Yayyy! NOTES OF A DEAF GAY WRITER: 20 YEARS LATER is out.

Hello:

Last August my 12th book NOTES OF A DEAF GAY WRITER was published in a very limited edition; I'd said then in my blog that I would have an ebook version out. That has come true today.



If you have an iPad, an iPhone, or an iPod touch, please click on this link to Apple's own iBookstore page featuring my book. Others using different ebook readers are welcome to use this link instead.

A brief video trailer in which I talk about the book will be posted on my YouTube page soon.

May everyone have a most warm holiday season!

Best,

Raymond

Gotta shout this out loud! MUTE is on YouTube ...

Hello:

I've been very busy with a lot of projects these days, but at least I was able to finish one in particular: My book MUTE has a new trailer in which I talk about why I wrote it. :) You can check it out on YouTube. It's all subtitled in English for the signing-impaired, of course.

Have lots of exciting news in store, but I will share it as soon as details are confirmed!

Have a great week, all!

Raymond

My twelfth book just came out today!

NOTES OF A DEAF GAY WRITER: 20 YEARS LATER (published by Hot Off The, as in www.hotoffthe.net) came out earlier tonight. I'm very happy with the way the chapbook (a chapter-length book; in this case, it's 50 pages long) has turned out. It was published as an extremely limited print edition of only TEN copies. These precious few editions are unfortunately sold out already, but I do plan to have it put out as an ebook in the near future. [Noted on 11/26/10: It is now available as an ebook at this link.] (Thanks again, Kevin, for taking a quick snapshot of moi!)

This essay holds a very special place in my heart. As I've said elsewhere before, the piece was written during a very difficult summer of my life—added job responsibilities and stress, lousy love life, doubts about my abilities as a writer, and uncertainties about staying on in New York. I managed to piece together a string of short observations about being a deaf gay writer. After whittling down some 60 pages to a manageable 28 pages, I sent "Notes of a Deaf Gay Writer" off to the magazine CHRISTOPHER STREET. The rest, as one might say, is history, and it eventually inspired my eighth book ASSEMBLY REQUIRED: NOTES FROM A DEAF GAY LIFE some nineteen years later. This time I revisit the original essay with a 20-year hindsight and offer a running commentary on whether things have changed since its initial publication in December 1990.

I'm just very pleased with seeing this back in print, even if for a very short time. Be on the lookout for the ebook edition! Enjoy the rest of your summer, everyone!

Itsy-Bitsy Spider's Got Some Itsy-Bitsy News (and Reviews) ...

Hello ...

While I continue to await word on my second novel and work on my third novel, I did want to toss out a few shout-outs:

- Verse Daily. My poem "The Elegist," which comes from my book Mute, was chosen as today's poem. It's a huge honor because so many publishers have tried to get them to choose one poem a day. Needless to say, I'm very tickled pink!

- Wilde Oats. They published an old short story of mine called "They Come Crawling." Please enjoy!

- Out in Print. They gave my novel Men with Their Hands a rave review. Check it out!

- Lambda Literary. Mute scores a very thoughtful review. One of the best I've ever gotten for my work as a poet.

- Out in Perth. Over there in Australia, they gave Mute a lovely rave.

- We'll Never Have Paris. They've excerpted my poems "Marenisco Eyes" and "Pitch" for their sixth issue, which also features an interview with yours truly. Check out their cool zine!

- Minneapolis Observer Quarterly. Sharon Parker enjoyed my memoir Assembly Required: Notes from a Deaf Gay Life. While the review isn't posted online, I'll quote Ms. Parker in part: "Books often take us places we would not otherwise go and offer a glimpse of a life we would never experience⎯sometimes imaginary, sometimes real. Raymond Luczak shows us, through a series of vignettes and observations, his very real life, and what it’s like to be twice marginalized.

Luczak takes us through an awkward childhood; a series of awakenings as he realizes that his sexuality must be kept a secret; and the wonderful discoveries that there are others like him, with whom he can communicate more naturally.

Deafness is not just about the physical limitations of hearing loss, but a subculture as well. Luczak gets to know those who would as soon live apart from the society of the hearing, and those who feel compelled⎯as he does⎯to straddle both worlds. He shares some surprising insights on different ways of communicating. “When I translate from ASL to English, I am always struck by the baroqueness of our English language.”

- My web site. It's been slightly updated with a fresh header montage. Thanks again, Ron!

Even though it feels wet and nippy out there right now, I'm glad that spring is here. Let the groovy greenery begin!

Later,

Raymond

I shouldn't shout ... but MUTE is coming out!

Hello, everyone!

While I've been busy rewriting my new play The Darkest Room in the House for Bridge Productions these days for its performance in March 2010, I got word that my newest book of poems, Mute, will be shipping within two weeks. (OMG.)


Here's what A Midsummer Night's Press had to say about my book:

"Do not be afraid of your face.
Move into a beam of light
in the bar. Smile openly.
Watch his hands move
quicker than strobe lights
as he surveys the crowd with his friends.
Do not think of how hard
it might be to have a casual
conversation.

-- From “How to Fall for a Deaf Man”

Silence is always a powerful statement, but even more so in the hands of Raymond Luczak, who demonstrates in his third collection what it’s like to navigate between the warring languages of confusion and clarity.

As a deaf gay man in the hearing world, he lends an unforgettable voice to his reality of ache and loss beyond the inadequate translation of sound."

Kinda flattering, no? I have absolutely no idea who those two sexy guys on the cover are, but I like how they seem to be listening for each other's silence. Heck, you can "listen" to my new poems by preordering a copy of Mute at this link. (Yep, shipping is FREE within the U.S.!)

If you want the book's ISBN number for ordering through your favorite bookstore, please copy the product information from here. You can also preorder the book from Amazon, but it won't likely ship as quickly.

In a week or so, I will post a few samples and a trailer for the book on YouTube and elsewhere online. I've also consolidated all my book trailers into one place on YouTube. Check them all out!

Thanks again for your continued support. May your toes stay warm and toasty!

Hugs,

Raymond

Hey, I'm back!

The first month of 2010 is almost over, and I still feel like I've been on a whirlwind between a number of projects that will see fruition later this year. (I'll share more details in due time when they're ready.)

For now, I've uploaded a brand-new clip promoting my novel MEN WITH THEIR HANDS which I'd taped on January 10th, and yes, I've also included a new PDF sampler from the book as well. Go to this link for the PDF and check out the video below. (The look is a bit different as I'm using a new Flip video camera that does hi-def.)



If you don't know American Sign Language (ASL), relax. The clip is subtitled in English, and there is no soundtrack. Give your ears a break!

My next book of poems, MUTE, is practically good to go. Within the next two weeks or so, I'll post a copy of the cover for your enjoyment. A Midsummer Night's Press is publishing it in April. I don't have a page about the book on my web site yet, but as soon as you can preorder the book, I'll create a page (or two) with a few poem samples.

And what other projects have been keeping me out of trouble these days? A few new books, including two non-Deaf novels in search of a publisher, and a renewed interest in cooking new recipes, making breads, and baking cookies. Yum yum yum!

So it isn't just my poor addled brain that I've been pushing hard lately. I'm feeding it with exciting new flavors. Here's hoping (however belatedly) that 2010 will be an exciting new year!

My first novel MEN WITH THEIR HANDS ... is coming out.

The book is coming out ... NEXT week! Okay, okay--what's it about? I'll quote my publisher on this one:

Sometimes your own family isn't enough.

"Growing up different is never easy, but Michael, a deaf young man from a small town, knows that he must find his true family beyond his biological one. He struggles and fails to find others of his kind until he attends college in New York City.

There, we meet a variety of people from a deaf gay family of sorts: Eddie, an older accountant aching for love; Lee, an effeminate dishwasher with a pronounced weakness for red-haired men; Vince, a charismatic dancer who lives intensely no matter the state of his health; Neil, a brooding woodcarver who becomes a deaf woman’s obsession; Stan, a lanky stock boy at the A&P on Christopher Street; Ted, a hard-of-hearing college student with ambivalent feelings about the deaf community; and Rex, an ASL interpreter who avoids his own emotions during the early days of the AIDS epidemic.

It is through these people that Michael, no longer a smalltown boy, begins to create a new family of his own. Taking place from 1978 to 2003, his story will open your eyes and heart to what it means to be different in an indifferent world."

Over 20 years in the making, the novel was also a first-place grant recipient from the Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation for Full-Length Fiction 2003. Since 1991, fourteen of its chapters have appeared in various journals and anthologies such as BLOOM and Men on Men 4: Best New Gay Fiction. One of its chapters, "Interpretations," was chosen as one of the Best Gay Stories 2008 (Lethe Press). Two of its chapters were also adapted and performed as stage monologues.

The novel will be available from Rebel Satori Press via their QueerMojo imprint. A video clip in which I talk about the book will be posted sometime in December 2009, and of course, I will give a bunch of readings around the country in April 2010. Stay tuned!

While you could order the book from Amazon, chances are very good that you'll get it much quicker via my publisher's web site HERE.

I will add a PDF sampler and a video clip soon, but if you can't wait to read this book, please order a copy for yourself and let me know what you think!

Thanks, and have a most wonderful Thanksgiving!