Jonathan
Plummer's tell-all novel, loosely based on his breakup with
author Terry McMillan, has been banned by a bookstore
in Oakland, Calif.
Balancing Act -- cowritten by Karen Hunter --
will not be carried by Marcus Books, a local bookstore,
according to a press release from Plummer.
He and McMillan
divorced in 2005 after he revealed to her that he is gay.
Their romance was the basis of her hit novel, How
Stella Got Her Groove Back, about an older woman who
finds the love of her life, a young man, in the
Caribbean.
Mark Plummer, the
new novelist's cousin and manager, said that he was
disappointed that the bookstore would not carry the tome.
"Why Marcus Books
would ban a novel that encourages compassion and
understanding instead of homophobia -- in the community that
needs it the most -- is indeed very sad but not a
surprise," he said in a statement. "Terry McMillan has
gone to great and personally humiliating lengths to
prevent the publication and distribution of this book.
Balancing Act is fiction with a purpose and
it will prevail with or without the support of Marcus
Books."
Joe Hawkins, a
radio commentator, said that he asked a Marcus bookstore
employee why they would not stock the book, and she said it
was a personal preference of the store. Hawkins said
in the statement that out author E. Lynn Harris is
carried in that store.
"I don't think
that homophobia is the issue where Marcus Books is
concerned." He continued, "Jonathan-o-phobia is more likely
the reason for the decision not to sell the book."
(The Advocate)
