K.M. Soehnlein & Kevin Clarke

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Karl Manfred Soehnlein better known by his literary name K. M. Soehnlein is an American writer (born in New Jersey in 1966) most famous for his novels The World of Normal Boys and You Can Say You Knew Me When. His most recent novel is Robin and Ruby. He was also a musician playing the clarinet for six years as part of the band The Cubby Creatures. He lives in San Francisco's SoMa district with his partner Kevin Clarke, a graphic designer and performer. They married on March 14, 2009, at the Lodge at the Regency Center in San Francisco. They met in 1999 when they were living around the corner from each other in the Mission district of San Francisco. Their first encounter was at a cafe. Mr. Clarke said he attempted to start a conversation, but admitted, “My opening gambit was a miserable failure.”Mr. Soehnlein said that Mr. Clarke “asked if my name was Darren, “so I assumed he thought I was someone else.”About a week later Mr. Clarke spotted Mr. Soehnlein at a neighborhood laundry. "I caught him alone, folding a yellow T-shirt,” Mr. Clarke said. “He flashed me a let’s-try-that-again grin.” (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/fashion/weddings/22clarke.html?_r=1&)

Soehnlein studied film in Ithaca College, then moved to New York City in the late 1980s, working in film production and magazine publishing, and was a member of ACT UP and Queer Nation. He worked as a journalist, writing mainly on films in Out, The Advocate, The Village Voice and other publications. Living in San Francisco, he made his living as a freelance writer and aspiring author. He studied at San Francisco State University graduating with an Master of Fine Arts and became the associate editor of the monthly film magazine, Release Print, as well as the manager of the Film Arts Foundation website. He wrote a number of essays as well as short stories that were published in Modern Words and The James White Review publications. He also worked as a freelance copywriter and editor.


K. M. Soehnlein is an American writer most famous for his novels The World of Normal Boys and You Can Say You Knew Me When. His most recent novel is Robin and Ruby. He lives in San Francisco's SoMa district with his partner Kevin Clarke, a graphic designer and performer. They had a commitment ceremony on March 21, 2009, at the Lodge at the Regency Center in San Francisco, and married on September 30, 2013. They met in 1999 when they were living around the corner from each other in the Mission district of San Francisco.



His first novel published in 2000 entitled The World of Normal Boys was a big success and was translated into Italian. It also landed him a creative writing teaching job at the University of San Francisco and San Francisco State University and a collaboration with filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman for a movie adaptation of the novel, with Soehnlein as screenwriter. Soenlein already has screenwriting experience for writing for the 2005 film The Second Coming by director Jack Walsh.

His second novel You Can Say You Knew Me When took about four years to write. He is writing now a third novel about the AIDS activist movement in New York and is planning on publishing a collection of his short stories as well.

Kevin Clarke (born 1968) is a performer and member of both the Art Street Theater and the Chris Black/Potrzebie Dance Project. He is also a freelance graphic design consultant, working mostly with nonprofit arts groups. He graduated from Cornell.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._M._Soehnlein

Days of Love: Celebrating LGBT History One Story at a Time by Elisa Rolle
Paperback: 760 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (July 1, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1500563323
ISBN-13: 978-1500563325
CreateSpace Store: https://www.createspace.com/4910282
Amazon (Paperback): http://www.amazon.com/dp/1500563323/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Amazon (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MZG0VHY/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

Days of Love chronicles more than 700 LGBT couples throughout history, spanning 2000 years from Alexander the Great to the most recent winner of a Lambda Literary Award. Many of the contemporary couples share their stories on how they met and fell in love, as well as photos from when they married or of their families. Included are professional portraits by Robert Giard and Stathis Orphanos, paintings by John Singer Sargent and Giovanni Boldini, and photographs by Frances Benjamin Johnson, Arnold Genthe, and Carl Van Vechten among others. “It's wonderful. Laying it out chronologically is inspired, offering a solid GLBT history. I kept learning things. I love the decision to include couples broken by death. It makes clear how important love is, as well as showing what people have been through. The layout and photos look terrific.” Christopher Bram “I couldn’t resist clicking through every page. I never realized the scope of the book would cover centuries! I know that it will be hugely validating to young, newly-emerging LGBT kids and be reassured that they really can have a secure, respected place in the world as their futures unfold.” Howard Cruse “This international history-and-photo book, featuring 100s of detailed bios of some of the most forward-moving gay persons in history, is sure to be one of those bestsellers that gay folk will enjoy for years to come as reference and research that is filled with facts and fun.” Jack Fritscher