Felice Pacino, the godfather of gay lit, has passed

Stunned to hear Felice Picano has passed.

While some may be at a loss for words right now, he never was, when I met him, ready with either a quip, a kind word, a story or a ribald riposte. I was lucky enough, along with AJ, to meet him on June 12, 2022. We drove him to an Ottawa reading organized by Octopus Books with our pal Jeffrey Round. Although my new book Fear Itself was not yet out, at the last minute, Felice insisted I also read, so I excerpted my story "Three, to the Swizz!" from Burly Tales.

Afterwards, we had the immense pleasure of having him back at the house for wine and conversation. It was a pleasure because he was, well, a legend, the godfather of gay lit, considered a founder of modern gay literature. To our delight, Felice not only enjoyed our company, but he also got on with our young teen son Dylan, enjoying the younger generation's perspective. Our conversation was equal parts thrill and talk about the craft of writing, and what it meant to all of us.

Later on, I asked him to blurb Fear Itself, which he did, with flair. Still later, we met him down in New Orleans for our first Saints & Sinners LGBTQ+ Literary Festival. I recall that he greeted us effusively, like family.

Here I am, asking him a tough question about his debut novel Lure and delighting in his racontage. And the blurb in question.

We were lucky to catch you on our home turf, Felice. Thank you so much. Rest in power, Felice.