Author of St. Michael Poker & Drinking Club and Baxter's Friends
There is at least one reference to the late actor James Dean in Baxter’s Friends. The book is set in the mid-1980s. At the time the male characters were growing up, Dean was an icon, a symbol of rebellious youth, cool beyond comparison. When Baxter, Ferguson and Mitch were teenagers, every boy wanted to be James Dean. It is interesting to note that after his death, stories surfaced about Dean, about his sexual experimentation, his androgynous aspect, his male/female physiognomy. Besides representing the recklessness and youth the character’s yearn for, James Dean represents the confused sexuality that can haunt some male relationships.
androgynous, Baxter's Friends, confused sexuality, James Dean, physiognomy, rebellious youth
Down Cemetery Road is the much-anticipated prequel to the unforgettable Baxter’s Friends. Ned Randle raises the curtain on the formative years of Billy Bright’s life, revealing a formula for his adult years that is at once both intoxicating and utterly sobering. Down Cemetery Road delves into the disillusionment of adolescence sadly often shot down by mid-life.
Read more.