I realize that my books I writ--I've published 14 books so far--and the work I've done are not for everyone. Good writing exposes the deepest sources of human feelings—and not everyone is up to that. I want to keep a sense of magic and wonder in my work. I grew up in the 50s and 60s in Savannah, Georgia—Southern, Jewish, economically impoverished, and very much gay—so I’m not afraid of being contradictory. I have been called a writer of “science fiction,†“horror,†“erotic fictionâ€â€”even pornography—and of course, a poet.
Except for “poet,†categories mean little to me. I do believe in our yearnings for closeness with others, especially other men. Unlike many gay writers who downplay the importance of their feelings and experiences, I have celebrated these feelings.
Like Whitman, I have experienced a touching closeness with a personal community . This is what “gay†really means to me. I believe in the deepest, most “transformative†realities. I’ve been writing now for more than 30 years, always out of the mainstream, even of “gay writing.†My most passionate—and successful—connections have been with other men. This shows in my work.Luckily, thousands of people want to read my work and my books. The books are available through the important bookstores that serve our community, online through Amazon.com, www.openbookltd.com, b&n.com, InsightOut Bookclub, and from many other sources of gay books. You can also order them directly through Belhue Press, through http://www.perrybrass.com.It's hard to descibe me personally, mainly because there are so many "me's." I think that should be the case with all creative people, or even people in general. Sometimes I feel as if I have lived about 10 lives, and for a long time few of them connected. Now most of them seem to: I am glad for that. I find politicians, doctors, scientists, and people whose lives have been changed by their own religious/mystical, and sexual transformations interesting. I like personal writings, such as letters, journals, diaries, and personal histories. I love the discipline of dancers, and the literary imaginations of composers—to me all great music has a story inside it, although that story may be more emotional than linear. I was a painter for many years, and now find art strangely lacking, unless it too tells a story that is deep, mysterious, and moving. Well, enough for now.
