I always love reading historical queer autobios. Baker’s work is undeniably important in queer history and I’m honestly pretty surprised that this book didn’t get more attention.

I was surprised by how much I liked Baker’s voice and writing style, I loved learning more about 80s-90s queer organizing and enjoyed hearing another perspective on the people involved (especially those that I already knew about like Cleve, ACT UP folks, etc)! the best parts imo were the thoughtful and reflective discussions on how art and politics intersect. i LOVE queer art and i very much think that art and politics belong together and every time i read stuff by people who have similar thoughts, I’m very inspired by it. I especially loved Baker’s obvious appreciation for the interplay between arts and crafts, reading about his love of flagmaking and sewing and fabric arts was delightful as a fellow fiber artist.

-1 star just bc I don’t feel right giving it five stars? as important as Baker is, a lot of his politics don’t sit right w me in terms of how much he seems to… like/appreciate/make excuses for the u.s.? as a country? it is sometimes weird and can be off-putting to read stuff by people you artistically and queerly admire only to confront the fact that not every queer shares the most radical of politics. nonetheless, i think Baker had his heart in the right place.