Mary

 
When William Johnson was 15 and just beginning to understand his sexual orientation, he came across a copy of George Whitmore’s The Confessions of Danny Slocum in a Hartsdale, New York library. The novel changed Johnson’s life, teaching him the power words have for gay men. “I stole the book from the library,” Johnson, 36, admits, “and it has become a psalm-like touchstone for what I love to read: a lyrical snapshot of gay life that is often not considered for the established canon.”
 
So after a detour into grant-writing, the Dumbo resident —along with journalist Fritz Austin Sterling and art director art Khary Simon—created the queer literary magazine Mary (MaryLiterary.com), now hitting independent bookstores nationwide. They’re off to a great start with a 90-page issue featuring original fiction and poetry, plus interviews with gay-lit luminaries like Edmund White, David Bergman and Mike Albo. “I want to bridge the gap between gay writing that has come before and the newer work currently being produced,” Johnson explains. “Great writing can reveal things other types of artistic expressions simply can’t. Reading takes a little more work, but when you stumble upon a terrific book it’s well worth it. Read Andrew Holleran’s Dancer from the Dance—it trumps all the 3-D CGI effects known to man.”