A Tale of Two Males

"As much as A Tale of Two Males points out the atrocities the gay community has endured with references to killer Bob Berdella, the assassination of Harvey Milk, and the torture and death of Matthew Shepard as well as those regularly bullied or beaten simply because they were gay, this book is a love story of how two men fought against life's challenges, found each other, and have a marriage that has endured over thirty years. Despite coming from two different countries where they have shouldered "pain/like a knapsack you will/never see into," they manage, "turning in [their] separate spirals" to find each other and enjoy life's simple pleasures like blowing bubbles, eating key lime pie in bed, or having a good cuddle. Courtois balances the dark times of youth with gentle moments of living with the love and light of your life. He says, "Let it be, let us be/unafraid to love each other."

-Maryfrances Wagner, 6th Missouri Poet Laureate

"In A Tale of Two Males, Wayne Courtois offers a luminous, deeply human collection that is part love letter, part survivor's hymn, and wholly unforgettable. With gentle wit, brutal honesty, and aching tenderness, Courtois captures the everyday rituals, shared histories, and quiet intimacies of a long-term queer relationship-while never flinching from the political, cultural, and historical violences that haunt its margins. These poems chronicle not just a marriage, but a world: one shaped by resilience, memory, and the fierce insistence that love-real love-is worth recording. A Tale of Two Males will stay with you, not for its grand pronouncements, but for the warmth of its voice, the truth in its observations, and the reverent way it makes the ordinary shimmer."

-Rick Christiansen, author, Not a Hero

"A Tale of Two Males, the latest collection from Wayne Courtois, could well be one of the most nuanced, profound, and unflinchingly true love stories ever put to paper. Courtois's devotion not only to his soulmate, but also to his community and his craft are well in evidence throughout this groundbreaking collection. Courtois does what any good poet does: gives voice to the sublime hiding in the mundane, with such effortless skill that the reader is often left mid-poem pondering the many ways in which we all can find ourselves questioning, "Does God dance/on the head of the pin/we call now?" Time is a frequent visitor (though not always welcomed) in these poems. That will happen when one has lived a life of struggle and danger, a life often lacking the acceptance every one of us requires. But sprouting from those years of strife we see a perpetually flowering relationship to be admired for generations. Nothing is off the table, no topic is shied away from in this remarkable book. From the violence of a bigoted world to the annoyance of a noisy cat toy to the pains of aging to the ever-present fear of loss, Courtois draws us into his world, helps us acknowledge the brutality, and revel in the beauty. Indeed, "it takes/ lifetimes to make a lifetime," and we are all lucky the poet is sharing his with us. Throughout this admirable book of poems, between the lines of pain and struggle and regret, the strongest message prevails: "love endures."

-James Benger, author, One Week