Literature about homosexuality
"Over the Rainbow is lively, engaging, and thoughtful. More to the point, the field of children's literature needs such a collection."
Katherine Capshaw Smith, University of Connecticut
In spite of the growing critical interest concerning gender and sexual nonnormativity in and around narratives written for young readers, no book-length volume on the subject has yet appeared. Over the Rainbow: Queer Children's and Young Adult Literature is the first collection of essays devoted to LGBTQ issues in children's literature. Bringing together significant essays and introducing new work, Over the Rainbow is intended to serve both as a scholarly reference and as a textbook for students of children's studies; gender/queer studies; and related disciplines such as English, history, sociology, and education. Editors Michelle Ann Abate and Kenneth Kidd showcase important essays on the subject of LGBTQ children's and immature adult literature including Harriet the Spy, Rainbow Boys, Little Women, the Harry Potter series, and A Separate Peacewhile providing a provisional history of
From Sappho to Stonewall, and beyond: how fiction tells Gay history
Fiction tells us so much about the time we live in – and LGBTQ+ writers have been writing since the first days of literature. Their stories hold often, but not always, been marginalised, but they contain always said something about the era in which they were first told or published. Here, we take a look at the evolution of lgbtq+ fiction across the ages – for brevity’s sake, focusing on the Western world – and what it reflects about that moment in history, from Sappho, to Stonewall, and beyond.
Queer stories in antiquity
Madeline Miller’s hit The Tune of Achillesis a moving queer retelling of The Iliad from the perspective of young prince Patroclus that simultaneously reflects pride in same-sex relationships (Achilles remains adamant throughout that he and Patroclus be seen together) and latest anxieties about amorous relationships and masculinity – how men can be soft, how to direct family expectations.
But being queer wasn’t always coded as different, and many myths don’t ask for retel
Literature and Homosexuality
Michael J Meyer Published in
Introduction. 1. Tara PRINCE-HUGHES: Worlds In and Out of Balance: Alternative Genders and Gayness in the Almanac of the Lifeless and The Beet Queen. 2. Kemp WILLIAMS: The Metaphorical Construction of reveal more
Reference details
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- Title:
- Literature and Homosexuality / edited by Michael J. Meyer.
- ISBN:
- Author:
- Meyer, Michael J., editor.
- Description:
- 1 online resource.
- Series:
- Brill Book Archive Part 1, ISBN:
Rodopi Perspectives on Modern Literature ; 21 - Bibliography:
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Contents:
- Introduction. 1. Tara PRINCE-HUGHES: Worlds In and Out of Balance: Alternative Genders and Gayness in the Almanac of the Expired and The Beet Queen. 2. Kemp WILLIAMS: The Metaphorical Construction of Sexuality in Giovanni's Room. 3. Angela FRATTAROLA: Frustration and Silence in Gore Vidal's The City and the Pillar . 4. Roger BOWEN: Squalid With Joy: Scobie, Sex, And Race In Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria Quartet . 5. Kathy PHILLIPS: Between the Third S
Literary Theory and Criticism
By NASRULLAH MAMBROLon
With the increasing impact of the gay rights movement and acceptance of gays in mainstream society, queer studies and gay literature are emerging as valued fields. Defining gay literature is sometimes difficult, given the frequent vague and subtle references to homosexual characters or themes set up in works. Not all gay literature deals specifically with sex; most focuses on emotion. The scribe Christopher Isherwood said it best when he explained that being gay does not involve the behave of sex; instead, it is the proclivity or the ability to tumble in love with another member of the equal gender.
In general, however, fiction is termed gay when it incorporates a homosexual theme or gay personality into its narrative. Thus, not all gay literature is written by queer authors; nor do all gay authors write lgbtq+ fiction. No single piece of gay fiction can claim to be emblematic of the “gay experience,” for as the growing numbers of gay concise stories shows, this “experience” is different in each story. Further, gay literature also c