Yesterday New York University Press published an important book: When Gay People Get Married, What Happens When Societies Legalize Same-Sex Marriage. As the title suggests, this book is an in depth analysis of how societies have been changed by
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Today is the birthday of Henry David Thoreau. So let us take a few moments to celebrate this great American. He was, of course the author of the classic: Walden; or Life in the Woods. What makes Walden a
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Having read William Mann’s classic queer Hollywood history, Behind the Screen, Queer Reader expected his new Katharine Hepburn biography to be very good. It isn’t very good. It’s great. Mr. Mann’s Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn may just
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When Franklin Delano Roosevelt met with reformers in the Oval Office, he responded to their requests with three cryptic sentences: “I agree with you. I want to do it. Now make me do it.” This possibly apocryphal quotation has become
By now, you’ve probably heard the sad, sad news that our beloved Oscar Wilde Bookshop will soon be closing. Recent visitors to the Oscar Wilde Bookshop probably didn’t realize they had arrived at a historic location. Older queers might have
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We all know what went right on Election Day: Barack Obama was elected president. That was the good news. I was literally partying in the streets of my neighborhood (Chelsea) as the bad news came trickling in. California’s anti-gay marriage
Marriage Proposals is Now in Paperback. Read More »
I’ll admit I was a little nervous about this one. One of America’s great writers, Edmund White, has written a biography of one of France’s great poets–arguably the father of modern poetry–Arthur Rimbaud. Sounds intelligent. Sounds profound. Sounds…well, maybe just
Edmund White’s Rimbaud is Superb. Read More »
We think we know them. We’ve seen Picasso’s strangely flattering portrait of Gertrude Stein (painted from memory.) And the famous Man Ray photograph of Gertrude and Alice B. Toklas–looking like the old married couple that they were. Then there is
Two Lives: Gertrude and Alice is Now in Paperback. Read More »
If you haven’t read it yet, now is the time to read Armistead Maupin’s latest novel, Michael Tolliver Lives. It is arguably Mr. Maupin’s best novel and it is now available in paperback.
It’s okay to get excited about
Did you know that Thomas Mann’s daughter was married to W.H. Auden? When asked why he agreed to the marriage, Auden replied: “What else are buggers for?” In fact, Auden met Ericka Mann the day he married her. He did
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