John Rechy has devoted some of his closely autobiographical writings to the exploration and presentation of derelict and homosexual life in the United States. His approach to the subject is explicit, ...
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In 1963 a thirty-two-year-old west Texan, John Rechy, published his first novel, City of Night. In a time when other Texas writers alluded to homosexuality with euphemisms, if at all, Rechy opened the...
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Critical Essay by Stanton Hoffman
In three important novels of the American literature of homosexuality—Gore Vidal's The City and the Pillar, Baldwin's Giovanni's Room, an...
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Critical Essay by Keith Walker
[The Sexual Outlaw is a] fictionalized "non-fiction" account of a "true spectrum of the [homosexual] promiscuous experience", three days and...
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Critical Essay by Georges-michel Sarotte
By making [the hero of Numbers] an Adonis, Rechy attempts to show that whatever his outward appearance, the homosexual is basically a person who is unsure of ...
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Critical Essay by Alan Friedman
[There's] no doubt in my mind that [the sadism in "Rushes"] is not just a ritual played out among characters. It's also a literary rite dir...
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Critical Essay by Darryl Pinckney
John Rechy's fiction has always shown an interest in the night side of human feeling. He is drawn to the illicit, to outcasts, to the transgressor's kn...
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Critical Essay by David Taylor
Rushes is not a novel of propaganda; if any political statement is to be derived from the novel, it would seem to be that the oppressive "straight" world ...
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In the following excerpt, Lemon argues that This Day's Death is made more powerful because Rechy refrains from preaching.
Every once in a while, a reviewer is obligated to clear his shelves,...
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In the interview below, Rechy discusses his literary influences, style, and the role of homosexuality in his work.
[Giles:] Would you like to begin by talking about what contemporary writers impres...
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In the following essay, Satterfield explores the alienated characters and hellish atmosphere which Rechy has created in his first five novels.
In addition to his nonfiction opus, The Sexual Outlaw,...
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In the following excerpt, Nelson explores how Rechy's and James Baldwin's status as homosexuals and ethnic minorities has influenced their perspectives.
John Rechy, in his interview w...
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In the following essay, Perez-Torres concentrates primarily on The Sexual Outlaw, considering the role of the homosexual hustler in Rechy's work.
The Sexual Outlaw: A Documentary represents ...
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In the following interview, Rechy discusses Latino culture, homosexuality, and the critical reception of his work.
Outlaw Aesthetics
[Castillo:] You have said, understandably, that you don't...
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In the following review, Hand argues that while the idea behind Our Lady of Babylon is good, Rechy's narrative is choppy and the novel is a disappointment.
Millenarianism appears to have spa...
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John (Francisco) Rechy
Critical Essay by Stanton Hoffman
