Larry Benjamin. Wordsmith. Writer. Author.

Boyfriend #1 The other day, I read a blog post in Huff Post Gay Voices, from the I’m from Driftwood series, “'You're Really Nice, but I Don't Date Black Guys': Racism or Preference?” I’ve been thinking about the article and its supporting video ever since.  In it a black guy named Nelson Moses Lassiter, talks about racism in the LGBT community that takes the form of rejection from white guys who don’t date black guys. (You can read the article here .)   Sophomore year in college I had a crush on Scott, a cute white boy who was struggling with his gayness. At some point the summer before junior year he ended up sharing my dorm room. Inevitably, perhaps because we were roommates, or maybe it was my awkward attempt to seduce him—I honestly don’t remember—he saw me naked. A few days later he confessed he’d dreamed of me right after. The dream was fairly explicit. As I stared at him, he’d quickly added, “But I could never sleep with a black guy—that on top of bei...

Years ago, we moved to the ‘transitional” neighborhood of Germantown (in Philadelphia), then said to be on the verge of a comeback. There was much talk about The Germantown Renaissance which was talked about breathlessly and in the tone of reverence usually reserved for people who “know” computers and pop stars who appear in bikinis two weeks after giving birth. Sixteen years later there is still talk of The Germantown Renaissance . This reminds me of all the news that short stories were poised for a comeback, its return to popularity fueled, in part, by shrinking attention spans and the proliferation of electronic devices.   I am as dubious about the Short Story Renaissance as I am about The Germantown Renaissance. Short stories seem to be the stepchild of literature.   Publishers don’t seem to want to publish them. When I started shopping around my first collection of short stories, I was told that no one would publish a collection of short stories, unless I’d first writ...

I've been invited to answer these questions by Debbie McGowan, author of contemporary fiction. Her current titles include the series, “Hiding Behind the Couch,” "Champagne," and "Checking Him Out." Further info and download links can be found on Deb’s website . What am I working on? I’m working on a short story for an anthology of Christmas stories due to be released in November. I don’t want to give too much away but I will say it’s a holiday love story but not a traditional Christmas story. Understanding the difficulties many of our gay youth are still facing, despite the strides we’ve made in recent years, I wanted to respect that experience. The story, “The Christmas Present,” reintroduces a character from my most recent release, “The Wheelbarrow,” which is part of an anthology from Liphar Magazine , Liphar Short Stories Vol. 1 .   How does my work differ from others in its genre? I suppose every writer likes to believe his or her writing is ...