Born On This Day- February 22nd... Post Apocalyptic Bohemian Favorite Writer- Felice Picano

I read 2 of his books, back to back, but not bareback, this winter: Art & Sex In Greenwich Village (a terrific book about the world of publishing) & True Stories: Portraits from My Past. He is a longtime favorite & I have nearly everything by him in my collection.

Felice Picano is a prolific author (I count 20 in my shelves) of novels, novellas, stories, poetry, plays, memoirs, history & essays. In the early 1980s, Picano & 6 fellow gay authors, together called the Violet Quill Club, met to share & discuss their work. That group included: Edmund White, Andrew Holleran, Robert Ferro, George Whitmore, Michael Grumley & Christopher Cox. HIV took 4 of the group between 1988 & 1990. Oh how I would have wished to be present for that moment in time, full of promise & art, even with the horrible loss, but I had left NYC by then, & I don’t have the talent. I could have served tea or at least been the towel boy.

Picano’s work is translated into 15 languages, 4 of Picano’s plays have been produced. He founded 2 publishing companies: SeaHorse Press & Gay Presses of New York. Among his many books I love, try his novels: Like People in History, The Book of Lies, & Onyx. He grew up in Queens, did Manhattan in the 1970s & 1980s. He lives in West Hollywood & I believe he is single.

“My favorite euphemism for an erection is- Diamond Cutter. That's what we used to call it. I'm 67 & no longer have Diamond Cutters.”