Book Description

Petite Mort: Recollections of a Queer Public assembles drawings from memory of spaces in New York City where a public sexual encounter occurred. A project created in collaboration between Carlos Motta & Joshua Lubin-Levy,it features contributions from an intergenerational group of over 60gay men. Conceived as an atlas of queer affection, Petite Mort: Recollections of a Queer Public proposes a subjective blueprint of the city, one that values not simply the space "as is," but how it has been performed and engaged,highlighting the fundamental connection between public space and queer life. The collected drawings,depicting sites extending from a residential rooftop to The Rambles in Central Park, remind us that public sex is not exclusively about a personal pursuit of pleasure-they also contain the seeds of historical social and political action that have brought together communities of gay men.Petite Mort: Recollections of a Queer Public also asks questions challenging us to expand our vision for queer politics: What if our politics were rebuilt around a broader notion of intimacy rather than individuality? Can we foster, rather than police,the trust and affection inherent to desire and pleasure? Should equality be about difference, rather than assimilation?This book includes a preface by Forever & Today, Inc. Co-Curators Ingrid Chu & Savannah Gorton, a conversation between Carlos Motta & Joshua Lubin-Levy, and an essay by Joel Czarlinsky. Also assembled here are a series of short responses to the question "Does public sex matter?" by authors Aiken Forrett, Ann Pellegrini & Janet R. Jakobsen, Eileen Myles,Gordon Brent Ingram, Jill H. Casid, Johan Andersson, John Paul Ricco, Jose Esteban Munoz, Kate Bornstein, Katherine Franke, and Tim Dean. Petite Mort: Recollections of a Queer Public is commissioned by Forever &Today, Inc.