books of gay spirit & wisdom


Lethe's gay titles include an array of gay-positive novels, poetry, erotica and literature for gay men & lesbians. In addition, Lethe has partnered with the White Crane Institute to bring out new and classic titles in gay spirituality and gay wisdom under the White Crane Books imprint. Lethe is one of the world's leading publishers of gay and lesbian spirituality, poetry, and independent fiction. Below is a list of Lethe Press's books of gay spirit, spirituality and wisdom--both fiction and non-fiction.

Freedom Glorious Freedom

click cover for larger image
Freedom Glorious Freedom
The Spiritual Journey to the Fullness of Life
For Gays, Lesbians,and Everybody Else

By John J. McNeill

n Freedom, Glorious Freedom, acclaimed author John J. McNeill shows how lesbian and gay Christians can achieve full spiritual maturity and self-acceptance. McNeill discusses freedom of conscience and discernment of spirits, ancient teachings of the Christian church that have a special urgency for lesbian and gay people who need to free themselves from all the homophobic authorities and deal with God on a direct and personal basis. The liberating process of coming out of the closet is seen as a spirit-filled effort to achieve the glory of God by becoming fully alive. McNeill offers a twelve-step spirituality as a spiritual process of liberation from all addictions in order to experience the love of God in its fullness. The epilogue expresses in detail a philosophical vision, looking both to the past and to the future, of how gay liberation fits into the Spirit-directed evolution of human history and its role in the ongoing struggle for human liberation.

For more than thirty-five years, John J. McNeill, an ordained priest and psychotherapist, has been devoting his life to spreading the good news of God’s love for lesbian and gay Christians.
Lethe Press
323 pages
6x9 trade paperback
978-1-59021-148-9


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sex as god intended



Sex as God Intended
A Reflection on Human Sexuality as Play

By John J. McNeill

with Festschrift essays celebrating the life and work of John J. McNeill

For more than thirty-five years, John J. McNeill, an ordained priest and psychotherapist, has been devoting his life to spreading the good news of God's love for lesbian and gay Christians. McNeill presents a simple and straightforward answer to the question: What did God invent sex for? The answer, derived from an incisive investigation of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures, is that God intended sex as a source of pleasure, joy and love.

This book represents a concise summary of the wisdom culled over a lifetime. McNeill's ideas have enriched the faith of thousands, including fellow teachers, religious scholars, ministers and lay folk.

 
This volume includes a Festschrift to John McNeill, celebrating his life and work in a series of essays by students, friends, and activists, honoring him for his lasting contribution and spelling out how he touched their lives and work.

Toby Johnson  •  Mark Jordan  •  Robert E. Goss •  Jim Mitulski  •  Mary Elizabeth Hunt  • Sr. Jeannine Gramick • Vincent Virom Coppola • Virginia Ramey Mollenkott • Mel White • Daniel Helminiak  •  John Stasio  •  Brendan Fay  and Rev. Troy Perry


Click: For more information about this book


Very good and interesting review by Jack Gardner from Philadelphia EDGE
Descriptive and analytic, 5-Star review by William Lindsey

Long, critical but positive and celebratory review from "queering the church.com"

Dignity USA review by Jeff Stone



Lethe Press
268 pages
6x9 trade paperback

1-59021-042-5
978-1-59021-042-0



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contemplations

Contemplations of the Heart: A Book of Male Spirit, Photography, Digital Imaging and Text
By Peter Grahame

Contemplations of the Heart highlights men of many different ages, shapes, sizes and colors. The non-erotic, non-objectifying male nude photographic and digital images, and the meditation-style text, are reflective of positive self-image and self-acceptance, and it suggests how these may lead to a deeper sense of the spiritual self, most especially for Gay men. Hard cover, mostly full color, the book measures 5.75 in. x 8.25 in. All male photo subjects appearing are 18 or older. This book is very reasonably priced, and a great gift.

Visit the author/photographer's website

Wonderful review in Edge Los Angeles
Ironic Horse Studio

distributed by
Lethe Press
ISBN 978-0-977427802
84 pages
$16.95

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seventy times seven


Seventy Times Seven

a novel
By Salvatore Sapienza


An intriguing look into current-day religious life… The story of a young Catholic teaching brother realizing the true meaning of serving others and living life, Seventy Times Seven is readable and entertaining, with just the right twists and turns to keep the reader engrossed.


One of the "Top 5 Books of 2008" -- UP Reviews

Read reviews on the author's site

Lethe Press Paperback,
260 pages
ISBN 978-1-59021-057-4



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Getting Life in Perspective


Getting Life in Perspective

A Fastastical Romance
By Toby Johnson

Sweet, sexy, wise and thoroughly entertaining, this mytho-historical novel, featuring two lovable apparitions from the late 1800s America, interweaves a heart-warming storey of youthful romance and adventure with an ageless life-affirming and gay-positive spiritual message 
             ...along with just a touch of the Twilight Zone.

Visit the author's website

Rainbow Reviews gave 5 stars!
read the review by Matthew

Read Steve Williams' WONDERFUL review on Suite101.com

Lethe Press Paperback,
244 pages
ISBN 978-1-59021-126-7


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------
Available in Large Print
Hard Cover
ISBN 1-59021-076-X
$20

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carpenter



 
Pagan and Christian Creeds
By Edward Carpenter

A collection of essays by the English socialist poet, anthologist and early homosexual activist. The book is an attempt to make an objective comparison between the origins and practices of pagan religions and christianity.


Lethe Press Paperback,
320 pages
ISBN  1590210077
$19.95

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Clark

Someone Gay: Memoirs
By Don Clark, Ph.D.

The author of the perennially popular and life-changing book, Loving Someone Gay, recounts his own life journey from shame, failure, guilt and fear to pride, self-confidence and understanding of true feelings. Sharing how he made the transformation himself, the first officially openly gay psychologist in the U.S. and "father of gay-oriented psychotherapy" points the way for others to claim gay identity and gay pride and follow him to happiness, meaning, love and success.


Lethe Press Paperback,
360 pages
ISBN 1590210670
 

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Johnson SM

Secret Matter
By Toby Johnson

The winner of a Lambda Literary Award for Gay Men's Science Fiction and bestselling novel, Secret Matter returns to print in a revised edition for the 21st century. With an afterword by gay theologian, social commentator Mark Jordan.

BONUS with this edition: Adam and Steve, a whimsical tale with a profound insight

Kevin Anderson is moving along through his life, finishing up college, and getting ready to leave New York for an internship rebuilding San Francisco after an immense earthquake. Then the Visitors arrive; a race of human-like aliens touch down in several cities around the globe, including SF, and nothing will ever be the same. When Kevin's company is given a contract to build a facility for the Visitors, he forms a friendship with ïBel, one of their number. But is 'Bel so alien after all? They seem so human, but they possess some odd characteristics and seem to be hiding something. What secrets do they carry, and where, exactly, are they from?

Visit the author's website


Lethe Press Paperback,
248 pages
ISBN 1590210174
 


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the author



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Michaelson

Another Word for Sky: Poems
By Jay Michaelson

"Jay Michaelson knows too well that our life is a wedding and a funeral, at the same time, in any given moment. The erotic on these pages comes hand in hand with the devotional."
- Ilya Kaminsky, author of Dancing in Odessa

" If you are comfortable in your pew, these may not be the poems for you. But if you want fully embodied poems of outrage and love -- and if you want to "make a religion of flaw," read Another Word for Sky. You wonÍt regret it."
- Richard Chess, author of Third Temple

Jay Michaelson is the executive director of Nehirim: GLBT Jewish Culture and Spirituality, and a leading figure in the gay spirituality movement. Visitors to Easton Mountain, Burning Man, Body Electric, and many other places have thrilled to his ecstatic, erotic performances of visionary queer mystical poetry -- and now his first book of poems is out from Lethe Press. At times reflective, at times outrageous, Another Word for Sky stakes Michaelson's claim to be the James Broughton, even the Allen Ginsberg, of his generation.

Visit the author's website




Lethe Press Paperback
104 pages
ISBN-13 978-1-59021-061-4



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Williams





Two Spirits:  A Story of Life With the Navajo

By Walter L. Williams  & Toby Johnson

Twenty years after publishing his ground-breaking The Spirit and the Flesh, anthropologist Walter L. Williams breaks his silence and writes another book on Native Americans. Together with award-winning writer Toby Johnson, he has produced a work of historical fiction striking in its evocation of Navajo philosophy and spirituality. Set in the Civil War era of the 1860s, this novel tells the story of a young Virginian who finds himself captivated by a Navajo Two-Spirit male. This book illuminates the truth of what the United States did to the largest indigenous people of this nation. A novel full of suspense, plot twists, and endearing romance.

From Rainbow-reviews by Blondie:
"What can I say about this book. It was AWESOME. I felt like I was there among the Dine, in the Sweat Lodge, in Santa Fe watching Joelle sing. I could see the mountains and feel the hot air and all the glory of the Southwest. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who loves historical fiction with gay characters in it. I'd give this book 10 stars if I could, but definitely 5 stars."

Visit the author's website 

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Lethe Press Paperback,
332 pgs
ISBN1590210603
 


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A note to Australians who land on this site:
Clouds of Magellan is an independent publishing imprint, based in Melbourne, Australia.
Clouds specialises in non-fiction in the area of spirituality, broadly defined, and publishes some fiction and poetry. They publish Michael Kelly, former Dignity leader in Australia (Rainbow Sash Movement) and part-time resident at Easton Mountain Gay Retreat in upstate New York.
















white crane books logo








White Crane Books


White Crane Books is an imprint of Lethe Press, affiliated with the White Crane Institute, a nonprofit organization which promotes the study of the role of gay men, queer sexualities and gender variation and orientation in the evolution, psychology, sociology, and practice of spirituality, ritual, and religion. The White Crane Institute's goal, and the purpose of White Crane Books, is to foster the gathering and dissemination of information about the critical role sexuality and gender has played and continues to play in the development of cultural, spiritual and religious traditions and to provide a nurturing environment for the continuation and expansion of those explorations for the greater good of all society.


For more about White Crane & White Crane Books, visit:
gaywisdom.org

whitecranebooks.org

Be sure to look at other Lethe titles of Gay Spirit



Gay Perspective




Gay Perspective:
Things our [homo]sexuality tells us about the nature of God and the Universe


By Toby Johnson

Back in print, expanded and updated, with a new Preface by the author, Johnson's Lammy-nominated bold statement of the spiritual side of gay consciousness.

Nice review on Rainbow Reviews



visit the author's website


White Crane Books Trade Paperback
264  pages
ISBN 1590210409



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prophet in his own land

A Prophet In His Own Land

A Malcolm Boyd Reader
Edited by Bo Young and Dan Vera


For over sixty years, Malcolm Boyd has written truthfully about his own journey to fullness.  From theologian to civil rights pioneer to coffee house troubadour to gay rights icon, Boyd has courageously and whole-heartedly shown the way to a deeper, more honest examination of all our lives, leading by example. Bo Young and Dan Vera interview Malcolm and his partner Mark Thompson about their years together. Many of Boyd's previously unavailable articles are reprinted here.





White Crane Books Hardcover,
328  pages
ISBN 1590210115


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Take Off the Masks
By Malcolm Boyd


White Crane Books is proud to re-release Boyd's classic spiritual biography and coming out story, Take Off  the Masks, for a new generation of readers hungry for its insight, honesty and soulful perception.  With a new introduction by BoydÍs life partner, Mark Thompson, and a newly added postscript by Rev. Canon Boyd himself.


White Crane Books Paperback,
160 pages
ISBN 1590210654


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Broughton

ALL: A James Broughton Reader
Edited by Jack Foley

In a life that stretched from 1913 to 1999 James Broughton witnessed and commented on the twentieth century from the point of view of an outsider. In a time aghast at its own horrors, Broughton championed laughter. He was a poet, not of the ivory tower but of the innovative street, a playful, urban voice with the notion that a poet could change the world. In a rational century, he asserted mystery. All: A James Broughton Reader collects the range of this acclaimed poet and filmmaker.


White Crane Books Paperback,
272 pages
ISBN 1590210212


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Johnson GS

                                                                                           Lambda Literary Award Winner
Gay Spirituality   
By Toby Johnson

In this Lambda Literary award-winning title, Toby Johnson explores how the rise of gay identity has become an important part of contemporary religious development. This dramatic transformation has resulted due to the perspective of gay men with their ability to step outside the assumptions and conventions of culture and see things from a different point of view. This book will reward readers seeking new insight into faith as well as culture, myth and traditions.

JohnsonÍs vision of a life-affirming, sex-positive spirituality of love, cooperation, mutual respect and acceptance is in sync with modern scientific knowledge, and does not ask the reader to suspend logic or critical thinking. Gay Christians who are struggling with their sexual orientation will especially appreciate JohnsonÍs convincing refutation of common ñbiblical" anti-gay arguments. A powerful book for personal change and a great gift to a gay friend who is unhappy with his life or suffering from low self-esteem.

Visit the author's website

See also Toby Johnson's beloved soft sci-fi novel SECRET MATTER





White Crane Books Paperback,
296 pgs
ISBN 1590210220



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charmed lives
Lammy Award Nominee 2007
for Best Anthology


Charmed Lives:  Gay Spirit in Storytelling
Edited by Toby Johnson & Steve Berman

Storytelling can be a way of spinning straw into gold, of showing ourselves we have drawn a long straw in this life. Charmed Lives offers readers a collection of fiction and personal essays as an alternative to the stories that society often tells about gay men. Some are whimsical with a touch of enchantment, some profoundly spiritual, others romantic--all offer insight into modern gay life that will inspire and shed light on the grace of being gay with tales of hope against adversity and love over loneliness.

Visit the authors' website



White Crane Books Paperback,
308 pgs
ISBN 1590210166
 


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Ramer

Two Flutes Playing
By Andrew Ramer

A classic of gay mythopoesis. Michael Bails (Seattle WA) writing an unsolicited review on the amazon.com site says: "I was recommended this book after having taken a Body Electric workshop a few weeks before. From the first page I began to re-live the entire bonding rituals that we had experienced over that weekend. How to connect, how to communicate, and how to intimately bond on a higher plane! ... A definite "must have" book for the gay tribe who would like to interact spiritually and emotionally!"

White Crane Books Paperback,
168 pgs
ISBN 1590210239
 




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Thompson GS

Gay Spirit: Myth & Meaning
By Mark Thompson

Arguably the book that started the Gay Spirituality Movement. Publishers Weekly wrote: Cultural editor of the Advocate, Thompson here collects previously published articles and book excerpts from the magazine, each an attempt to define the status of gay men. In an introduction he distinguishes between homosexual (a form of sexuality) and gay: "A social identity and consciousness actively chosen." The text discusses the gay's role in politics, religion, culture, identity. Among the contributors are Judy Grahn, author of lesbian/feminist works; Malcolm Boyd, activist Episcopal priest; Harry Hay, a founder of the Mattachine Society; writer William S. Burroughs; and Geoff Mains's presenting an approving, detailed description of sadomasochism.



White Crane Books Paperback,
352 pgs,
ISBN 1590210247
 






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For more about White Crane & White Crane Books, visit:

gaywisdom.org

whitecranebooks.org




Be sure to look at other Lethe titles of Gay Spirit