Bi Books of 1992 Nonfiction _Closer to Home: Bisexuality & Feminism_, ed. by Elizabeth Reba Weise (Seal). Superb collection of 23 essays by women addressing definitions, principles & practices, & questions of community. From Karin Baker's "Bisexual Feminist Politics": "Lesbians and gay men directly challenge compulsory heterosexuality through their same-sex relationships and indirectly challenge gender through avoiding traditional gender roles within their relationships. Lesbians, specifically, confront the male supremacist belief that all women need men. Bisexuals directly challenge gender by avoiding gender-specific attraction and indirectly challenge compulsory heterosexuality and the acting out of gender roles through their openness to same-sex relationships. All of the above are necessary elements in the struggle for women's liberation and queer liberation." Required reading. _Homophobia: How We All Pay the Price_, ed. by Warren J. Blumenfeld (Beacon). Includes essays by Robyn Ochs & Marcia Deihl, "Moving Beyond Binary Thinking," on biphobia, & by bi feminist Amanda Udis- Kessler on "Homophobia and the Healing of Society." Highly recommended. _Bisexuality in the Ancient World_, by Eva Cantarella (Yale UP). Trans. of _Secundo natura_ (Editori Riuniti, 1988). "The pagan world [Greece & Rome] considered sexual relations between men as an integral part of sexuality which not only did not rule out relationships with women, but considered them necessary and dutiful (as well as desirable). This same model of sexuality considered, on the other hand, that intercourse between women was a foul coupling, a sign of unthinkable debauchery." A major contribution to the history of bisexuality & a milestone in bi historiography; very highly recommended. _The Passion of Emily Dickinson_, by Judith Farr (Harvard UP). Argues for 2 passions, for her sister-in-law Sue Gilbert Dickinson & for editor Samuel Bowles. Recommended for ED lovers. _Vita and Harold: The Letters of Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson, 1910-1962_, ed. by Nigel Nicolson (Weidenfeld & Nicolson). NN wrote a famous bi-ography of his parents, _Portrait of a Marriage_, in 1973. HN was a British diplomat, MP & historian, discreetly bi; VS-W a writer who had serious affairs with Violet Trefusis & Virginia Woolf. Recommended. _Eleanor Roosevelt: Volume One, 1884-1933_, by Blanche Wiesen Cook (Viking). Biography of an important American political figure -- antiracist, pacifist, suffragist, activist, "First Lady" of FDR & active bi: "Her relationships with Earl Miller and Lorena Hickock were erotic and romantic, daring and tumultuous, though so many letters have been lost or destroyed that the full dimensions of her love will remain to some degree a mystery of interpretation." _Marlene Dietrich: Life and Legend_, by Steven Bach (Morrow), & _Blue Angel: The Life of Marlene Dietrich_, by Donald Spoto (Doubleday). Biographies of the German actor include her marriage to Rudolf Sieber & her affairs with Gerda Huber, Mercedes de Acosta, Edith Piaf & other women & men. _Laurence Olivier_, by Donald Spoto (HarperCollins). Biography of the English actor includes his marriages to Jill Esmond (a bi woman), Vivien Leigh & Joan Plowright, & his 10-year love affair with American bi actor Danny Kaye. _Half Straight: My Secret Bisexual Life_, by Tom Smith (Prometheus). The author presents in detail a point of view expressed privately by many married bis: "I chose to lead a double life ... because of the possible damaging effect such disclosure could have on my relationships with those who mean so much to me." "Tom Smith," a conservative Republican & devout Roman Catholic, recounts his bisexual activities over 40 years. Rigorously honest (in pseudonymity), supportive of gay lib & critical of RC sexual dogmas, he nevertheless reveals himself to be profoundly sexist & sporadically antisexual & homophobic. Half readable. _Becoming a Man_, by Paul Monette (Harcourt Brace Jovanich). In his autobiography America's finest gay-identified writer affirms: "I have to force myself to remember that it wasn't just more wasted time, loving those women. That they were the ones who finally broke the ice skin that sealed me among the living dead. That I couldn't have opened myself to Roger or any other man if the women of '72 and '73 hadn't been there first. Unjudging and tender, taking their own risks in the open country of the heart, no kiss ever a waste of time." National Book Award winner. _Pearl: The Obsessions & Passions of Janis Joplin_, by Ellis Amburn (Warner). Definitive biography of late '60s rock legend includes stories of her many female and male lovers. _The Many Lives of Elton John_, by Susan Crimp & Patricia Burstein (Carol Pub. Group). Well-researched, sympathetic biography of English rock star who came out publicly as bi in 1976. _Sex_, by Madonna (Warner Books). Bi-erotic text by singer/actor/superstar Madonna; bi-erotic photos by Stephen Meisel featuring M with both men & women; includes CD with excerpts from M's _Erotica_ album. Required for M fans. Fiction bi Women Carol Anshaw, _Aquamarine_ (Houghton Mifflin). Author fashions for Jesse 3 alternative lives after she places 2d in '68 Olympic swim: 1 lesbian, 2 bi. Highly recommended. H.D. [Hilda Doolittle], _Asphodel_ (Duke UP). Written in the 1920s & only now published, this sequel to _HERmione_ continues the life of Hermione Gart & her relationships with her husband Jerroll & her female lovers Fayne & Beryl. Very highly recommended. Diana Hammond, _The Impersonator_ (Doubleday). Robert de Pe\o'n~'a falls for eponymous Barrett Rossignol when he sees him impersonating Robert's famous late wife in a NYC nightclub. Their affair at the beginning of the novel is emblematic of BR's versatility. Recommended. Alisa Kwitney, _Till the Fat Lady Sings_ (HarperCollins). Main theme is women's weight-consciousness, but a female secondary character has a brief affair with a woman, & 3 other female & male bis appear. Highly recommended. Mercedes Lackey & Ellen Guon, _Summoned to Tourney_ (Baen). In this sequel to 1991 _Knight of Ghosts and Shadows_, the elves & mages are relocated from LA to SF & are less overt in their bisexuality. Recommended. Terri de la Pen~a, _Margins_ (Seal). Hetero-identified Siena Benedetti has brief but hot affair with novel's hero, Chicana lesbian writer Veronica Melendez, before parting with her amicably & returning to men. Anne Rice, _The Tale of the Body Thief_ (Knopf). In vol. 4 of _The Vampire Chronicles_ Lestat lusts after several men, including his gay friend David, & has sex in a borrowed (male) body with a female nurse. Recommended for fans of the series. Darcey Steinke, _Suicide Blonde_ (Atlantic Monthly). Bi women are Madame Pig, Madison & beautiful 29-y-o narrator Jesse; her lover Bell & his ex-lover Kevin are bi men. Sex, drugs & compulsions in SF. Highly recommended. Jeannette Winterson, _Written on the Body_ (Knopf). English narrator of ambiguous sex/gender tells of obsessive love for Louise & of lesser affairs with other women & men. ALA/GLTF Book Award finalist; highly recommended. Fiction bi Men Christopher Bram, _Almost History_ (Fine). During his 30-year State Dept. career the gay hero is involved with 4 bi men, 1 of whom has a bi wife; his het niece almost swings too. ALA/GLTF Book Award finalist; highly recommended. Rupert Everett, _Hello Darling, Are You Working?_ (Morrow). Comic first novel by English actor, set in England, Paris & Tangiers. Bi hero Rhys ("Dorhys") Waveral loses all in Crash of '87 & prostitutes himself. Sex, drugs, satire, camp. Wesley Gibson, _Shelter_ (Harmony Books). One child of four in this family novel, Melissa, is bi, beginning at 15 in 1976 with boyfriend Case & ending in 1985 with lover Veronica. Recommended. Spalding Gray, _Impossible Vacation_ (Knopf). The hetero-identified narrator in this autobiographical novel finds his fantasy & bathhouse experiments with gay sex confusing: "I don't have to tell you that everyone is bisexual. That's an old story. It's just a whole lot easier to live in a world if you make a choice to go one way or the other. Trying to go both ways tears most people apart. I know because I got torn." Needs lube. Chris Hunt, _Gaveston_ (GMP). Historical novel about Edward II (reigned 1307-27) & his lover Piers Gaveston; they & other male characters sleep with both sexes. Recommended. Gary Jennings, _Raptor_ (Doubleday). Protagonist, a 5th-century Gothic hermaphrodite, bi as both Thorn & Veleda, shares much with common bis: "Had I ever been content with commonplace standards and values and morality--or even been content to choose one sex...--my life would have been far easier..., but it would also have been far less full of excitement and adventure." Another hermaphrodite & other bis appear; recommended. Wally Lamb, _She's Come Undone_ (Pocket Books). Narrator Dolores Price, 230-lb. rape victim, has brief encounter at college with another woman. D is basically hetero, but her story is brilliantly told. Very highly recommended. Peter Lefcourt, _The Dreyfus Affair: A Love Story_ (Random House). "The thing that bothered Randy the most about this whole thing was how he could be married to a looker like Susie... and still be interested in [his] second baseman." Later he tells his young daughters, "It has nothing to do with Mommy. It's like chocolate and vanilla ice cream. They're both good, but sometimes you find yourself liking one or the other for no reason at all." Randy is rather sexist, but his story will delight baseball lovers; the plot picks up about where Steve Kluger's _Changing Pitches_ ends. Daniel L. Magida, _The Rules of Seduction_ (Houghton Mifflin). Racked by parenticidal guilt & by ACOA & self-esteem issues, Westfield/East Side WASP Jack Newland beds anyone who asks him until he meets sibs Timothy & Ellen Archer. Highly recommended. Jaime Manrique, _Latin Moon in Manhattan_ (St. Martin's). Gay-identified hero Sammy Mart\o'i\''nez & his lesbian-identified childhood friend Claudia Urrutia passionately kiss & discuss marriage. Another friend (PWA) opines that "the main difference between Colombian and American men was that all Colombians were gay until they married, whereas most Americans married first and then came out." Stephen McCauley, _The Easy Way Out_ (Simon & Schuster). Arthur, lover of narrator Patrick, was formerly married to Beatrice until her "realization and immediate acceptance of the fact that her husband was a homosexual"; Frederick, Pat's co-worker, is openly bi: "Basically, I'll fall in love with anyone who'll stay in the room after I've taken my clothes off." Bisexuality is incidental but the book is a 2d McCauley gem; highly recommended. ALA/GLTF Book Award finalist. Oscar Moore, _A Matter of Life and Sex_ (Dutton). Magnificently written elegiac novel of indiscriminate gay sex, hard drugs, friendship & AIDS in '80s England & NYC. Bisexuality is visible in the background: 3 minor male characters are depicted as bi, & the mainly gay protagonist has a brief affair with a woman. Highly recommended. Richard Osborne, _Basic Instinct_ (NAL). In this novel based on the filmscript by Joe Eszterhas, SFPD Det. Nick Curran rapes 1 bi woman & falls in love with another, Catherine Tramell, a serial killer. Sensational, motiveless malignity; _not_ recommended. Robert Plunket, _Love Junkie_ (HarperCollins). Sex-hating narrator Mimi Smithers is a 41-y-o Bronxville housewife who falls in love with "Joe," a 29-y-o bi porn star/hustler, & performs on film for him with his lover Nanette in a lesbian scene; an actively bi woman briefly appears in a NY sex club episode. Walter Jon Williams, _Aristoi_ (Tor). Aristos Gabriel makes love with men & women serially & simultaneously, actually & virtually, & saves civilization from an evil traitor. Highly recommended for sci fi readers. Li Yu, _A Tower for the Summer Heat_ (Ballantine). Trans. of six stories from _Shi'er lou_ (China, 1658). The title story hints at female bisexuality, & 4 bi men populate "House of Gathered Refinements." This pamphlet (updated 19\n(yr/\n(mo/\n(dy) is published by the Bisexual Resource Center. You are welcome to reproduce and distribute it with your group's contact information at the bottom of this column. Please send a $10 donation for each flyer that is useful enough to you to reproduce, to support the publication of new literature. For more information and literature, write or call: Bisexual Resource Center (phone 617-338-9595) (email BRC@panix.com) POB 639, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02140, USA. Local Contact Information: