James Robert Baker was an American author of gay-themed transgressional fiction. His novels are frequently populated by sociopathic, nihilistic characters who engage in taboo behaviors such as incest, necrophilia and other drug use. After the controversy surrounding publication of his novel, Tim and Pete, he faced increasing difficulty having his work published. His work has achieved cult status in the years since his death.
About James Robert Baker in brief
James Robert Baker was an American author of gay-themed transgressional fiction. After graduating from UCLA, he began his career as a screenwriter, but became disillusioned and started writing novels instead. After the controversy surrounding publication of his novel, Tim and Pete, he faced increasing difficulty having his work published. According to his life partner, this was a contributing factor in his suicide. Baker’s work has achieved cult status in the years since his death, and two additional novels have been posthumously published. His novel Testosterone was adapted to a film of the same name, though it was not a financial success. His novels are frequently populated by sociopathic, nihilistic characters who engage in taboo behaviors such as incest, necrophilia and other drug use. A very strong voice in gay literature, Baker had admirers and detractors both in the gay community itself as well as in the mainstream literary community. His work has been categorized as a self-described anarchist, Baker has been described as a writer of transgressional Fiction. He also admired the work of writers and film directors ranging from Jim Proust to Sam Peckinpah to Dennis Cooper. He was also a fan of punk rock writer Dennis Cooper, who he called a “fantastic writer” and a “wonderful man” Baker died of a heart attack at the age of 48, and is survived by his wife and two children.
He is buried in Long Beach, California, where he grew up in a conservative Southern Californian family. His books have been optioned for films, but they have not been produced. He wrote about the entertainment industry, though he also wrote about gay people in general and gay men in particular. His first book, Adrenaline, was published under the pseudonym James Dillinger. The modest success of this novel encouraged him to devote himself to what have become his best known works, Fuel-Injected Dreams and the 1986 release Boy Wonder. He directed two films: Mouse Klub Konfidential and Blonde Death. His films are credited with having caused Michael Medved to abandon his dream of film making and instead become a film critic. He had a very strong disdain for the Republican neo-con agenda, especially after the AIDS pandemic began to take on a large toll on a gay community. In the 1960s he explored his sexuality at underground gay teen nightclubs, while living in fear that his abusive father would find out. After coming out, his substance abuse remained excessive and “still had a life of its own”
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This page is based on the article James Robert Baker published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 11, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
