The Gay Ghetto

Go to you local bookstore. Do it. Now. Check where they’ve shelved my book. Yup, you’ve guessed it – in the “Gay and Lesbian” section. Not, decidedly, in the “Catholic” section.

Well, thanks to my new best friend Dave Daniels, I hereby ordain you for a very special ministry. You’ve heard of the Guerrilla Queer Bar movement? It involves an organized effort to have hundreds of gay people take over a specified “straight” Boston establishment on a given night to transform it instantly into a gay club. I have riffed on this concept before, seeking to establish a Guerrilla Queer Church movement, in which all the gay Catholics and divorced people and romancatholicwomenpriests and married priests and anybody else at the margin of the Church takeover a given mainstream Church on a given Sunday. (Feel free to start a Guerrilla Queer Church movement in your area; I just started a Facebook group for the Boston-area group here. Join now. Maybe we’ll start taking churches over this fall.)

But I digress. Your ministry is the Guerrilla Queer Bookshelf. How does it work? You gather up about half the copies of my book from the “Gay and Lesbian” section and hustle them over to the “Catholic” section, where you lovingly re-shelve them (cover facing out, of course!) – and press a copy on anyone who happens to be browsing in that area. We’ll take back these bookstores, one shelf at a time!

And, btw, thanks for Dave for the idea – he is the original Queer Bookshelf Guerrilla. He is also a photographer -- and talk about pornography! Dave has a collection of shots of the inside of one of Boston’s many churches posted here that are absolutely gorgeous – pure spiritual pornography, designed to make a gay Catholic boy’s heart race! Take a look. No box of tissues required to clean up the mess.

Unholy Wine of the Week (the stuff you wish they would consecrate): Domaine Marcel Deiss 2002 Engelgarten from Alsace is a magnificent effort. No slight white, it bursts with strong exotic flavor, edgy acids, a bit of menthol, and a slightly off-dry, viscous mouthfeel. A blend of the noble grapes of Alsace, mostly pinot gris and Riesling. Pricy, but can stand up to a wide range of foods. If you read French, the vineyard is here.