Gay classic books
(A time capsule of queer opinion, from the late 1990s)
The Publishing Triangle complied a selection of the 100 leading lesbian and queer novels in the late 1990s. Its purpose was to broaden the appreciation of lesbian and gay literature and to promote discussion among all readers homosexual and straight.
The Triangle’s 100 Best
The judges who compiled this list were the writers Dorothy Allison, David Bergman, Christopher Bram, Michael Bronski, Samuel Delany, Lillian Faderman, Anthony Heilbut, M.E. Kerr, Jenifer Levin, John Loughery, Jaime Manrique, Mariana Romo-Carmona, Sarah Schulman, and Barbara Smith.
1. Death in Venice by Thomas Mann
2. Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
3. Our Lady of the Flowers by Jean Genet
4. Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust
5. The Immoralist by Andre Gide
6. Orlando by Virginia Woolf
7. The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall
8. Kiss of the Spider Girl by Manuel Puig
9. The Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar
10. Zami by Audré Lorde
11. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
12. Nightwood by Djuna Barnes
13. Billy Budd by Herman Melville
14. A Boy’s Own Story by Edmund White
15. Dancer from the Dance by A
James Jenkins: Publishing Lost Gay Classics
As a young reader, several of my favorite science fiction authors were lamentably out of output, so a trip to a used bookstore was a treasure hunt. There was always the possibility that I would locate a rarity, or even a book previously unknown to me.
As an adult reader, I’m continually surprised at the breadth and depth of gay fiction. The Stonewall riot may have been the start of a civil rights movement, but it was not the beginning of our history. Intuition, coded cover art and friendly guidance has led me to many a title, and I’m glad that there are still surprises on this journey, chief among them Valancourt Books. My friend Trebor Healey interviewed them recently at the Huffington Post, where I learned that they’ve been reprinting lgbtq+ classics and Gothic and horror books since 2005. I immediately went to their website and was startled at the number of books that they’ve resurrected, and the obvious care and diligence that went into those books’ recovery. I’ve since chatted up one of the publishers, James Jenkins (his partner in books and marriage, Ryan Cagle, handles the horror side of the business), to learn more about some of th
Visibility. It’s one of the most crucial needs of the queer community. To be understood, to be accepted, the LGBTQIA+ group needs first to be seen. This has meant that centuries of authors writing about the experiences, love, and pain of the queer community hold been crucial in making progress towards a drastic acceptance.
From the delicate art form of the semi-autobiographical novel — a animation story veiled behind imaginary names and twists — to the roar of poetry to a thick dive into the history that has too often been erased and purged, queer literature has helped to challenge, move, and shape generations of readers.
As a pansexual, demisexual cis woman on my way into another Celebration Month, researching and crafting this list was a singular joy. I possess many books to set on hold at my local library. Many stories to encounter. Many histories to educate myself on.
Because queer texts aid to increase our awareness to the “outside” earth, but they also raise internal visibility and acknowledgment. Today, transphobia is rampant among the queer group, and there are still plenty of issues (biphobia, acephobia), histories, and experiences that the best-educated gay pers
What are the "gay novels of the 1940s and 1950s"?
astro1
I was reading the wiki on Gore Vidal’s novel “The Municipality and the Pillar” and at the end this comment was noted.
The Urban area and the Pillar sparked a widespread scandal, including notoriety and criticism, not only since it was released at a time when homosexuality was commonly considered immoral, but also because it was the first book by an accepted American storyteller to portray overt homosexuality as a natural behavior.[3] The controversial reception began before the novel hit bookshelves. Prior to its even being published, an editor at EP Dutton said to Vidal, “You will never be forgiven for this publication. Twenty years from now you will still be attacked for it.”[5] Looking back in retrospect from 2009, it is considered by Ian Young to be “perhaps the most notorious of the gay novels of the 1940s and 1950s.”[7]
What are these “gay novels”?
Horatio_Hellpop2
Naked Lunch and Gentlemen’s Agreement come to mind.
Exapno_Mapcase3
The New York Times recent obituary of Tereska Torres, author of Women’s Barracks, provides a fascinating look at the period.
SantaMan4
I started to look up “Well