A Daring Look Into the 1950’s Chicago Homosexual Lifestyle
An intimate glimpse into the lives of one of society’s most controversial sectors awaits readers as author Frank Holland spins Debut: Chicago 1952.
His engrossing book, released through Xlibris, follows the unconventional relationship of two men who, along with other homosexuals, struggle to find their rights in a prejudicial world.
It is 1950’s Chicago. Louie, a reserved young man debuts into homosexual life. Influenced by his lover, Joey, he migrates to another state to start a new life with him. It is with his lover that Louie has his first sexual experience. Unable to completely come out of the closet, Louie restricts his homosexual life to nighttime and weekends, appearing straight around his family, at work, or with straight friends. In his transition, he is introduced to a different side of Chicago. With several illegal jam-packed gay bars, Chicago in the 1950s is the world of liberals, where some people patronize homosexuals instead of despising them. Soon, he meets new gay friends, giving him a feeling of genuine acceptance and belonging.
Just as Louie’s new life is sailing breezily and his relationship with Joey is growing stronger, a new twist of fate arrives. Joey’s mother is dying of cancer and the two must work together to make things easier for her. Will their complicated love affair be stirred by this new test? Readers will find out as Holland vividly weaves together a variety of life stories from the homosexuals he met into this fictionalized memoir that depicts the bitter and unforgettable struggles of gays to define their roles in the society.
This book will be featured at the 2010 Illinois Library Association Book Exhibit in Chicago, IL on September 29-30, 2010. Readers who wish to learn more about this book can log on to Xlibris.com.
About the Author
Frank Holland has had short stories published by Pleiades, Oyez Review, Pangolin Papers, The MacGuffin, The Iconoclast, Phantasmagoria, The Amherst Review, Cicada, The Threshold, Satire, The Vincent Brothers Review, Karamu, Oasis, The Edge, Kit-Kat Review, Sidewalks, Perceptions, Cream Drops, Art: Mag and After Hours; poetry in Home Planet News and Mediphors; and an article in Film Comment.
Debut: Chicago, 1952 * by Frank Holland
Publication Date: December 20, 2008
Trade Paperback; $23.99; 415 pages; 978-1-4363-6937-4
Trade Hardback; $34.99; 415 pages; 978-1-4363-6938-1
