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Divertika
very rare
246 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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March 25, 2026
From the anthologies flyleaf:
"'Divertika' is an anthology containing a broad spectrum of writing from well known authors and those less familiar. In all twenty eight separate works.
"There is a beautiful story 'Moustache' by Richard Gold making his debut; a transcribed interview with David Stevens, who wrote the play and subsequent film script, 'The Sum of Us'; lesbian fables from internationally acclaimed Suniti Namjoshi; a film script, 'Status' from one of Australia's most promising young film makers, Stephen Cummins, who died before the film could be made; a chapter from Kate Cumming's book, 'Katherine's Diary' describing her transsexual operation; two delightful stories from Canadian, David Dakar, on dinner party etiquette: a touch of S&M from David King; a virgin Madi Gras experience by Pamela May and a host of other tales exploring lives and living other than the mainstream.
"'Divertika' will Challenge the reader with a breadth of excellent writing that illuminates the hopes and fears of queers, and the astonishing diversity of queer life."
I've included the above because GR gives no information and because, although I cannot remember why I bought this (I don't know why GR calls this item 'rare' I certainly didn't pay much for it and I have seen it for sale at reasonable prices) I was under the misapprehension that it was an anthology of 'Australian' gay and lesbian writing - strictly speaking it isn't but the majority of the authors are from Australia or New Zealand - and it is only for those writers that I would recommend anyone reading this anthology - though more as a time capsule look at Australasian gay life in the mid 1990s (it was published in 1995).
I am a great reader and lover of anthologies but it is an unfortunate truth that although the best are very good those that aren't are likely to be 'parish' magazines including pieces and authors to ensure everyone gets a look in without worrying to much about quality. I always think the sign of a good anthology is if I come away from it with at least one author I want to read more by. In the case of Divertika I did - James McQueen - but McQueen throws up problems that I encounter with many gay anthologies particularly ones from the 1990s.
McQueen was a substantial literary figure in the 1990s (see my footnote *1 below) but as far I can discover he was not any of the LBGT+ permutations of sub groups so the inclusion of a story by him in an anthology dedicated to 'writing that illuminates the hopes and fears of queers, and the astonishing diversity of queer life' somewhat surprising. But in the UK and USA at this time gay anthologies used to include stories by authors like Graham Greene and William Trevor, neither of whom are gay, and I can't help feeling that having a brand name author overcame any consideration of whom should be included in these anthologies.
It is not a bad anthology but not enough first class work is here waiting to be rediscovered and what was significant at the time like the interview with David Stevens (I must admit I had to Google 'The Sum of Us') now seem completely passe. I give it three stars out of kindness.
*1 If you know nothing about James McQueen (1934 -1998) I recommend looking at his Wikipedia entry at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_M.... When I read he only began writing full time when he was nearly 40 after working as a factory hand, window dresser, ship's cook, weather observer, fruit picker, truck driver and accountant it brought tears to my eyes for an age when a writer wasn't a product of creative writing courses or university employment. How good a writer he is may take me some time to discover as he is no longer in print and despite having been published in the UK and USA the only source for second hand copies of his books appears to be Australia.
"'Divertika' is an anthology containing a broad spectrum of writing from well known authors and those less familiar. In all twenty eight separate works.
"There is a beautiful story 'Moustache' by Richard Gold making his debut; a transcribed interview with David Stevens, who wrote the play and subsequent film script, 'The Sum of Us'; lesbian fables from internationally acclaimed Suniti Namjoshi; a film script, 'Status' from one of Australia's most promising young film makers, Stephen Cummins, who died before the film could be made; a chapter from Kate Cumming's book, 'Katherine's Diary' describing her transsexual operation; two delightful stories from Canadian, David Dakar, on dinner party etiquette: a touch of S&M from David King; a virgin Madi Gras experience by Pamela May and a host of other tales exploring lives and living other than the mainstream.
"'Divertika' will Challenge the reader with a breadth of excellent writing that illuminates the hopes and fears of queers, and the astonishing diversity of queer life."
I've included the above because GR gives no information and because, although I cannot remember why I bought this (I don't know why GR calls this item 'rare' I certainly didn't pay much for it and I have seen it for sale at reasonable prices) I was under the misapprehension that it was an anthology of 'Australian' gay and lesbian writing - strictly speaking it isn't but the majority of the authors are from Australia or New Zealand - and it is only for those writers that I would recommend anyone reading this anthology - though more as a time capsule look at Australasian gay life in the mid 1990s (it was published in 1995).
I am a great reader and lover of anthologies but it is an unfortunate truth that although the best are very good those that aren't are likely to be 'parish' magazines including pieces and authors to ensure everyone gets a look in without worrying to much about quality. I always think the sign of a good anthology is if I come away from it with at least one author I want to read more by. In the case of Divertika I did - James McQueen - but McQueen throws up problems that I encounter with many gay anthologies particularly ones from the 1990s.
McQueen was a substantial literary figure in the 1990s (see my footnote *1 below) but as far I can discover he was not any of the LBGT+ permutations of sub groups so the inclusion of a story by him in an anthology dedicated to 'writing that illuminates the hopes and fears of queers, and the astonishing diversity of queer life' somewhat surprising. But in the UK and USA at this time gay anthologies used to include stories by authors like Graham Greene and William Trevor, neither of whom are gay, and I can't help feeling that having a brand name author overcame any consideration of whom should be included in these anthologies.
It is not a bad anthology but not enough first class work is here waiting to be rediscovered and what was significant at the time like the interview with David Stevens (I must admit I had to Google 'The Sum of Us') now seem completely passe. I give it three stars out of kindness.
*1 If you know nothing about James McQueen (1934 -1998) I recommend looking at his Wikipedia entry at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_M.... When I read he only began writing full time when he was nearly 40 after working as a factory hand, window dresser, ship's cook, weather observer, fruit picker, truck driver and accountant it brought tears to my eyes for an age when a writer wasn't a product of creative writing courses or university employment. How good a writer he is may take me some time to discover as he is no longer in print and despite having been published in the UK and USA the only source for second hand copies of his books appears to be Australia.
Displaying 1 of 1 review