The Queer Bible: Essays

by Jack Guinness (Editor)

'We stand on the shoulders of giants. Now we learn their names.'

THE QUEER BIBLE is a collection of essays written by queer icons, about the queer trailblazers throughout history who inspired them.

From Elton John on Divine to Graham Norton on Armistead Maupin; Russell Tovey on David Robilliard to Lady Phyll on Moud Goba; Tan France on the Queer Eye cast to Mae Martin on Tim Curry, today's queer heroes write about the icons that provided a creative inspiration to them. Other contributors include Amelia Abraham, Paula Akpan, Courtney Act, Munroe Bergdorf, Mykki Blanco, Joseph Cassara, David Furnish, Paul Flynn, Paris Lees, Juliet Jacques, Gus Kenworthy, Freddy McConnell, Paul Mendez, Mark Moore, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Hanne Gaby Odiele and Matthew Todd. Each essay is accompanied by exclusive, bespoke illustrations by queer or ally artists, to create a truly beautiful celebration of queer culture.

Based on the popular website QueerBible.com, founded by model and activist Jack Guinness, this timely collection, edited by him, continues his mission - to create a space dedicated to the celebration of queer history.

The Queer Bible is a love letter to the LGBTQI+ community and its allies.

Genres: Nonfiction, LGBT, Queer, Essays, History, Audiobook, Anthologies

320 pages, Hardcover

First published June 15, 2021

Reviews

[Emily B · Rating 5 out of 5]

As well as being entertaining this book was also informative and inspiring not just for those in the LGBTQI+ community.

I also came away from this book with a bunch of other books to read, art to look into and films to watch.

I listened to the audiobook and it was great to hear some of the writers read their own essays however it meant I missed out on the illustrations

[Anna Avian · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a book that claims to be a "Bible" there should have been more diverse stories and notable figures involved. The very scarce number of lesbian sections was something that was a disappointment for me personally. Also, if the authors of the essays had read them themselves it would have sounded far more authentic and emotional.

[Larry H · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

The Queer Bible is such a terrific and inspiring concept!!

While this would have been perfect for Pride Month, I was still excited to get this book. It’s a collection of essays written by queer people about the queer people and cultural phenomena that inspired them, and each essay is illustrated by a queer or ally artist.

“The moment young people realize that they’re LGBTQIA they can instantly feel cut off from those around them. They feel separated from the very people they should feel closest to—their friends and families....This is the book I wish I’d read when I was growing up,” remarked Jack Guinness, the book’s editor, in his foreword.

This is such an enjoyable, rich resource. The essays are written about celebrities, actors, musicians, authors, and changemakers, as well as movies and television programs. I’ve heard of some but not all, and the authors of these essays are both familiar—Elton John and Gus Kenworthy, to name two—and people I had the chance to learn about as well.

I really found The Queer Bible fascinating. I mean, where can you read a book that talks about Adam Rippon, George Michael, James Baldwin, Pedro Almodóvar, Harvey Fierstein, Susan Sontag, Queer Eye , and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert ? This is definitely one of those books where you can open it at any page and find something really interesting to read about. And you'll never find yourself bored, because you'll just keep discovering something new.

Thanks to Dey Street Books and William Morrow Books for the complimentary copy in exchange for an unbiased review! This would make a really great gift.

Check out my list of the best books I read in 2020 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2020.html.

See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.

Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.

[Wojciech Szot · Rating 3 out of 5]

David Bowie i George Michael chyba już wszystkim są znani jako ikony kultury queerowej. O Vaginal Davies czy Divine mogliście nie słyszeć.

Dzisiaj w GW odpowiadam na pytanie dlaczego warto sięgnąć po "Biblię queeru", choć nie ukrywam, że jestem sceptyczny, zwłaszcza wobec pseudokampowego stylu, który po polsku wypada naiwnie i często jest okropnym pustosłowiem.

Stworzona przez pochodzącego ze słynnej piwowarskiej rodziny brytyjskiego modela i pisarza Jacka Guinessa "Biblia queeru" to kilkanaście osobistych esejów poświęconych ikonom kultury queer. Ikonom globalnym, ale też tym mniej znanym. Guiness zaprosił do napisania książki brytyjskich lub mieszkających na Wyspach, dziennikarzy i dziennikarki, stąd wybór nazwisk, które pojawiają się w "Biblii queer" oddaje raczej tamtejszą perspektywę.

(...)

Ten osobisty, a niekiedy można powiedzieć, konfesyjny i jednak egocentryczny ton esejów zawartych w "Biblii" sprawia, że czytelnik, który od lat nie śledzi brytyjskiej czy amerykańskiej sceny queerowej będzie z trudem przebijał się przez informacje tu podane. Jednocześnie jest to szansa na spędzenie długich, nieproduktywnych godzin przed komputerem z jasnym usprawiedliwieniem pt. poszerzanie horyzontów. Osobista narracja jest wymuszona przez okoliczności - osoby queerowe swoją historią i na własnym przykładzie chcą dodać otuchy kolejnym pokoleniom, które choć mają w popkulturze już tysiące postaci, z którymi mogą się identyfikować, to wciąż spotykają się z przemocą i wykluczeniem. - Odwaga Divine jest dla mnie wiecznie żywą inspiracją - pisze Elton John, którego odwaga również jest dla wielu inspiracją, nie tylko do zakładania zwariowanych okularów czy smokingów.

Więcej tutaj: https://wyborcza.pl/7,75517,28555577,...

[Verónica Fleitas Solich · Rating 4 out of 5]

An expression of life, culture and creativity.
Art reaffirming us as human beings and demonstrating the impact it can have, especially in communities that do not find support in the closest links.
With these essays it is clear the need for representation, support and respect that the community in its entire spectrum, needs and deserves.

[Philip Shade · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Queer Bible is a collection of essays by contemporary LGBQTIA celebrities and writers about their queer icons. It's an imperfect collection, essays vary in quality and focus, but overall I really enjoyed it.

There are the expected essays by stars like Elton John (writing about Divine), and essays about classic icons as David Bowie & Tim Curry but there are also authors and subjects from the 21st century; like Tan from Queer Eye, and queer-punk Vaginal Davis. The stories tell often more about the author: their families, histories, how LGBTQ+ people were treated in their youth versus today.

In addition to the celebration of LGBTQ+ culture (Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Rocky Horror, Pride parades, et al) there is also a recurring theme of humanization of community members to mainstream society which had often only portrayed members as limp-wrist stereotypes and the target of jokes. I don't know that this collection would change the mind of any hardened bigots but I do think it achieves it's goals by creating a repository of personal tails of life and self-discovery.

[Ionarr · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wish people would stop using "queer," but particularly LGBT/LGBTQ/LGBTQ+ when they actually mean "gay men, and I guess some trans people and lesbians." Use an accurate acronym. If you mean GLT, use that.

Normally I attempt at least some kind of objectivity in my reviews, not least so I can look back and see what I thought of certain books in a way that's useful to me. This book states that it is aiming to give voice to people about their icons, to foster a sense of history and community, and to provide a book where queer people can feel seen and valid. Therefore, I'm going to do a slightly different thing: I'm going to review this book by how it made me feel.

Reading this book made me feel unwanted and unwelcome. It made me feel like I didn't exist, or if I did I certainly shouldn't be acknowledged. It made me feel dirty, wrong, and a little bit crazy, like I didn't know my own mind. It perfectly encapsulated why I have gone from actively neglecting areas of my life to be involved in LGBTQ activism and groups to pulling back almost entirely for the sake of my mental health. I chose this book specifically because I know that biphobia is a sadly expected and standard part of queer books, and especially non-fiction, and I was hoping - perhaps naïvely - that with such a breadth of authors and topics, even if 75% of the essays didn't make me feel included, there'd be at least a small handful that did, that acknowledged bisexuality or at least sexuality beyond a binary or gendered limit in a way that resonated with me. Instead, I found that people who were explicitly and vocally bisexual not only had their bisexuality ignored but were SPECIFICALLY STATED to be gay or straight. Can you fucking imagine if a cis gay man was cited in a book of queer essays as actually straight/bisexual? How the FUCK did that get through editing as the appropriate way to represent the only bisexual people in this entire anthology? Is this some kind of new game, see how far we can go to convince the filthy bis they aren't here, aren't queer, and need to shut up and pick a gender to fuck like the rest of us real queers?

Do you know what would make me feel seen, heard, valid? Once - just ONCE - in a queer book, to see the word "bi"/"bi+"/"bisexual" used, non-apologetically, not followed by several paragraphs of guilty caveats or negation as "but actually not." Why is it that in 2022 I am reading books that seem to think that loving all genders, love outside of any gendered boundary, isn't fucking queer? That read and use the acronym with a silent B? I was actively working against this 10 years ago and I swear it wasn't as bad then, Dan "I hate bisexuals" Savage notwithstanding.

This book made me feel worse about being queer - actually, it made me feel like I wasn't queer, shouldn't claim to be queer, unless I was willing to repress my attraction to most genders and only acknowledge my attraction to women. Ironically, that's pretty much conversion therapy, which I somehow doubt is what this book was aiming for. If I could rate this book 0 stars I would, because how do you end up with something that functions in direct opposition to its stated aims?

I will say some of the essays were touching and/or informative. My personal highlight was Tan France on the OG Queer Eye, which showed that the warmth, nuance and approachability he displays on screen is completely genuine and carries across to his writing. In fact, if a few small sections of this book (ie the explicit biphobia) were removed, biphobia and bisexuality was included where appropriate (ie make token efforts against the bi-erasure), and perhaps an essay be included that deals with bisexuality in a not horrendous way (although I do have to acknowledge Mae Martin on Tim Curry, which I did like quite a lot) then this could be a solid 3-4* book I could recommend. As it stands, it felt like standing at the side of the gay bar or Pride parade, being ignored and occasionally spat on. Not that I'd know, because actual gay bars and Prides I went to pre-plague were far more accepting than this book.

[Felix Gomez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book you have you to read, not because it will ravage your brain or you will love it, but because it is important to read. As simple as that, because LGBTQ history has been erased and we have been led to believe we don’t belong. Well, we are everywhere, and we have been everywhere and done everything. Visibility and representation can save lives.

[Jocelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

i think this concept was very good but the execution was not as much. only about half the essays were interesting

[Davenport Public Library Iowa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book of ambitious scope, The Queer Bible brings together many disparate personalities and perspectives into one big love letter to the LGBTQ community and its heroes. None of the writers shy away from the hardships and grief that have plagued queer history and which continue to exist all around the world, but the darkness of struggle is balanced by determination, hope, pride, and the blessing of community.

One particularly good aspect of this book is how well each writer explains the context and history of their queer hero, not to mention LGBTQ identities as a whole; as a reader I learned a ton about people and media I'd never heard of but who played vital roles in the history and activism of the community. I came away feeling inspired and comforted all at once. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about LGBTQ figures, media, and history, those who like memoirs, and anyone who's always wanted to tell their celebrity hero what their work has meant to them.

[Laelen Torrance · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't the style of book/genre I normally read, but I picked this up due to a bookclub, and I'm glad I did.

I may be happily queer, out, and proud, but I don't always stop to think about the history we share. Growing up closeted in small town Idaho didn't give me queer role models or the ability to immerse myself in the rich culture we share. The warmth and joy these writers exuded writing about LGBTQIA heroes/institutions was so very clear. There's a reverance to it, and to the culture they've helped build.

I appreciate the acknowledgement of the struggles queer people have endured in the past, the celebration of how we've come, AND the awareness that we still have so far to go in so many aspects - particularly in the safety and rights of people of color and transgender and nonbinary people.

[Haylee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid book of essays!

My Favorites Essays:
Freddy McConnell on David Bowie
Elton John on Divine
Munroe Bergdorf on Paris is Burning
Mae Matin on Tim Curry
Tan France on Queer Eye
Paul Mendez- A Love Letter to James Baldwin

[Bygun · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 / Ta książka była dobra, dobrze ją się czytało i to wszystko co mogę o niej powiedzieć. Chyba spodziewałem się czegoś więcej, ale nie powiem bardzo pocieszna, dość inspirująca, pocieszająca!! Taka do przeczytania raz.

[Liv · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 62%

This was a hard decision to make, to stop reading (listening really). But this book was not at all what it described itself to be. I was so excited to hear all these gay icons speak about their gay icons (most of whom I knew little about), but most of the authors did not read their own portions. Maybe the book would’ve been better in that regard?

But even moving past Jack Guinness’ constant presence, most of the essays were more about their authors than about the icon they spoke of. There were a few exceptions, but I struggled with caring when I was mostly curious about this queer icon and consistently, it came back to the author’s life story. I finally couldn’t keep going when I got to Edward Enninful’s chapter. I know a lot more about Paris Lees but not much about Edward, which was disappointing. It was also frustrating how not diverse this book was. Even when it featured a person of color, the author was more often a white figure who couldn’t fully speak to their black identity. There were so few queer women included, which was soooo disappointing but not surprising from a gay white male editor. And nothing was said about bisexuality, I’d even say it was more biphobic than anything.

I wanted to like this a great deal. I was excited to learn about queer history. Unfortunately this wasn’t it.

[Lisa Bentley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read a lot of Queer literature this year, I love LGBTQIA fiction but I have to say that it has been the non-fiction that has stuck with me. I decided to listen to the audiobook of The Queer Bible and I con honestly say that I think it was the best decision for me. I got something from the audiobook that I don’t think would have had the same impact had I read it on a page. I heard the passion behind each of these essays. Whilst not all of them were read by their author you still got the feeling of importance. It was joyful.

The audiobook opened on an essay about George Michael and straight away I was sold. The rest of the book highlights queer icons. What is fantastic is that you are hearing/reading queer icons talk about their own queer icons and the impact that they had. It is both educational and entertaining and by far one of the most positive books I have listened to in a long time.
The Queer Bible by Jack Guinness is available now.

[asjabe · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 🌟
podoba mi się pomysł na tą książkę, a właściwie bardziej zbiór esejów o inspirujących postaciach, o których istnieniu wcześniej nie miałam pojęcia. podoba mi się też ten zbiór od samych esejów, przez wstawki z ciekawostkami po okładkę wyklejoną przykładami queerowych jednostek w naturze. narracja niektórych esei mnie irytowała albo nudziła, ale do niektórych na pewno chciałabym wrócić. dużo się dowiedziałam w przyjemny sposób.

[Liz Mistry · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a brilliant book! I loved the essays from a variety of gay icons and found myself able to dip in and out of it as and when I had the time. Loved particularly the one on George Michael.
This was an affirmation of inclusion of LGBTQ+ lives and although there's still work to be done, this book is testament to the talented, beautiful people out there.

[porcupette · Rating 4 out of 5]

while it's certainly a very important read packed with knowledge and resources as it gives those who are often denied their right to speak a platform, i don't feel like it meets all the conditions necessary to be called a bible - due to the chosen form and convention the approach is inherently personal and many issues of great importance are given less space for the sake of the authors' own/biased experience; overall a well composed book with admirable illustrations - just not as groundbreaking as I thought it would be

[Olivia Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely fantastic book and a real must read. This has been on my list for ages and I am so glad I finally read it. Glowing 5*

[Mitch Stitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️ 3.5 stars

My favorite essays were:
• Mark Moore on Quentin Crisp
• Courtney Act on Priscilla
• Graham Norton on Armistead Maupin
• Munroe Bergdord on Paris is Burning
• Paris Lees on Edward Enniful
• Hans Ulrich Obrist on Félix González-Torres
• Joseph Cassara on Pedro Almodóvar

This is definitely a book to dip in-and-out of. It can be quite jarring reading essays back-to-back given the different styles of writing; some were academic, some were more colloquial. Some authors chose to write more about their life and the impact their subject had on them. whilst some wrote more biographically on their chosen person. Some essays I felt should have been edited more (David Furnish’s essay felt more like an advertisement for his and Elton’s charity than a piece about Sylvester). It was a nice mix of authors and subjects - I learnt about a lot of people I didn’t already know. Definitely a casual read though.

[Carter Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gem.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book I will find myself returning to. A fantastic read with some more powerful moments than others. Really interesting to have queer icons writing of their own icons- the love and care really shined through. A wonderful read.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will never truly be able to walk in my gay brother’s, trans son’s, or all-gender star child’s shoes, but this essential work opens doors that help me accurately empathize, support, and celebrate them as remarkable humans. It is well written and engaging and often created a desire to “watch that” or “follow them” — our world is infinitely richer because of the heroines and hero’s included here!

[Ann Dewar · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 (4 for a print version).
I read Elton John’s essay on Divine as an extract in the Sunday Times and so jumped on this as soon as I saw it offered as an audiobook ARC. I was really looking forward to listening to people explain their own influences and here lies one of the biggest problems for me, for the most part, they don’t, they are read by Jack Guiness.

I don’t have an issue with JG per se but if you listen to Graham Norton or Russell Tovey reading their essays, you hear their genuine passion for their subject, whereas JG just reads through it. In fairness, reading other people’s essays is much harder than reading someone else’s fiction. Sometimes it doesn’t matter, as with Courtney Act’s Priscilla, Queen of the Desert segment but at others it’s just a bit flat.

My other irritation is the sparse number of lesbian sections, something which seems so strange when there are women like Sue Perkins, Sandy Toksvig and Claire Balding on tv here, not to mention younger women whose identity is more fluid, like Cara Delevingne.

Finally, please can audiobook chapters be properly labelled so that you know what’s inside them and reordered so that the biography of the author comes before the essay.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK Audio for an audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Kev Nickells · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a lot lighter than the queer stuff I usually read - it's not a criticism as such but it is mostly positive. And the writers are largely those kind of mainstream queers. Like I did get the impression that Elton John is quite likeable from his bit on Divine but also it's a shame that Elton John snagged her because there are people I'd rather read on that subject. Graham Norton is a lovely writer in a kind of agreeable gay uncle way. It's kind of gauche but I felt like the white gay cis male writers were a lot more... let's say parent-friendly... in this - although in fairness there's plenty of mention of the AIDS epidemic. But for my money it's the trans and black writers who are more interesting - Paris Lees I already think is a brilliant, compositely raw writer, Paula Akpan talking about black lesbians is very temperate despite the maddening circumstances she's describing, and I really should get around to reading Juliet Jacques because she's clearly amazing.
I'd probably recommend 'why are faggots so afraid of faggots' as a better appraisal of queer 'stuff' in 2021 - lovely thought it is to have a mostly positive book, it feels a bit like it's pulling punches, toothless.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the concept of this one and I thought the essays were enjoyable and interesting. I wish there had been a wider range of essayists in terms of geographical representation, but I did appreciate that there were a range of queer perspectives.

[K · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not what I thought. not what I wanted.
thanks anyway.

[Karolina Sosnowska · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://tanayahczyta.wordpress.com/20...

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review Taken from Upcoming Blog Post to be found at The Pewter Wolf Reads from mid-July 2021
***Audiobook given by UK publisher,HQ, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/reaction***

I’m quite lucky that I managed to get approved, listened and finish this audiobook before the end of June 2021 (aka Pride Month). I am going to admit that non-fiction isn’t my normal reading/audiobook area. I don’t mind dipping my toe into non-fiction every now and again, it’s a genre that always intimidates me. So, when I saw the audiobook of The Queer Bible on NetGalley UK, I requested it so fast that even I was surprised over my reaction. As someone who identifies as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I feel that it’s important for me to know our history. Or herstory, and this was going to be a good place to start, right? I mean, it’s a collection of essays, written from people all over the community (Elton John, Courtney Act, Graham Norton, Tan France, etc) about trailblazers who inspired them (David Bowie, George Michael, Tim Curry, Paris is Burning, Divine, Sylvester, etc), and edited by Jack Guinness, the founder of popular website The Queer Bible (as well as being a model and activist) and with each story illustrated by queer or ally artists (sadly, I didn’t get to see these as I audiobooked it, though I do think that if you buy this via Audible or other audiobook outlets, you might get them as a PDF).

So, where do I fit with this as, like I said, non-fiction and collections of essays aren’t my normal reads (and throughout a good chunk of Pride 2021, I’ve been reading MM romances so I might not have audiobooked this at the right time)? It was interesting listening and I do think collections of essays like this are important to shine light on areas of life we don’t normally look at or think about.

But, like most collections (of short stories, essays, poems, etc), some essays are going to click with readers more than others. I found the essays on George Michael, David Bowie, Harvey Fierstein, Edward Enninful, and a few others (I am not going to list them all!) gripping while others didn’t hold my attention in the same way, but I found what the authors were trying to say interesting.

I do have one or two niggles with the audiobook. Of course I do, this is me we’re talking about here.

The first is narration. Stay with me here. Now, I fully understand that not everyone who wrote an essay for the collection either could find time to record their essay or want to record themselves reading their essay. That’s fine, I get that. But to have only Paul Guinness reading them is a problem because there are occasions where he is reading several essays and author bios back to back and, for me, they began to merge together and made me feel tired and drained, while thinking to “Is this essay ever going to end?!”

Another niggle is something I spotted in a few reviews and, once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it. But this collection, while vital, did at times feel very cis gay male heavy in its contributors and subject matter. Now, I know there were authors who are lesbian, bi, trans, drag, intersex and authors of colour, but it’s a feeling I had and couldn’t really escape from.

But I do think this is an important collection and, like Juno Dawson’s This Book is Gay and What's the T? The no-nonsense guide to all things trans and/or non-binary for teens, is vital for teens and adults who want to educate and empower themselves around LGBTQIA+ and its history.

[Cayley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this selection of essays took me almost half a year to read, I found it consistently engaging, enlightening and inspiring. From the dedication, this book had my heart:

This book is dedicated to my
queer ancestors who went before me,
that I never knew existed,
whose stories we'll never know.
I hope that I'm making you proud.

This year I've become enraptured with learning my history. When I first picked up this book, I thumbed through and read the essays by names that I recognized immediately: Tam France, Elton John, and Courtney Act. But what I didn't expect to love, and what truly I needed in my life, were the histories I never knew. I fell in love with Susan Sontag, Vaginal Davis and Divine. I learned about the importance of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Paris is Burning and I drank up the words and the lessons of those who know infinitely more than me.

In our biological families, our parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents and community raise us and teach us how to be. My family taught me many lessons about Christianity, whiteness, middle-classness, and being Dutch. But being queer... we don't always have immediate access to our queer ancestors to pass on sacred and powerful knowledge. The knowledge that we're not alone. The knowledge that we belong here. The knowledge that we can be happy - because they were. The knowledge that we, as a people, are resilient and powerful and perhaps even magical.

Jack Guinness' words from the forward have been echoing in my mind for months now and I hope to hold them in my heart forever.

To know where you're going, you need to know where you've come from. So often LGBTQIA histories have been hidden, in order to protect people's safety, or forcibly erased in acts of cultural vandalism and oppression. Let's bring those stories into the light. Let's connect with our past and be filled with the power of those who went before us. I am handing you your sacred history. ... We stand on the shoulders of giants. It's time to learn their names.