Dallas John Baker
About
Dallas John Baker is an Australian writer and academic noted for poetry, short stories and travel writing whose work deals with themes of alienation, otherness and sexuality. He is also known as Dallas Angguish, the name he used as a performance poet beginning in the 1980s. He has been repeatedly compared to Truman Capote and to David Sedaris. Angguish, who is openly gay, has also written plays and screenplays some of which have been produced. He is known for a lyrical style that foregrounds feeling and the use of powerful descriptive passages. Due to his evocative short stories, he has been variously described as Truman Capote's literary heir and as reminiscent of Carson McCullers, the much lauded Southern Gothic writer. His prose poetry has appeared in the journals Text, Lodestar Quarterly, Retort Magazine and Polari journal. His short stories have appeared in the book anthologies "Dumped", "Bend, Don't Shatter","Sensual Travels" and others. His collection of memoir and travel writing "Anywhere But Here", released in February 2006, received very strong reviews. In particular Graeme Aitken of Australian gay magazine DNA wrote:
