Gay Spirit: A Guide to Becoming a Sensuous Homosexual - David Loovis

Author: David Loovis

Publisher: Grove Press / Strawberry Hill Book

Format: Hardcover

Edition: First Printing, 1974

ISBN: 0-8021-0076-7

Condition: Second-hand hardcover. No dust jacket. Blue cloth boards show rubbing, fading/marks, and wear to edges and corners. Endpapers show foxing and age toning. Internal red stamps present on title page. Pages appear intact and readable. Please see photos for the exact copy and condition.

A scarce 1970s queer title, Gay Spirit presents itself as a guide to sensuality, self-expression, sexuality, and gay male identity in the post-Stonewall era. Written in a frank and period-specific style, the book sits between self-help, social commentary, sexuality writing, and queer cultural history.

It is very much a product of its time, and some language or assumptions may now feel dated, but that is also part of its value as a document of 1970s gay publishing and changing public conversations around homosexuality, pleasure, and identity.

About the Author: David Loovis was an American writer associated with mid-twentieth-century queer literary and cultural circles. He wrote fiction as well as works on homosexuality and gay life, including Gay Spirit and Straight Answers About Homosexuality for Straight Readers. His work is of interest to collectors of LGBTQ+ history, gay liberation-era writing, and vintage sexuality literature.