Gay Lerature: Poetry and Prose | Oxford Rearch Encyclopedia of Lerature

Contents:

• TOP 100 GAY NOVELS OF THE XXI CENTURY
• GAY LERATURE: POETRY AND PROSEGAY LERATURE: POETRY AND PROSE
• A BRIEF HISTORY OF LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENR SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

TOP 100 GAY NOVELS OF THE XXI CENTURY

Meticuloly rearched and ttly plotted, books such as The Last of the We (1956) and The Persian Boy (1972) naturalistilly pict gay love agast a vivid, betifully renred backdrop of war and polil BaldwJam BaldwUPI/Bettmann ArchiveBaldw’s semal novel Gvanni’s Room (1956), about a tragic love affair between a nfed Amerin man and his Italian boyiend Paris, unflchgly exam the societal prejudic that kept (and ntue to keep) many people om acknowledgg their sexual AokiAoki is an Amerin wrer of Japane scent who is bt known for her llectns, cludg Seasonal Veloci (2012) and Why Dt Shall Never Settle upon This Soul (2015), and her novels, cludg He Mele a Hilo (2014) and Light om Unmon Stars (2021).

Armistead MpMp’s effervcent novels about gay life San Francis, startg wh Tal of the Cy (1978), brought to life a i foreign to much of the JordanJordan primarily wrote through the lens of bisexualy and racial jtice. Shared among gay iends, we uld celebrate our growg nfince and visibily wh new work om Alan Hollghurst and Jeate Wterson, velop a mp sensibily by quotg to each other l om EF Benson and Ronald Firbank, image that London uld bee the queer Ardia picted Armistead Mp’s Tal of the we moved towards assiatn the 1990s, Dennis Cooper’s Gee Mil novel cycle was a remr that sexualy was still transgrsive, that sire remaed a dark and disptive force. It’s a such a tenr moment and a remr of the kdns and nnectn that is possible between all of MenzAuthor of Rabow MilkCeremoni by Essex Hemphill (Pengu)The hugely fluential gay Ain Amerin poet Essex Hemphill died of Aids-related plitns 1995, aged 38, jt one month before the lnch of protease hibors – early antiretrovirals – which might have saved or at least prolonged his life.

GAY LERATURE: POETRY AND PROSEGAY LERATURE: POETRY AND PROSE

In the wrgs and radil cema he left behd – cludg llaboratns wh Marlon Riggs Tongu Untied (1989) and Isaac Julien Lookg for Langston (1989) – he provid subsequent generatns wh evince that we lived and loved, and of our fight agast the effects of tersectg whe supremacy, racism, homophobia and heterosexism. Brorick’s novel is an important document that dramatis hidn gay liv the Dubl of 40 years CreweDebut novel The New Life was published this yearFrank Sargon’s Collected Stori, 1935-1963 (Pengu)Frank Sargon’s short stori are nversatnal. ”Neil BartlettTheatre director, playwright and thor of novels cludg Ready to Catch Him Should He Fall and Addrs BookNocturn for the Kg of Napl by Edmund Whe (Pidor)In 1980, when I was livg a beds and “gay” was a word still largely spoken between ntemptuo verted mas, a chanced-upon newspaper review alerted me to the existence of an unknown Amerin wrer whose third book had jt ma to the UK.

I very much look forward to her follow-up Brawyrms later the KayAward-wng Makar (Natnal Poet for Stland) and thor of fictn and nonfictn cludg Red Dt Road, Tmpet and Bsie SmhSister Outsir by Audre Lor (Pengu Classics)In an terview Ada Gay Griff and Michelle Parkerson’s 1995 documentary about her life, A Lany for Survival (the name of one of Lor’s semal poems), Audre Lor said prciently: “What I leave behd has a life of s own. He was the epome of the upright, public-spired, homosexual expat, nductg a distguished reer om Alexandria and Athens – two of his bt novels are about life Alexandria, wh illic passn throbbg unr the rtraed surface.

I thk only a gay man would have had the patience to observe all the character typ, and renr them wh such unfettable, tty Atherton LEssayist and thor of Gay Bar: Why We Went Out, which won the Natnal Book Crics Circle award for tobgraphyReady to Catch Him Should He Fall by Neil Bartlett (Serpent’s Tail, available on worldoarebooks)So often, boy-meets-boy narrativ take place some remote manor or tent, as if romance only occurs far om the maddg gay crowd. In 2020, an attempt was ma to rever rerds om the LAPD, only to disver they had been stroyed at some pot, makg Rechy’s scriptn his novel the only origal acunt of the event nsired by some to be the first gay uprisg the U.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENR SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

Mrice follows protagonist Mrice Hall, who disvers that he is gay while studyg at Cambridge and go on to stggle wh his queerns throughout his life — experiencg ternalized homophobia, heartbreak, blackmail, and love. This is what spired him to wre the fairy tale of sorts that is this book, a seri of vigt that pat the story of a group of gay men, femists, drag queens, lbians, queer men, and more who live, produce art, have sex, and wa for a revolutn as they’re led by a clg patriarchal empire. Ultimately, Kramer’s cricism of gay promiscuy and cisg culture stck a nerve and was seen as harsh, but his portrayal of a muny takg too many risks has grown more accepted sce the revelatns of the AIDS crisis.

Jason, Kyle, and Nelson are three high school teens stgglg wh their queer inti — Jason is the classic jock, a basketball team star who has a lot to lose if he adms he’s bisexual; Kyle is gay but hop no one, pecially his parents, ever fds out; and Nelson is the first his gra to be fully out of the closet, thanks part to a supportive mom. Some reviewers (a b optimistilly) say that much of the bullyg or homophobia they experience isn’t relevant today, but the tth is, many young queer people are still stgglg to navigate an tolerant world packed wh toxic masculy.

In this book set 1960s Nigeria, a Christian Igbo girl named Ijeoma disvers her love for a Mlim Hsa girl named Ama, only to face extreme homophobia and prsure om her fay to bee heterosexual and f properly wh what is expected om her. This short read is the first novel by an Equatorial Guean woman to be translated to English — but while is still ocsnally sold the untry, the book is officially banned Equatorial Guea due to s gay protagonist.