A History of Gay Literature: The Male Tradition Book

The very idea of a unique tradition of gay-male writing began relatively recently. Early in the 20th century, homosexual writers began to write more honestly. Yet writers, both gay and straight, have written about the experience of homosexuality since ancient times. In his encyclopedic overview, Gregory Woods has knitted together a transhistorical and transcultural history--a tradition--of gay-male writing over the centuries. Using a broad but readily applicable definition of gay literature that includes works by openly gay men, works in which homosexual activity occurs, and works that manifest a gay "sensibility," Woods manages to move us from Homer to David Leavitt, from Arabic poets of the classical age to contemporary South African poetry, from closeted Victorian memoirs to AIDS literature. By its nature, A History of Gay Literature lacks the specificity of critique that illuminates individual work, but this approach is more than compensated for by the book's ability to locate and discuss amazing similarities of experience and expression throughout history and culture. Highly intelligent, jauntily written, and endlessly informative, A History of Gay Literature is an impressive addition to contemporary gay scholarship. Read More