Contemporary Gay American Novelists »

EMMANUEL S. NELSON is Associate Professor of English at the State University of New York College at Cortland.

Publication of this sourcebook on important gay American fiction writers grants legitimacy and recognition to this rapidly emerging area of literary studies. Though wary of canon-formation in this groundbreaking work, editor Nelson has selected fifty-seven writers whose works have received serious critical acclaim and/or have won large audiences or, in a few cases, are worthy of greater attention. Included are representative writers of detective fiction and science fiction, but not authors of erotic fiction or pulp novels. Also excluded are a few novelists whose expressed wishes for privacy were respected. Writers and their works are examined in the gay literary context, and a majority of the contributing essayists are themselves gay male scholars and writers who bring with them a level of personal and political sensitivity that is generally lacking in non-gay assessments of this literature. Each entry begins with biographical information, proceeds to an interpretive summary of major works and themes, provides an overview of critical reception accorded the author, and concludes with bibliographies of primary and secondary materials. In a lively and perceptive introductory essay, Bredbeck inquires into what we mean by "gay literature" and the inherent tensions in these terms. Conceding the impossibility of speaking conclusively of gay literature, he nevertheless stresses the importance of the task and ends with a survey of critical studies of the gay male novel and works of gay male criticism.

Library Journal

The 57 male novelists in this volume range from Isherwood and Baldwin to Maupin and Leavitt, with some lesser-known writers appearing as well. There are notable absences, but several authors requested that they not be included. Each entry includes a biography, summary of major works and themes, assessment of critical reception, and bibliography of both primary sources and selected studies. The bibliographies are wildly uneven. Primary sources list only novels for some authors, whereas for others short stories and nonfiction are also given. Secondary sources also vary greatly, but generally not enough scholarly articles are given. Still, the material provided is excellent, and the sections on critical reception, which often delineate how homophobia has informed critical opinion, are invaluable and unprecedented. A fine essay by Gregory Bredbeck helps define the idea of ``gay literature.'' Gay/lesbian studies are blossoming, and this volume will begin to fill the enormous gap in our reference collections on the subject; nothing like it is currently available. A companion volume on lesbian writers is forthcoming. Recommended for all undergraduate and research collections.-- Brian Kenney, Brooklyn P.L.

Preface

Introduction

Steve Abbott

James Baldwin

Bruce Boone

Christopher Bram

William S(eward) Burroughs II

Truman Capote

Marsh Cassady

John Champagne

Christopher Coe

Dennis Cooper

Michael Cunningham

Daniel Curzon

Christopher Davis

Samuel Delany

Larry Duplechan

Melvin Dixon

David Feinberg

Robert Ferro

John Fox

Sanford Friedman

John Gilgun

Gary Glickman

Robert Gluck

Clayton R. Graham (Larry Paul Ebmeier)

Harlan Greene

Allan Gurganus

Richard Hall

Joseph Hansen

Andrew Holleran

Bo Huston

Christopher Isherwood

Arturo Islas

Joe Keenan

Randall Kenan

Kevin Killian

Larry Kramer

David Leavitt

Armistead Maupin

James Merrill

Larry Mitchell

Paul Monette

Ethan Mordden

Michael Nava

Felice Picano

David Plante

Joseph Ashby Porter

John Preston

James Purdy

John Rechy

Paul Reed

Paul Russell

Jonathan Strong

Gore Vidal

Peter Weltner

Edmund White

George Whitmore

Donald Windham

Appendix

Index