Strange Relations

Masculinity, Sexuality and Art in Mid-Century America
From a Forward Prize shortlisted young British poet: An investigation of masculinity, bisexuality and queerness, routed through the lives and works of four mid-century writers

*SHORTLISTED FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES YOUNG WRITER OF THE YEAR AWARD 2025*

'Remarkable. entertaining. deft. moving. refreshing'
Daily Telegraph

'A richly rewarding account of a resonant cultural moment'
Guardian

'Textured literary portraits of the masculine mind and body'
Raymond Antrobus, author of The Perseverance

In 1960, James Baldwin decisively diagnosed the troubled state of American society as a 'failure of the masculine sensibility'.

Strange Relations explores this mid-century crisis through the lives and works of four bisexual writers: Tennessee Williams, Carson McCullers, John Cheever, and James Baldwin.

In a mesmerising blend of biography and cultural criticism, Ralf Webb examines how these writers challenged the damaging restrictions of contemporary gender and sexuality, and how, through both their art and relationships, they sought a transformative new masculinity - one grounded in fluidity, love and intimacy.

'Webb's writing is of a quality rarely seen, and his book returns you to the world slightly changed, equipped with another angle of vision on the quiddity of man'
Diarmuid Hester, author of Nothing Ever Just Disappears

'Impeccably well researched and hugely enjoyable'
Nicole Flattery, author of Nothing Special

'Wise, hopeful, and exquisitely written'
Will Tosh, author of Straight Acting

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