Out of the Blue

A pioneering collection of writings on gay themes from before the Revolution (Pushkin, Kuzmin, Esenin) to the post-glasnost 'New Russia' (Aksyonov, Makanin, Trifinov, and many others). A major contribution to gay literature **From Library Journal:** Moss (Russian language and literature, Middlebury Coll.) has undertaken the daunting task of assembling poetry, short fiction, and other 19th- and 20th-century Russian gay literature and making both text and context accessible to the general reader. He succeeds for the most part, though he fails in the sections that cover the pre-Soviet period. Here, Moss includes excerpts of works that barely give the reader enough plot and characterization to make them enjoyable?a bit like a college literature anthology. Then, after about 120 pages, the whole feel of the collection changes, and it becomes quite a page turner. Even with its faults, this collection does leave the reader with an understanding of how it was, and still is, to be gay in Russia. Recommended for Russian literature and comprehensive gay literature collections. (Photos not seen).?Theodore R. Salvadori, Margaret E. Heggan Free P.L., Hurffville, N.J. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.