Whatever Happened To Queer Happiness
Kevin Brazil
‘A timely probe into small acts of dissent, seeking out a wild tenderness and new sources of light.’
– Jeremy Atherton Lin, author of Gay Bar
‘Brazil's essays constitute an important and intelligently interrogated archive of contemporary queer art and literature. Everybody should read this book.’
– Isabel Waidner, author of We Are Made Of Diamond Stuff
‘Kevin Brazil is one of the most incisive commentators on contemporary art, literature and culture around: these gems of essays form radical reimaginings of places, histories, and ways of being together. ’
– Francesca Wade, author of Square Haunting
‘Kevin Brazil takes us on a mind-blowingly diverse tour of all things queer, from the more familiar landmarks such as Jarman, Sam Steward and Felix Gonzalez-Torres through to the less familiar though no less crucial Catherine Opie and Hamad Butt. He writes cleverly and clearly and most importantly, lovingly – especially about music. A fresh new queer voice to be transfixed by.’
– Jonathan Kemp
Whatever Happened To Queer Happiness by Kevin Brazil
In this highly accessible, entertaining and provocative work of non-fiction Kevin Brazil combines essay and memoir to ask one of the most pertinent questions of our current age: whatever happened to queer happiness?
Exploring the lives of artists and writers from the past, current discourse around queerness and his own experiences, Brazil argues that art and literature needs to move away from celebrating the pain of queerness and embracing all the positive, ecstatic, collective joy that queer culture produces.
Brazil’s enlivening ideas around queerness combat the isolation of individuality and shame, instead championing collectivity, commonality, and visions of shared pleasure; offering both critique and a way of remaking the world.
A timely, eminently readable and fascinating book for all readers of creative non-fiction, Whatever Happened to Queer Happiness? is a work of literature that will reverberate for years to come.
About the author
Kevin Brazil is a writer and critic who lives in London. He grew up in County Wexford, Ireland.
His writing has appeared in Granta, The White Review, the London Review of Books, the Times Literary Supplement, Art Review, Studio International, and elsewhere.
Paperback ISBN: 9781910312957
Ebook ISBN: 9781910312964
Publication date: September 2022
Formats: Paperback / eBook