Books Change Our Lives!
We share the books that marked turning points in our lives.
Committee Member Johnathan Lay shares his thoughts about a book that changed his life…
“Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.
Not only did I find her use of language, hearing the dialect of southern Black people, amazingly nuanced and rich, but as a Black man meeting those male characters had me reflect on who I was as young person and ask the question/s: what type of man did I want to be? How did I want to show up for the people in my life, for the women in my life? Basically, how could I be a better man to the ones I love? Hopefully, those around me think I answered those questions well.”
Perry Brass, Co-founder of the RBF shares memories about three books that changed his life…
“The Unexpurgated Arabian Nights. When I was either eight or nine years old, my father gave me a copy that had been his at my age. I learned: nothing is as it appears to be, there are genies, wizards, charlatans, and angels behind everything, some, by today’s insight, definitely queer.
Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe. From my father again, at nine. I cried so hard when Uncle Tom was beaten to death by Simon LeGree that I was inconsolable. I still am.
Prater Violet, Christopher Isherwood. A short novel with one of the most rapturous passages about gay love ever written—in code. Isherwood's lover is called "J." “