Poppy Z. Brite
Poppy Z. Brite (born Melissa Ann Brite on May 25, 1967 in New Orleans, Louisiana, and now using the name Billy Martin in daily life) is an American author. Brite initially achieved notoriety in the gothic horror genre of literature in the early 1990s after publishing a string of successful novels and short story collections. Brite’s recent work has moved into the related genre of dark comedy, of which many are set in the New Orleans restaurant world. Brite’s novels are typically standalone books but may feature recurring characters from previous novels and short stories. Much of Brite’s work features openly bisexual and gay characters.
Brite is still primarily best known for writing gothic and horror novels and short stories. Brite’s trademarks have included using gay men as main characters, graphic sexual descriptions in the works, and an often wry treatment of gruesome events. Some of Brite’s better known novels include the exceptional debut novel Lost Souls (1992), Drawing Blood (originally titled Birdland) (1993), and the horrifically macabre Exquisite Corpse (1996); she has also released short fiction collections: Swamp Foetus (also published as Wormwood,1993), Are You Loathsome Tonight? (also published as Self-Made Man, 1998), Wrong Things (with Caitlin R. Kiernan, 2001), and The Devil You Know (2003). Brite’s “Calcutta: Lord of Nerves” was selected to represent the year 1992 in the story collection The Century’s Best Horror Fiction.
The vampires in Brite’s novel Lost Souls are quite dissimilar to those of traditional lore. Rather than being transformed humans, they are a separate species who are born vampires. While most feed on blood, some find alternative sustenance (e.g., love and beauty). There are also distinct differences between older and younger vampires. Older vampires have naturally sharp teeth, are sensitive to sunlight, and cannot eat or drink. Younger vampires have normal human teeth that must be filed, are insensitive to sunlight, and can both eat and drink. Brite’s vampires also seem to lack many supernatural powers beyond quick healing, heightened sense, and abnormal strength. They can be killed if the heart or brain is destroyed. Female vampires can also be killed by childbirth because vampiric infants kill their mothers in the womb.
In Exquisite Corpse, the third horror novel by Brite, the protagonist of the story is Andrew Compton, an English convicted homosexual serial killer, cannibal and necrophiliac… the book caused a minor stir when first released and has been compared unfavourably with the Bret Easton Ellis classic, American Psycho, but Brite’s novel is a different beast, less satire, more horror for those interested.
Brite has also written a biography of singer Courtney Love (1996) that was officially “unauthorized”, but Brite acknowledges that the work was done at Love’s suggestion and with her cooperation, including access to Love’s personal journal and letters.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s Brite moved away from horror fiction and gothic themes while still writing about gay characters. The critically acclaimed Liquor novels—Liquor (2004), Prime (2005), and Soul Kitchen (2006)—are dark comedies set in the New Orleans restaurant world.The Value of X (2002) depicts the beginning of the careers of the protagonists of the Liquor series. I haven’t read those, however I have read Lost Souls, Drawing Blood, Exquisite Corpse and her short story collections Swamp Foetus and Self-Made Man and if you like your horror gothic and erotic, these are great examples of that genre.
Brite is a transgender man and prefers to be referred to with male pronouns and terms. Brite has written and talked extensively about his gender dysphoria and gender identity issues. He self-identifies with gay males, and as of August 2010, has begun the process of gender reassignment.
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