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PARADISE PRESS
fine writing by lesbians and gay men |
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IN PRINT The Butterfly's Wing Martin Foreman Cocksuckery Ian Stewart First and Fiftieth and other stories Martin Foreman Goodmans Hotel Alan Keslian A Little Chat and other stories Michael Harth Merle Elsa Wallace Nailing Frank Paul Mann A New Man in Old Steine Graham Robertson The Physent and other stories Michael Harth The Picnic and other stories Michael Harth The Queer Commando Paul Mann Queer Haunts an anthology of ghost stories Rid England of This Plague Rex Batten The Seaman's Mission Paul Mann A Sense of Loss and other stories Martin Foreman A Short History of Lord Hyaena Elsa Wallace Slivers of Silver poems by gay men and women Weekend Martin Foreman FORTHCOMING Parable With Foreskin And Redheads Ian Stewart |
Paradise Press supports Gay's the Word Gay's the Word bookshop, in the heart of London, has been a centre of gay studies, literature and the gay community for over twenty years. Paradise Press members frequently shop there and the press has often held book launches in the store. However, competition from the internet and chain bookstores is threatening the shop's existence. Paradise Press offers Gay's the Word its full support in its efforts to keep open and makes the following statement: "All of us at Paradise Press, the publishing collective of UK lesbian & gay authors, have been distressed to hear of the dire situation at Gay's the Word. We've been passing the worrisome news around our friends & networks, in hopes that funds enough might yet come in, to keep-up this invaluable national resource. "As a small, grassroots, community publishing initiative (grown out of the longstanding Gay Authors Workshop) Paradise Press has drawn immense support from the clued-up staff at 66 Marchmont Street, in finding readers for our hugely varied books. "From queer commandos; disabled lesbians; the new man in Old Steine; through ghostly 'Queer Haunts,' to the 1950s purge -- beyond selling all the cool 'zines, novels, poetry & story anthologies we've published over the years, friendly GTW staff have (so often!) stayed late without pay, to host some wildly successful launch & reading events: bringing swathes of NEW lgbt writers into print. Try getting that from a chain bookshop!" 
turns the spotlight on England's shame "Rid England of this Plague is a terrifying and vivid eye-witness account of the 1950's purge of homosexuals. It is a cautionary tale that should be compulsory reading for judges, police and moralising politicians." is the judgement of Neil McKenna, celebrated author of The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde. In the early 1950s the Home Secretary, Sir David Maxwell Fyffe, claimed he would 'Rid England of this Plague' - the plague of homosexuality. "Paradoxically," says author Rex Batten, "It was the reaction to the zeal with which the Establishment carried out the Home Secretary's behest that resulted in the setting up of the Wolfenden Committee when the first steps were taken to rid of the plague of Homophobia That period, now labelled the 50s Purge, is the setting for Rex Batten's novel. It is based on his experiences in coming to terms with the Law, Media and Church when being gay labelled you a 'Pest to Society'. "I wrote it as fiction," Mr Batten explains, "To give me more scope, and a wider perspective, in creating the atmosphere and feeling of that era." The reaction of a student who had seen that period as almost ancient history says everything. "I knew of the high profile cases that made the national press, but this book brings alive a world in which two ordinary young gay men asked for nothing more that to be allowed to live as a stable gay relationship in the London 'queer' world that has not been previously documented. The arrest in Dorset, on charges of gross indecency, of Tom's first lover, brought the police, the probability of jail, and the appalling realisation that the press coverage could destroy their families. And this within living memory! The interrogation by the police is graphically described, as is the offer of immunity from prosecution if they will turn 'Queen's Evidence', though there is a certain irony in the twist that they did not fit the stereotype queer." The two young men turn to the Church for consolation and Tom is forced to examine his conscience to decide if he was corrupted when members of the army and navy helped to develop his sexual identity in the latter years of the Second World War. He had to face his Armageddon being groped on the underground coming into Queensway! He lost that particular battle, but it set him on course to win the war. Alan Keslian, author of Goodmans Hotel comments, "In the days when same sex love was illegal, following his natural desires leads Tom into a frightening and soul destroying brush with the law. Yet many he meets hold on to their principles, believing a better, kinder way must be found." Rid England of this Plague was this year's award in the International Lesbian and Gay Cultural Network's 'Sappho in Paradise' Book Prize, given to those working to advance the lesbian and gay written word; the recipients were the library project of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe. Signed first-edition copies of the book, with a framed diploma, were presented to GALZ co-founder Oliver Philips, during ILGCN's October 'Moonbow' Lesbian and Gay Cultural Festival. "Zimbabwe is a country where access to information and Freedom of Expression are not guaranteed," said Mr Philips, at the award ceremony. "Since 1994, Lesbian and Gay people have been denied access to all official channels of information, whether it be television, radio or state-controlled media, and our voices have been substituted by a sustained campaign of vilification directed by state agents. "Since 1995, GALZ has remarked on the flailing situation facing other numerous supposed minorities and perceived enemies of a state in the grip of ZANU-PF. These include physical violence, attacks on racial minorities, a laissez-faire attitude to those living with HIV/AIDS and the determined undermining of those holding a different political opinion - the latter divorcing themselves from a bankrupt African Nationalist Agenda upheld by cracking pillars of repressive legislation. "As the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe, we have been encouraged to find all alternate means possible to counter state-instigated homophobia. The introduction of the Resource Centre with a book and video library and an accompanying positive acquisition policy, including publication of GALZ titles such as 'Sahwira', 'Understanding Human Sexuality and Gender', 'African Homosexualities: A History', and 'Lesbian and Gay Organising in Africa: A Manual'. "GALZ thanks the ILGCN for belief in a small organization to fulfill the important role of promoting a Human Rights culture in Zimbabwe where vital matters of Gender, Sexual Orientation and Gender Expression are properly understood and appreciated by all." |
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