Luis Antonio de Villena (b. 1951), one of modern Spain's best-known writers, tackles subjects as varied as the nightlife of Madrid, Renaissance art, sex, the nature of love, Plato, blue jeans, classicism and rock music. In this provocative new book, Chris Perriam places Villena's creative work in relation to the contemporary Spanish cultural scene, to 20th century homosexual culture and to significant gay and dissident figures of the past, including Lorca and Luis Cernuda, and explains how Villena has developed a radical new aesthetic out of the old raw materials of love, sex, death, power, and the primacy of art and desire.

Chris Perriam Professor of Hispanic Studies,University of Newcastle upon Tyne