This abstract was adapted from the cover of the book and materials provided by the publisher.
The decades since Stonewall have seen a renaissance of gay l;literature and scholarship, prompting both a search for the roots of gay literary history—a body of literature long ignored—and a reevaluation of many well-known works. The Columbia Anthology of Gay Literature provides a single volume that reveals the bright thread of gay literature throughout the Western tradition.
From the Epic of Gilgamesh to the poems of Ginsberg and gay literature of the 1980s and ‘90s, editor Byrne R. S. Fone draws together hundreds of texts from Western literary history that describe experiences of love, friendship, intimacy, desire, and sex among men. While other anthologies have focused primarily on poetry, drama, or fiction, this is the first to include a full range of genres. Spanning more than two millennia, from ancient Mesopotamia to the late twentieth century, this anthology brings together the best-known texts of gay male writing—such as the poetry of Martial and Walt Whitman, and E. M. Forster's Maurice. Lesser known works, such as nineteenth-century English homoerotic poetry and selections from two early American novels of homosexual love Joseph and His Friend and Imre, reveal the rich and hidden heritage of the love that for so long dared not speak its name.
In the Columbia Anthology of Gay Literature, readers become acquainted with the early bonds of male companionship found in Homer's writings on Zeus and Ganymede, and with the homo erotic poetry of Catullus and Juvenal. From Shakespeare's Sonnets to the philosophy of de Sade, to the political writings of Edmund White, this masterful anthology graces a multifaceted tradition.
This work meets the intended standards of the publishers, to be “a landmark to the enduring spirit of gay writers.” This is indeed “an invaluable resource for students and scholars in need of a guide to a massive body of literature that has been long hidden, ignored, or misrepresented.”
Arranged chronologically, sections are supplemented by illuminating introductory essays; many individual pieces include background commentary on the writer and the work. Fully annotated with suggestions for further reading, and a grand introduction to the enduring spirit of gay writers.
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