Deep Sniff: A History of Poppers and Queer Futures

Fascinating and unusual read that while only appealing to some isa worthy read for anyone with an interest,packed full of facts and anecdotes I was constantly surprised at what was reading, a great find

Wonderful study of an aspect of Gay culture which is normally hidden. From the discovery of poppers, to its use as a medicine, to the way it is used in Gay culture to its use as a metaphor for how things maybe in the future. As something that was an important part of my younger life it was a pleasure to read.

Writer and activist Adam Zmith attempts a cultural history of poppers (Amyl Nitrate), particularly in relation to gay male culture, that also connects to a vision of a different future. One that might grow in response to a plea for pleasure opening up a route to fresh, radically different perceptions of queer bodies and their potential. It’s an ambitious project, and a challenging one, that never really comes together. But at the same time, Zmith’s book can be quite compelling, highlighting a number of fascinating, important stories. Zmith’s detailed account of the moral panic around poppers during the 80s, the attempts to link this to AIDs and justify horrific police crackdowns on the queer community’s just one example; as is the surprisingly lyrical discussion around poppers, masturbation and porn. The detailed description of the development of poppers as a product aimed specifically at gay men, the marketing campaigns constructing poppers as a signifier of a particular version/vision of gay masculinity also stood out. Later sections that veer off into ideas about literature, science fiction and identity display promise but stray into the blandly descriptive when a more coherent, analytical stance is desperately needed.Zmith concludes his idiosyncratic survey of poppers through space and time with Odo, from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Odo was a Changeling, a non-solid entity, able to mimic objects or creatures in their surroundings, and merge with others of their kind, possessing an identity poised between singular and plural, resisting fixity. For Zmith Odo points towards an idea of queer utopia, a space free of rigid identity categories. Odo’s also useful as a way of thinking about Zmith’s book. He’s continually shapeshifting, going back and forth between cultural and general histories of poppers, scatterings of memoir, analysis, and manifesto. The impression’s of someone free associating: abrupt segues, unexpected imaginative leaps and tangents. Zmith’s writing style’s similarly fluid, the numerous sudden changes in register can be jarring: highly subjective, passionate polemic tangled up with the more muted and formal. In many ways Zmith’s free-form style mirrors what he’s trying to formulate here. But the result is fragmented, an awkward patchwork of material. Part of the problem's space constraints, Zmith’s messy, sprawl of facts and concepts are confined to less than 180 pages. Zmith’s publisher’s Repeater Books, an innovative, indie outfit tracing back to writer and theorist Mark Fisher. Zmith’s technique sometimes reminded me of Fisher's. Fisher also mixed elements of history, cultural analysis and texts from popular culture but his ideas were firmly grounded in rigorous, theoretical frameworks. Zmith's work lacks Fisher's underlying discipline and theoretical sophistication. Zmith's an interesting, often provocative, writer but he's juggling too many disparate components, ideas spilling out at a fast and furious pace, and the end result’s more than a bit bewildering.

Deep Sniff is many things, among them a history of the medical origins of amyl nitrite; a cultural study of the way the emerging pink economy in the 70s and 80s used sexualised marketing to sell poppers to horny city cruisers; and a tender coming out story of a courageous "popperbator".It's an easy, fascinating read. In particular, I loved the sudden flashes of humour (the "first poppers pig" and the "Lady Gaga" jokes were entirely unexpected and made me LOL). Some might say this undermines any serious intent and that the author self-sabotages; but others will say it shows great self-awareness and a lack of pomposity. Just don't get too serious when you're in your pulpit! Especially when singing the praises of the great Poppers Almighty.I learnt a lot from this book. One big takeaway was the term QUILTBAG, as a collective sexual and gender identity noun. (It stands for "queer/questioning, unlabelled, intersex, lesbian, transgender/transsexual, bisexual, asexual, gay/genderqueer". A much better term than the clumsy "LBTQI+".)There were aspects of Zmith's argument that I found irritating - the over empahsis, I thought, on using poppers for sphincter relaxation. Not all gay men like taking it up the bum. Some use poppers to enhance other fantasies.At the end of the book, he says: "You came for a history, but I'd rather you leave with a future". That's the way he can turn things on the head. This book is highly recommended. Though what I would like to see is a "Scratch n Sniff" edition, with a Samples Card and numbers in the text indicating when to rub off the relevant fragrance square. Let me know when you have that one, Amazon.

Although it shines the light on many historical facts regarding poppers, shares many anecdotes , and offers an interesting philosophical utopia it doesn’t truly acknowledge the potential health dangers of poppers as a chemical and a drug.

Highly recommended!

The research and history that the author presents is extremely interesting. It's the reason I bought this book. However, the existential popper philosophy, in the latter part of the book, is a reach. Despite the "opening" experiences (spiritual and physical), poppers are, in the end, a drug; and new research has made a correlation between poppers and respiratory/lung illnesses. In the case of Thom of Finland (his use of poppers was a notorious muse that inspired his erotic art), I can't help but wonder if popper use was the primary cause of his death from emphysema.

interesting read , for all its , social , philosophical , uK and USA LGBTQ history, but not what I needed. I was looking for a book with scientific / medical information to tell me if it’s poison or not LOL HELLO? I’m sniffing poppers and for years have never learned what it’s long term or short term negative side effects may be, I was so surprised NOT to find this information in the book of the same name ! It’s like reading a cook book and they left out the recipes!