young, gay, male authors (not as inclusive as the LGBTQ+ of the anthology under review but equally unknown) and it made, and still makes, fantastic reading. I had hoped for something equally surprising. I was willing to accept that the writers might not all be as polished and professional but I expected new voices, views, insights, and stories. Perhaps they should have had P-P Harnett edit this anthology, after all he recognised in his previous anthology for Gay Times* had included a great story by an unknown writer, Joseph Lavelle.
What we have here are stories that could have been written, and maybe were, decades ago. It is with great sadness that I say this anthology is a waste of time.
*Gay Times is a now defunct UK gay newspaper which at one time had a first rate literary page and gave extensive coverage to literary gay writers. Peter Burton, who I also edited some marvellous anthologies, was responsible for most of this.
Displaying 1 of 1 review