A vibrant study of self-expression and self-assertion.
Living out loud.
“Before it meant anything else, the word flamboyant simply meant flaming,” writes Parlett (Fire Island, 2022) in this wide-ranging survey that recalls books like Olivia Laing’s The Lonely City and Imani Perry’s Black in Blues. Today, the author notes, flamboyance has come to signify “an embrace of your inner child, an unruly love of the colorful and ridiculous, a recall to the defiance of a teenage self.” But he begins with those flames, “wavy undulating, S-shaped curves” seen in the stonework of 15th- and 16th-century Gothic churches in Europe and later dubbed the Flamboyant style; their extravagance may have inspired holiness but also, in the words of Victorian critic John Ruskin, “ceased to be earnest, and ceased to be sincere.” The tension between excess and authenticity animates the book’s many explorations, which include In Search of Lost Time, Lil Nas X, flamenco, flamingos, Oscar Wilde, William Morris wallpaper, and Quentin Crisp, as well as lesser-known figures such as Harriet Monroe, an early 20th-century writer and vagabond for whom flamboyance was “at least the beginning of art.” Flamboyance can be a form of resistance, too, as in the theatrical protests of ACT UP and the Lesbian Avengers. Braided through these aesthetic and political ruminations is the author’s own story: a wary gay boy growing up in the U.K. in the late 1990s, later drinking and partying to extremes in New York, and ultimately finding sobriety. “I have had my moments,” he writes, “loud outfits here and there, flashes of self-belief on a stage, uninhibited movements on a dance floor, loosened by chemicals. In reality, my instinct most of the time is to move toward the background.” That instinct serves him as a writer; if his prose is not, well, flamboyant, it is perceptive and probing.
A vibrant study of self-expression and self-assertion.Pub Date: May 26, 2026
ISBN: 9781335949325
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Hanover Square Press
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
A skillful and succinct examination of Shakespeare’s relationship with Henry Wriothesley.
Medina delves into the life of William Shakespeare to investigate his love affair with the Earl of Southampton.
The author, a political and policy advisor and former deputy chief of staff for Michelle Obama, introduces his concise biography of Shakespeare by citing the subject that interests him most, which other biographers, per Medina, have either neglected or outright denied: the Bard’s relationship with a young aristocrat, which is prominently referenced in his sonnets and several other works. “Why ignore Shakespeare’s greatest love?” Medina asks. At the time he met Shakespeare, Henry Wriothesley, third Earl of Southampton, was only 17, but he already held impressive degrees and social status. The author analyzes Shakespeare’s sonnets, finding evidence of their passion against a social backdrop in which homosexuality was illegal but strong same-sex bonds were nevertheless encouraged. Medina traces their story through revealing moments in Shakespeare’s works, notably “The Rape of Lucrece” and The Merchant of Venice, while also giving careful consideration to Shakespeare’s rising financial and social status thanks to the Earl’s patronage and despite attitudes about the hedonism of the theatre scene. Political aspects also come under scrutiny with the end of the Elizabethan era and the arrival of King James (leading the author to reveal some of the more salacious court gossip he has uncovered). In his conclusion, Medina levels a thoughtful critique of literary editors and critics who, in the author’s view, have tried to erase Shakespeare’s romantic love for Wriothesley. Throughout, Medina is quick to dismiss traditional, heteronormative interpretations of Shakespeare’s work. His succinct, blanket statements about characters being “undeniably gay” or previous cultural assertions being simply “false” can come off as defensive rather than logical conclusions flowing from his research, but the sheer amount of material Medina has amassed and efficiently summarized may win readers over to his point of view in the end. Despite being a slim volume, his biography is overflowing with well-observed anecdotes and deft descriptions that paint a full portrait of the ways in which theater, homosexuality, and Shakespeare himself fit into the society of the time.
A skillful and succinct examination of Shakespeare’s relationship with Henry Wriothesley.Pub Date: April 22, 2025
ISBN: 9781633311060
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Disruption Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An inspiring memoir that will thrill soccer fans as well as social justice activists.
The soccer superstar discusses her life on and off the field and how she has used celebrity in the service of social justice.
Rapinoe grew up in “an athletic family” in small-town Northern California. Early in childhood, she and her identical twin, Rachael, revealed exceptional physical gifts. Both began playing soccer on a boys team at age 6 and quickly overshadowed peers with their "instinctive hand-eye coordination and physical fearlessness.” Later, they played on an all-female team their father created until both were selected to join a bigger, more competitive one in Sacramento. As their soccer skills developed, the sisters discovered a passion for justice of all kinds. “My sister and I have this in common: nothing riles us up more than bullying, cheating, unfairness,” writes the author. Eventually, this passion for social justice became the cornerstone of Rapinoe's stances on such issues as LGBTQ+ rights, pay equity in sports, and the Black Lives Matter movement. When the author reached college in 2004, she surpassed Rachael as an athlete and received an invitation to play in the FIFA Under-19 Women's World Championship in Thailand. In 2006, she joined the U.S. national team as the "youngest and least experienced player.” A major knee injury put her out of contention for the 2008 Olympic team but also taught her the meaning of patience and humility. After college, she turned professional and, in 2012, publicly came out as a lesbian. After a World Cup victory in 2015, Rapinoe became a vocal advocate for pay increases for female athletes, and in 2016, she took a knee to protest racial injustice. This candid memoir about an outspoken White athlete who has consciously "extend[ed] [her] privilege" to those marginalized people both in and out of the sporting world is sure to engage general audiences and soccer fans alike.
An inspiring memoir that will thrill soccer fans as well as social justice activists.Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-984881-16-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Penguin Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
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