How I Learned to Snap : A Small Town Coming-Out and Coming-of-Age Story

by Read, Kirk (Author)

• ISBN13: 9780142002995
• ISBN10: 0142002992
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-06-01
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)

Summary

With bold Southern humor, journalist and performer Kirk Read takes readers on a guided tour of his precocious and courageous adolescence. Recalling his years as an openly gay high school student, Read describes how he navigated the hallways with his sense of humor and dignity intact. He fondly recalls his initiations into sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll, as well as his "shy as neon" acts of rabble rousing during high school. How I Learned to Snapis a refreshingly victim-free story in which queer teenagers are creative, resilient, and ultimately heroic.

Author Biography

Kirk Read is a nationally syndicated journalist and performer whose work has appeared in more than one hundred publications, including Out, Genre, and Christopher Street.

Table of Contents

prologue	vii
talent	1	(3)
camp	4	(7)
class of '95	11	(5)
the yellow sweater	16	(5)
hiding places	21	(3)
arcade	24	(2)
black balloon	26	(3)
meet the press	29	(3)
keys	32	(3)
pat	35	(4)
blind	39	(2)
rich	41	(4)
flip side	45	(5)
total theater	50	(5)
how i learned to snap	55	(3)
the new villager	58	(4)
. . . ahem . . .	62	(4)
shelley	66	(7)
eve	73	(5)
sex on a school night	78	(2)
vivisection	80	(5)
shalewa	85	(4)
culture	89	(3)
tuesday	92	(5)
houseguests	97	(4)
pornography	101	(7)
hurricane territory	108	(8)
audience	116	(4)
fullbacks	120	(7)
cute	127	(4)
river	131	(5)
the convincing death	136	(5)
the talk	141	(2)
militerry	143	(5)
the cure	148	(5)
vibrate	153	(3)
surrender	156	(7)
permission	163	(8)
action figures	171	(6)
reckless	177	(4)
admissions	181	(4)
greener	185	(4)
the decline of western (virginia) civilization	189	(5)
hands	194	(3)
backstage	197	(4)
blood	201	(8)
enchantment	209	(4)
therapy	213	(3)
indestructible	216	(3)
authentic	219	(3)
home	222	(3)
epilogue	225	(4)
acknowledgments	229