Simon by William Poe (Books #1-3)
Requirements: ePUB Reader, 1.3 mb
Overview: Author and artist William Poe draws inspiration for his novels from his own upbringing. He grew up in the American heartland and joined the Unification Church of Reverend Sun Myung Moon at eighteen. He stayed there for nearly ten years, all the while struggling to reconcile his identity as a gay man with Moon’s teachings. Poe eventually left the group and pushed back against the ideology he’d at first embraced and then rejected.
After recovering from drug addiction, Poe began to find peace and understanding in his art. He received his bachelor’s degree in art from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and his master’s degree in anthropology from the University of Nebraska. He worked at the National Museum of the American Indian (part of the Smithsonian Institution) as well as for several government agencies. Poe retired in 2018 and now focuses on writing, painting, and researching his family history.
Genre: Fiction > Literary Fiction MM
Simple Simon, Simon Says, and Simon’s Mansion complement each other and may be read in any order.
Simple Simon
Simon Powell’s rehab counselor encourages him to write down his story, and during sessions, to recount the events of his life. Simon led a troubled childhood before joining the Unification Church of Reverend Sun Myung Moon, a decision that allowed Simon to deny his sexual orientation on the pretext of building a better world. Despite rising to positions of leadership, Simon’s despair deepens. When Reverend Moon is indicted on charges of income tax evasion, Simon enlists attorneys in Los Angeles who become friends and introduce Simon to the Hollywood club scene. Simon meets Lyle, a hustler from the boulevard, and enters into a relationship that underscores the hypocrisy of his beliefs. Simon leaves rehab, self-confident, but with a lot of ground to cover in reconciling with his past.
Simon Says
A gay ex-cult member, battles substance abuse in a desperate search for love on the darker avenues of Hollywood
Simon Powell escapes the Unification Church of self-proclaimed messiah, Sun Myung Moon, and becomes a successful Hollywood film distributor. Unable to overcome the emotional turmoil that brought him to Reverend Moon’s congregation, Simon’s despair leads him down a dark path of drug abuse, plagued by religious hallucinations stemming from his fear that, in betraying his faith, he is doomed to a life of suffering. Seldom reflecting on the causes of his self-loathing, Simon embarks on a string of broken relationships that threatens his mental and physical health, until the appearance of Thad, who brings Simon to the realization that love can provide meaning to his life.
A profound journey of self-discovery and acceptance, Simon Says offers a probing look into the darker reaches of the human psyche and the renewing power of love.
Simon’s Mansion
Simon didn’t think he would ever go home again, but to plan for his future, he needs to face his past.
For Simon, the family mansion in Arkansas is a part of him. He may have fled small-town life for addiction–first to religion and then to cocaine–but he has found his way home. Now, all that’s left is for him to face those he hurt along the way. As Simon navigates his constant internal struggle between faith and atheism, he must make decisions that will forever alter the course of his life.
In this, the third book of his LGBT literary fiction series, author William Poe writes compellingly about his native Arkansas to pen a work of US historical fiction that finally includes the too-often-overlooked stories of gay and lesbian small-town Americans. Simon’s Mansion is a moving coming-of-age story about a man finally figuring out how to grow up.
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