Yahoo News Emile Hirsch to Narrate Audiobooks of Pioneering Queer Author Fritz Peters
Two works from the early queer literary canon will see audiobook release this June, narrated by actor Emile Hirsch.
Both were authored by Fritz Peters, an overlooked trailblazer in the 1950s who wrote frank and intimate depictions of homosexuality, spirituality and mental health struggles. The books are the novel “Finistère” and the memoir “Boyhood With Gurdjieff,” hitting audio platforms in time for global pride celebrations.
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The recordings mark Hirsch’s first in the space, save voicing a character in “Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans,” the animated series from Guillermo del Toro. Known for films like “Into the Wild” and “Milk,” he will next appear in the holocaust film “‘Bau, Artist at War” and the mob drama “The Gemini Room” with Lucy Hale.
Despite selling big in his time, Peters’ catalogue had fallen into relative obscurity compared to literati peers like Gore Vidal, Henry Miller and Eudora Welty. Production company Hirsch Giovanni acquired the author’s complete works two years ago and serve as re-release publishers. The unit is also currently mounting a scripted adaptation of “Finistère.” It portrays the forbidden love affair of an American adolescent with his French boarding school’s athletic director.
The memoir “Boyhood With Gurdjieff” recalls Peters’ formative years spent studying with Georges Gurdjieff, an unconventional guru and father figure. The author was also notably inspired by his relationship with Gertrude Stein, who makes an appearance in the memoir, as well as other literary luminaries in her salon (like James Joyce and Ernest Hemingway).
Under creative executive Alexandra Carbone, Hrisch Giovanni is also shopping an unscripted feature about Peters’ life.
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