Diary of a Puerto Rican Porno is an action-adventure, sexually outrageous filmmaking odyssey. Phil St. John takes his boyfriend and a porn star bottom to the land of the "big tops" to make Foreskin Island and Return to Foreskin Island, two tropical dick movies shot back-to-back in the jungles near San Juan. The moviemaking is fraught with knife fights, sexual intrigue, nervous breakdowns, tropical depressions, secret marijuana smuggling, and true cinematic, pornographic love. ADVANCE PRAISE FOR DIARY OF A PUERTO RICAN PORNO"At once hilarious in its absurdity, and captivating in its authenticity, Diary of a Puerto Rican Porno explores an erotic world rarely articulated so intelligently. The characters are lovable (though flawed), the setting glamorous (though smutty), and the whole premise is sexy as hell! " - Jamison Karon, author of How to Be a Faggot"Phil St. John's first novella gives us a glimpse of what happens, not just on the other side of the camera, but before it is set up. A great story of creativity, commerce, conquests, and capturing sex on film."- Steven Reigns, author of Inheritance and editor of 3-Pack Jack"Phil St. John has stripped the porn-making experience bare, so to speak, and in Puerto Rico no less. But it's what's not on camera that truly titillates in this madcap adventure of a scrappy little crew filming on the fly as they dodge drug dealers, thugs, cops, STDs, mosquitoes - even heterosexual romance in addition to all the gay love tenting one pair of shorts after another. And let's not forget the difficult and impudent models and the crew's own unstable personalities, all of which require drugs, alcohol, bribes, and lots of ad hoc psychotherapy, not to mention quite a bit of creativity. And then to top it all off, there's young godlike Duro, who's poised to wreck St. John's heart if he doesn't wreck another part of his body first!"- Trebor Healey, Lambda Literary Award winner and author of Sweet Son of Pan and Faun"Diary of a Puerto Rican Porno" is a book like no other I have encountered. St. John manages to crack open a world few people rarely get to experience. With humor and plenty of titillation, the author delivers a unique narrative in a voice that is refreshing, engaging, edgy and, above all else, brimming with originality." -Alex Espinoza, author of The Five Acts of Diego León"In a voice that is alternately flippant, funny, compassionate, and wise, St. John takes the reader on a one-of-a-kind adventure in guerrilla filmmaking where the thrills of lust and danger run neck and neck. While not for the faint-hearted or easily offended, anyone with an interest in the history of gay porn, or who just enjoys a smutty laugh and a good ride, would do well to pick this up." - Aaron Tilford, editor-in-chief, Spunk "I thought filming porn in Puerto Rico would be fun; a glamorous and exotic experience. I didn't know I'd be chased, assaulted, bitten, and bruised. Worst of all, that I would fall in love with a beautiful Puerto Rican boy. Sometimes real life can feel like an edge-of-your-seat-action-thriller where high adventure becomes both your curse and your reward." - Phil St. John
About the Author: Phil St. John, a nom de porn, acted in gay adult movies while at film school in San Francisco. Later, in Manhattan's East Village, he read scripts for United Artists by day while making porn loops for the Mob's Times Square peep shows at night. His first porn blockbuster, Getting It, was distributed by Falcon Films. It had the largest cast of the day. St. John, aka Phil Tarley, is a fellow of the American Film Institute, and a member of the Photographic Arts Council, Los Angeles. Tarley writes about contemporary art, pop culture, and photography. He curates art shows in LA where he founded the biennial Round Hole Square Peg, an international survey of LGBTQ photography shown at Photo LA and The LA Art Show. His personal series of political and ethnographic queer video is housed in The New York Public Library's permanent collection and has been screened in film festivals and museums, including the American Film Institute and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. In 2009, St. John was inducted into the Gay Porn Hall of Fame for his 25-year producing and directing career. The filmmaker worked in the golden age of gay porn, shooting movies on the infamous sound-stages in the San Fernando Valley and in New York, Florida, Europe, and Latin America. Chad Douglas, a St. John discovery, starred in Below the Belt, performing male porn's first double penetration-the director's signature. Double Delights, the original all-DP movie, earned St. John a gay porn Oscar. Other firsts include Skateboard Sliders and Fever, starting Titan Film's Fresh Line. It was filmed in The Czech Republic. Tarley's writing and photography have also appeared in the Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, The WOW Report, the Advocate, Adult Video News, Spunk and American Photo Magazine. His second book, Crazy for Cuba: Notes from An Underground Traveler, is due to be published fall 2018. He is also working on Chased, Assaulted, Bitten, Bruised and Laughing My Ass Off, a collection of offbeat, exotic short stories. The author lives in West Hollywood, California.