title: Beneath the Skin: The Collected Essays
author: John Rechy
description: A boost in Rechy's literary visibility following the 2002 biography <I>Outlaw </I>makes the time ripe for this career-spanning collection of essays. Broken into four sections, the anthology organizes its pieces generally by decade (though the first section covers the period 1958 to 1979) with occasional afterthoughts. Though one of the goals is to demonstrate Rechy's versatility beyond the homosexual themes (from AIDS to homosexuality in film) that made him famous, too many of the wider-ranging pieces are not especially noteworthy. Eminent exceptions include reportage from 1970 on the army's battle against soldiers protesting the Vietnam War and a 2003 tribute to the late Kathleen Winsor (<I>Forever Amber</I>), while the opening chapter on Rechy's childhood roots in the Mexican immigrant culture of El Paso illuminates a milieu that has shaped his writing. Rechy tends to be more energetic and persuasive when he turns to queer subjects; one prominent homophobic attack on his first novel, <I>City of Night,</I> still rankles 40 years later and is the subject of two articles. This isn't an ideal introduction to Rechy&mdash;his fiction better serves that purpose&mdash;but it will give those familiar with him much to think about and to feel, including perhaps regret that he hasn't done more of the journalistic writing that, at its best, highlights his powers of observation. <I>(Mar.)</I> <BR>Copyright &copy; Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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  # Copyright & Information
  
  
  A Good Read
  
  
  
  
  
  First published in 1949
  
  
  © John Creasey Literary Management Ltd.; House of Stratus 1949-2014
  
  
  
  
  
  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
  a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic,
  mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior
  permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in
  relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil
  claims for damages.
  
  
  The right of John Creasey to be identified as the author of this work has been
  asserted.
  
  
  This edition published in 2014 by House of Stratus, an imprint of
  
  
  Stratus Books Ltd., Lisandra House, Fore Street, Looe,
  
  
  Cornwall, PL13 1AD, UK.
  
  
  Typeset by House of Stratus.
  
  
  A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library and the
  Library of Congress.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  EAN
  
  
  