Gay and Lesbian Theme Views and Mechanics Publisher's Note Editor's Note Review of This Is Not For You Review of Potato Queen Crossword (Solution Posted in March. Printable version in pdf format of journal.) Creative Nonfiction Tunis, Forever By John Champagne Bisexuality 101 By Evelyn McFarland Poetry Blackouts By Steve Rydman Self Loathing By Steve Rydman A Boy Reads YM By Steve Rydman I Finally Found Me By Lucretia Randle Acorn Boy Above the Conclave By James Penha Fiction As If In Time Of War (1985) By Christopher T. Leland General Works Creative Nonfiction Stone Musings #5 By Mike Munsil Ascent Into Being By Holly Mitchell Fiction Come Winter By Sandra M. McDow The End of Stories By Sonia Vora Coal Blood By Tom Bennitt About the Contributors © 2006, River Walk Journal and respective authors and artists. All rights reserved. Do not use or reproduce without permission. River Walk Journal, Inc. Board of Directors Chairman - Elizabeth Ross Vice Chairman - Joseph Koch Secretary/Treasurer - Geri Stock-Ross Editorial Director - Patti Kurtz, DA Literacy Director - Bill Mausteller Policy Director - vacant Advisory Board Chairman - Patti Kurtz, DA Asst. Chairman - Dan Lachenman, PhD Samuel Hazo Christopher Leland Edwin Yoder Joseph Bathanti Journal Staff Publisher - Elizabeth Ross Editor-In-Chief - Joseph Koch Sen. Fiction Editor - Patti Kurtz Sen. Poetry Editor - Neeldhara Misra Sen. Creative Nonfiction Editor - Brenda Coxe Contributing Editor - Robert Dittman Publicity Director (PA) - Geri Stock-Ross For information about submissions, visit http://www.riverwalkjournal.org/submission.html. Questions about promotions, subscribers' services, and advertising should be sent to publisher@riverwalkjournal.org. River Walk Journal, Inc. is a non-profit corporation run entirely by volunteers. For information about volunteer opportunities and internships, visit http://www.riverwalkjournal.org/volunteer.html. |
Review of Potato Queen By Rafaelito V. Sy The title Potato Queen refers to a gay Asian man who is attracted to white men. Its complement in gay sexuality is a "rice queen" or a white man who is attracted to Asian men. Lead character Juancho Chu falls into the first category, his newfound friend/lover Gerald into the second. This should be a match made in heaven were it not for the unpredictable vagaries of human emotions. Potato Queen is a gay themed story about finding one's identity, however uncomfortable or challenging that may become. It's fictional hero, Juancho, a gay Philippine native sees his life as going through the tumultuous course of discovering his own identity and answering a key identity question: what makes any one person physically attractive. Most importantly where does Juancho, overweight and pimply as the story begins, fit into this picture? Juancho likens his dilemma to that of an ugly duckling trying arduously to be transformed into beautiful swan. This is frequently a time consuming and sometimes a troublesome process. Then there is the confusing world of role models. Most of what Juancho understands about identity and what is socially attractive comes from American TV reruns. We are introduced to Juancho as desperately looking for the way to self-identity, the path from ugly duckling to painfully elusive swandom. It is a conundrum not limited to the gay world. The answers he seeks are in short supply in his own backyard. In Juancho's mind to discover what he needs he will have to travel to America and specifically San Francisco. His parents have property in that city so he will at least have a roof over his head in his quest. In San Francisco he discovers that the famed Castro Street, once an eternal haven for hippies, has gone dramatically gay. For Juancho it is not an unwelcome discovery. When he lands a job at a travel magazine he discovers a gay world that is integral to the staff and to most of his endeavors, personal and business. This is particularly true when he connects with Gerald, and eventually another male, a gay porn star. We learn rapidly that in Juancho's journey for self-discovery and self-identity the path will not be clear and well marked. Hovering just out of reach but still vividly alive is Juancho's dream of U. S. citizenship. Author and Manila native Rafaelito Sy, has novelized a frequently humorus, often colorful but distinctly non-romanticized picture of the male homosexual lifestyle. Within sometimes graphic and vivid love scenes the reader is presented with a blunt look at personal identity through the eyes of a homosexual. This becomes a bit graphic. Author Sy alternately treats the reader to well-written polished narrative and choppy transitions where verb tenses do not agree and at times his dialogue flow reads a bit like a courtroom transcript. Considering the author is writing in his second language, these are forgivable offenses. He seems to be riding the fence between a literate read and best selling sleaze. Sy doesn't shy away from vivid descriptions in the rougher passages. Potato Queen will not appeal to all audiences. But strip away the controversial subject matter and what we have is an unwavering look at finding the answer to the nagging question: "Who am I?" Sy's expansive gay backdrop has taken the question out of once deeply taboo depths and examined it under a hot sexual spotlight. Potato Queen has its share of weaknesses. We alternately care very much about the characters or merely want to turn the page and move on. Sy's novel alternates between a particularly easy read and tiresome treatise. Regardless of one's intimate persuasive it appears to have its heart in the right place. Robert Dittman Potato Queen By Rafaelito V. Sy ISBN 1928662064 Palari Publishing, 2005 |