Bruce Benderson is the author of two collections of fiction about Times Square. His novel USER (Dutton/Plume, 1994/1995), is a lyrical novel that plunges the reader into the night world of Times Square male hustlers, junkies, transvestites, and johns. A review of USER in the Los Angeles Times Book Review stated, "Benderson gathers his characters' inner selves, their conflicts with each other...and creates a brutal, overlapping collage. This book is unmistakably brilliant." The book was published by Payot/Rivage in France under the title TOXICO. After reading Benderson's story collection PRETENDING TO SAY NO (Plume, 1990), Manuel Puig, author of Kiss of the Spider Woman, called Benderson, "the new poet of the underworld." This story collection is also published in French by 10/18 under the title NEW YORK RAGE. Benderson's writing has been compared by many critics to that of Burroughs, Selby, Rechy, and Genet. His articles have appeared in The Village Voice, The New York Times Magazine, The Advocate, Out, and the New York Press. His new essay, TOWARD THE NEW DEGENERACY (Edgewise Press, 1997), was nominated for a Lambda award in 1998 and was featured in the "What's Hot "issue of Rolling Stone magazine that same year. The essay will be published in October 1998 in French by Payot/Rivage. Benderson co-wrote the screenplay for the feature film MY FATHER IS COMING, which featured Annie Sprinkle. He is also the translator from the French of Sollers, Guyotat, Robbe-Grillet and other writers. He lives in New York. Bruce Benderson - bruxe at aol.com DENT magazine