Gay Lit on the Net

The internet has played quite a part in my gay life in Kampala, in Uganda. Ok, someone complained that it seems all I think about is being gay and Ugandan. But this is the blog for that. I feel good airing off into the ether things I cannot debate with many people here.

Er, cyberworld. A place to meet people, and enjoy friendships. And a place for so much more, even in Uganda. Especially in Uganda.

And there is this treasure trove of gay literature that I have discovered on the net. I love reading. And I guess gay lit just touches me somehow. I remember the feel of awe that I had when I first understood that Shakespeare's sonnets were about a homosexual love. I was bowled over. I went over them again and again, thrilled that this wonderful poetry was about the love of one man for another. I identified, and I loved it.

I have discovered more gay lit on the net, and it is lovely.

First I stumbled across Nifty, the Nifty Erotic Stories Archive. That was way back when I was just discovering the power of the net. A distinct power. Nifty is a collection of stories on less than conventional love. It is huge, it is relatively disorganised. Yet it is like a gold and diamond mine. A huge variety of stories, of all genre. Free to read. And anyone can post. The policy is to allow anyone (anyone!) to post, and that gives one the feel of an experience of the whole world out there.

There are gay stories, bi stories, bestiality stories. There are good stories, and those you shouldn’t waste time on. It is a treasure trove, some of the findings challenging, other disgusting, and others with the purity of the glint of diamond in the morass of river mud. I have cruised that site for years, off and on. I have followed the stories, and I still love going there. It is a treasure trove to explore. Its like a microcosm of life, in its expanse, complexity, depth and sheer magnitude of experience.

Gay authors is something else. Here, it seems like only quality stories are accepted. It does not have the feel of being too wild, like Nifty is. But it has real, lovely gay literature. A treasure to explore. Recently re-organised, the stories are easier to access.

But they are really exceptional. Really lovely.

Is it true that gay people have this entente with the artistic part of life? I don't know, maybe shouldn’t think about it that way. But there is something for the literature buff out there.

To a gay Ugandan, all this is interesting. A glimpse into a world of freedom that is almost unimaginable. But it is something that we can delve in and I do so love to do just that.

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