David Wojnarowicz
I’ve been in love with Wojnarowicz’s work, specifically his writing, since my late teens (I’m in my late-thirties now). Reading [italic]Close to the Knives: A Memoir of Disintegration[/italic] - the first book of his I read after sneaking it off the shelf of the Gay & Lesbian section of the local Barnes & Noble - was a watershed moment for me.
Today, I got to hear his voice for the first time and I teared up. I needed to take a break from the insanity of the last three days, and hearing his voice, thoughts, and feelings has been a wonderful and cathartic way to do it. I let out all of my feelings.
Anyway, I just took a quick break from working out and listening to share an extended clip with you all. If you choose to listen, the first couple of seconds of the clip below are the sounds of a radio, maybe in Spanish, that he’s recording. He sporadically inserts recordings of random sounds into his taped journals, so don’t be alarmed.
What he speaks and writes about fills me with solace.
| by Anonymous | reply 27 | May 19, 2021 6:24 PM
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Fascinating discussion (w/ footage of David being interviewed) between Sylvere Lotringer and Marion Scemama regarding an interview with David he conducted and she filmed.
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | January 9, 2021 5:27 PM
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Marion Scemama also directed the 2018 documentary [italic]Self-Portrait in 23 Rounds: a Chapter in David Wojnarowicz’s Life, 1989–1991[/italic]. (“Self-Portrait in 23 Rounds” is the title of the first chapter of [italic]Close to the Knives[/italic]).
I can’t find it for stream or purchase anywhere. 😞
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | January 9, 2021 5:30 PM
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In case any of you are interested in reading it - I highly recommend it - the first 21 pages of [italic]Close to the Knives[/italic] are available as a preview.
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | January 9, 2021 5:33 PM
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You bitches. No comment, no taste.
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | January 12, 2021 6:33 AM
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Out took a break from trans content to do an appreciation of him a few years ago. They found and interviewed his widower, who's still alive.
| by Anonymous | reply 5 | January 12, 2021 6:41 AM
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Thanks for this thread and the few comments. Will check out the videos and article. I read Close to the Knives a year or two ago and I regularly quote ‘smell the roses’ to myself if I’m having a moment where I’m being pointlessly negative or down about something I really don’t need to be.
| by Anonymous | reply 6 | January 12, 2021 6:55 AM
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R6 Nice. What made you book up his book?
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | January 12, 2021 6:58 AM
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OP, I'm hunting for something new to read. Sounds worth checking out.
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | January 12, 2021 7:02 AM
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R5 Thanks for sharing that. I hadn’t read it.
Tony Kushner is a big fan of David’s work and wrote the introduction to [italic]The Waterfront Journals[/italic], which is a brilliant collection writings; portraits-through-monologues, really, of the varied people he met on the road.
| by Anonymous | reply 9 | January 12, 2021 7:03 AM
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This interview, I believe, was conducted not long before his death. He discusses his feelings regarding testing positive for HIV/AIDS.
I was reminded of him recently - I own all of his writing and photography - because I was watching an interview with Fran Lebowitz after watching the Scorsese series, and she was talking at length about her friendship with photographer Peter Hujar, who was David’s great love.
| by Anonymous | reply 10 | January 12, 2021 7:09 AM
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In the article below, there is a photograph David took of Peter after he died of complications with AIDS.
| by Anonymous | reply 11 | January 12, 2021 7:14 AM
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R6 What made you *pick up his book? He’s not what one would call a ‘popular writer.’
| by Anonymous | reply 12 | January 12, 2021 7:22 AM
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Is there any man-to-man sex in all of this?
| by Anonymous | reply 13 | January 12, 2021 8:18 AM
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R13 David wasn’t afraid of writing about sex, let’s just say that.
| by Anonymous | reply 14 | January 12, 2021 8:21 AM
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R7 and R12: I think I might have seen a post with him mentioned on the AIDS Memorial Instagram account. Or he might have been mentioned in another book I was reading at the time. Then I looked up his book and ordered it second hand on Amazon. Definitely glad I did.
| by Anonymous | reply 15 | January 12, 2021 8:21 AM
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Cool. R51 Check out @The Waterfront Journals” if you haven’t already.
| by Anonymous | reply 16 | January 12, 2021 2:29 PM
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R17 I posted a preview of it upthread. It’s a slim collection but in some ways just as powerful as his memoir. Each chapter is a monologue by someone someone he met on the road during his travels. It’s powerful, illuminating, and heartbreaking.
| by Anonymous | reply 18 | January 12, 2021 8:00 PM
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No other fans? I was reading about the piers in the Halston thread and immediately thought of David’s recounting of his experiences there.
He wrote like a dream.
| by Anonymous | reply 20 | May 19, 2021 4:41 AM
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Not cute, no care.
Who's the latest 19-year-old straight guy on TikTok?
| by Anonymous | reply 21 | May 19, 2021 7:00 AM
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Listening to him speak, I'm transported back to late 80s with the horror of AIDS ,yet a strange sense of community amongst gays.
| by Anonymous | reply 22 | May 19, 2021 7:27 AM
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Community?
Ew.
This fuggo would be laughed off Instagram in a week.
| by Anonymous | reply 23 | May 19, 2021 7:53 AM
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[quote]Not cute, no care.
Okay, Woo Li, R21.
| by Anonymous | reply 24 | May 19, 2021 11:54 AM
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R23 I guess your comment speaks volumes about the vacuousness of those who live on or follow Instagram.
I'll pass, thanks.
Not even a rain check.
| by Anonymous | reply 26 | May 19, 2021 5:38 PM
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David’s writing should be required reading for all gay men.
| by Anonymous | reply 27 | May 19, 2021 6:24 PM
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