False Clues

by Ron Schreiber

Poetry. Gay/Lesbian Studies. Available again from SPD. Schreiber celebrates in the midst of his pain. I sense a fine almost animal energy, a magnetism, drawing me throughout ... His loving and caring are frank, never sentimental, complete -- Robert Peters. Ron Schreiber's most recent book JOHN (Hanging Loose, 1989) is still available from SPD. He is currently an editior at Hanging Loose Press.

67 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 1978

About the author

Born January 25, 1934, in Chicago, IL; died of pancreatic cancer, August 22, 2004, in Cambridge, MA. Educator, editor, and author. A former professor at the University of Massachusetts—Boston, Schreiber was a poet, advocate of gay literature, and founder of the literary periodicals Things and Hanging Loose. After receiving his B.A. from Wesleyan University in 1955, he served in the U.S. Army for two years, returning to his studies at Columbia, where he earned an M.A. in 1959 and a Ph.D. in 1967. His work with small press publications started with Things, a journal he cofounded and published from 1963 to 1966. Next, after Things went out of business, he began the magazine Hanging Loose, which eventually morphed into a full-fledge publishing house of the same name. While editing Hanging Loose, Schreiber joined the University of Massachusetts—Boston faculty as an assistant professor, eventually rising to the post of full professor, chairing the English department, and retiring as professor emeritus. During the 1970s, he also worked as an editor for the cooperative publishing firm Alice James Books. A tireless advocate for the poems of gay and lesbian authors, Schreiber, who was himself a homosexual, became known for developing innovative classes for the study of gay and lesbian literature. He was the editor of Thirty-one New American Poets (1968) and published several poetry collections, including Living Space (1972), False Clues (1978), and John (1989).

Reviews

[Vasha7 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many of these poems are addressed to friends, or are low-key thoughts on getting along in daily life, and friendship. (Pre-AIDS, we note -- when the gay community that Schreiber talks of was to be so devastated). They are varied enough in form, and acutely observed enough, to make pretty good poetry. And Schreiber is good company.

[Jeff Mancum · Rating 5 out of 5]

favorite poems by favorite poet. Fire