Shifting through two decades of arts coverage, John R. Killacky reflects on interviews, reviews and cultural moments that shaped queer arts criticism; readers get a lively tour of who he spoke to, what changed and why this matters for how we remember artists and movements.

Essential Takeaways

  • Two-decade run: Killacky has contributed to The Gay & Lesbian Review (G&LR) since 2006, producing profiles, reviews and essays that trace shifts in queer cultural life.
  • Wide-ranging subjects: His work spans musicians, cartoonists, choreographers, filmmakers and avant-garde artists, giving a textured sense of creative communities.
  • Revival reporting: He’s written on renewed interest in overlooked figures like composer Julius Eastman, highlighting cultural reappraisal.
  • Personal and archival: Pieces include memoir-style blog posts, book reviews and curation-focused essays, offering both lived perspective and archival curiosity.
  • Editorial continuity: Killacky credits editors including Richard Schneider and incoming Jeremy C. Fox for shaping the magazine’s evolution and his own work.

A twenty-year conversation that reads like a gallery walk

Killacky’s first G&LR piece, an interview with Janis Ian about Folk is the New Black, arrived in 2006 and set a tone: conversational, curious, and plainspoken. That early profile had a domestic warmth, the kind of interview where a musician reveals more than the album blurb. Over the years he circled back to Ian several times, tracking her projects from autobiography to audiowork, which shows how long-form arts coverage can reveal an artist’s changing concerns. According to Ian’s own site, that album was a touchstone moment in her later career, and Killacky’s reporting gave readers context they wouldn’t get from a press release.

Mixing big names with underground urgency

You get marquee names, Alison Bechdel, Bill T. Jones, Meredith Monk, alongside renegades such as Peter Hujar, Ron Athey, and David Wojnarowicz. That balance keeps the pages surprising; it’s not only about canon-making, it’s about who’s been left out. Reporting like this tracks how institutions, critics and audiences choose whom to remember. Coverage of artists from different eras gives readers a sense of continuity: the same concerns, identity, visibility, formal daring, resurface in new shapes.

Championing rediscovery: Julius Eastman as a case study

One of Killacky’s most satisfying threads has been the resurrection of Julius Eastman’s reputation. Eastman, an electrifying and divisive figure in ’70s New York, died in obscurity, and it’s taken decades for scholars and performers to bring his music back into view. This kind of reporting matters because it changes concert programming and scholarship; audiences now hear Eastman’s work in halls and festivals where silence once reigned. If you’re curious how to recognise a meaningful revival, look for new recordings, academic papers and curated exhibitions, Killacky chronicled that arc with care.

Books, biographies and the pleasures of long-form critique

Killacky’s reviews read like guided tours: Michael Nott on Thom Gunn, Brad Gooch on Keith Haring, Will Hermes on Lou Reed, and memoirs by disability writers all received detailed attention. He also wrote about Douglas Crimp’s archival labour and recent graphic novels like Tillie Walden’s Charity and Sylva. Why does this matter to readers? Good criticism helps you pick a biography that’s not merely chronological but alive with insight. Killacky’s taste for both rigorous scholarship and lively memoir offers a template for readers who want depth without dryness.

Magazine evolution and the human side of editing

He’s watched the G&LR grow from a black-and-white quarterly into a glossy bimonthly under Richard Schneider, praising Schneider’s eye for focus and clarity. Editorial stewardship matters; a strong editor can turn scattered submissions into a coherent cultural conversation. Killacky’s gratitude for editorial support is also a reminder that journalism is collaborative. As the magazine hands the reins to Jeremy C. Fox, the tone of stewardship and mentorship continues to look like the quiet engine behind long-running cultural outlets.

Closing line It’s the small archive of conversations and reviews that, stitched together, keeps the arts alive, and Killacky’s twenty years with The G&LR is proof that sustained attention changes how we remember artists.

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