Date: Sun, 9 Jun 1996 00:59:53 -0400
From: DAlembert@AOL.COM
Subject: New Book: L/G/B in Russia

Folks:

I'm passing along the following message regarding a new book about l/g/b life
in Russia for the author, David Tuller. If you'd like to reply, his email is:
dtuller@sfgate.com. (No, I haven't read the book yet, but I am looking
forward to doing so. It just showed up at A Different Light in San Francisco
a couple days ago.)

Regards,
Gerard

_______________________________
NEW BOOK: CRACKS IN THE IRON CLOSET
-----------------------------------

My name is David Tuller. I'm a staff reporter at the San Francisco
Chronicle, and this month (June) Faber and Faber is publishing my first
book: "Cracks in the Iron Closet: Travels in Gay and Lesbian Russia."

    The book is as much about lesbians as about gay men; specifically, a
key chunk is about Ksyusha, the Russian lesbian I fell in love with, and
her tight circle of friends. It is also particularly timely, since Russia
is holding presidential elections on June 16th, and interest in the
situation there is high; my book offers a compelling look at the country
from an entirely different perspective (also, I discuss the homosexuality
of Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the nationalist/fascist candidate for president.

    For the record, here's Edmund White's "advance praise" blurb:
    " 'Cracks in the Iron Closet' is as remarkable for its portrait of an
emerging homosexual society in Russia as it is for the alternative it
presents to American-style lesbian and gay culture. In the course of
David Tuller's travels, this intelligent, perceptive writer was himself
radically changed. This book will cause any lesbian or gay reader to
reexamine completely his or her assumptions."

    And here's what Lillian Faderman had to say:
    "A terrific read. In 'Cracks in the Iron Closet,' David Tuller takes
us with him on a fascinating odyssey through gay and lesbian Russia. With
keen intelligence, he demonstrates how complex and nuanced and varied
human sexuality really is."

    Here's my own boiler-plate spiel about the book:
    "Cracks in the Iron Closet" is part travel memoir, part social
history, part journalistic inquiry. It is also something of an off-beat
love story. A significant portion is about Ksyusha, who became my closest
friend and companion there; my relationship with her forced me to
reevaluate my certainties about my own sexual identity.

    In describing how my experiences in Russia challenged my own (very
American) preconceptions and biases, the book examines--in an
entertaining and provocative fashion--controversies that have roiled the
American gay and lesbian movement: How does culture influence the
expression of sexual identity? What are the limits of American models of
gay and lesbian identity? Is bisexuality a fraudulent pose or a genuine
orientation? What "causes" homosexuality, anyway?

    Though the book focuses primarily on gays and lesbians, I have tried
to use the theme as a prism through which to explore many issues pivotal
to an understanding of Russia and the former Soviet Union: strategies for
survival in a totalitarian society; concepts of friendship and community;
ideas about gender and family relations; the role of sex, love and
passion; attitudes toward individual rights, personal responsibility and
fate; relations between East and West; the notion of privacy in a society
that forced everyone--not just gays--into political and ideological closets.

   The book is being reviewed in the Washington Post on June 9th and in
both the San Francisco Chronicle and the Boston Globe, among other
newspapers, in coming weeks. An excerpt is running in the SF Examiner
Magazine on June 16th.

   It will be available at gay and mainstream bookstores, and can also be
ordered directly through Faber and Faber's distributor at 800-666-2211.

   I would be interested in speaking to gay/lesbian campus groups about
gay life in Russia, gays in mainstream journalism, etc. My phone number
at the Chronicle is 415-777-7132. My e-mail: dtuller@sfgate.com