The X (rated) Files of John Rechy
The January En La Vida featured a cover-story interview with Charles Casillo, the author of Outlaw: The Lives and Careers of John Rechy, a revealing new biography on literature's most prolific street hustler. The full interview by Tony Peregrin is available at www.WindyCityTimes.com, with back issues available at the office.
At age 70, Rechy's 'tight t-shirt' is just one of his many personas. Open this new book, randomly select just about any page, and you'll discover that Rechy, author of 12 novels including the bestseller City Of Night, has always been a chameleon, instinctively changing colors to adapt to his ever-changing environment. 'He could—and still can—easily move into specific realms and know how to act in whatever situation he is in. He could be at a dinner party hosted by Christopher Isherwood and know which fork to use, and then leave and hitchhike home and get a score.'
Casillo agrees that readers may be alienated by Rechy's 'rather arrogant opinion of his place in American Literature,' but he also emphatically believes the author's work has been largely 'overlooked' and that he is rarely given his 'proper due.'
See www.johnrechy.com .
