Source: Christiaan Tonnis, Flickr. The following is an excerpt from the lecture of author Jorge García-Robles, delivered today at The Burroughs Century in Bloomington, Indiana. Burroughs became a writer, as he himself tells it in the preface to Queer, on the afternoon of September 5th, 1951, in Apartment 10 of 122 Calle Monterrey, in the … More Where William S. Burroughs became a writer
“There couldn’t be a society of people who didn’t dream. They’d be dead in two weeks.” —William S. Burroughs William S. Burroughs in 1951. Today, Feb. 5, 2014, William S. Burroughs would have turned 100 years old. In honor of this landmark birthday, the city of Bloomington, Indiana, is hosting a four-day festival, The Burroughs … More The Burroughs Century
Portrait of George Cukor in 1973 at home in Los Angeles. Q&A WITH BIOGRAPHER PATRICK MCGILLIGAN What is the first thing we need to know about George Cukor? Starting out, I myself knew very little about him really, even though I had met him when he was doing publicity for one of his last films. … More Integrity, survival, excellence: On the double life of George Cukor, one of the Golden Age’s great Hollywood directors.
BY AMY STONEAssistant professor of sociology at Trinity University in San Antonio Last night was a huge victory for same-sex marriage at the ballot box. This November, voters in four states—Minnesota, Maryland, Maine, and Washington—were faced with ballot measures about same-sex marriage. For the first time, these ballot measures (all except Minnesota) had the potential … More How did same-sex marriage gain historic wins at the ballot box yesterday? Three ideas.
It’s going to be a nail-biting month: While Minnesotans will decide whether to ban same-sex marriage at the polls in November, voters in Washington State, Maine, and Maryland will be deciding whether to legalize same-sex marriage. BY AMY STONEAssistant professor of sociology at Trinity University in San Antonio This fall, same-sex marriage will be on … More Same-sex marriage: In November, four states have the power to make history.
Participants in the 1982 Pride parade march down Hennepin Avenue by the I-94 exchange on the way to Loring Park. Stewart Van Cleve points out how LGBT struggles have changed—as well as how they’ve frustratingly remained the same—over the past few decades. Photograph by John Yoakam. BY STEWART VAN CLEVEFormer assistant curator of the Jean-Nickolaus … More Same-sex marriage vote: It’s a family matter.
A snapshot from a gay pride parade in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2006.As Ashley Currier demonstrates, Namibia and South Africa have complicatedhistories with leaders’ contradictory stances on LGBT rights. Photo from Creative Commons. BY ASHLEY CURRIERAssistant professor of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies at University of Cincinnati When people learn that I study lesbian, gay, … More Invisibility and its advantages: Why LGBT rights activists in Africa sometimes strategize to remain hidden.
Gore Vidal, pictured around 1945. Photoby Carl Van Vechten. BY JAMES J. BERGDean of Liberal Arts and Sciences at College of the Desert In 1947, Gore Vidal sent a copy of his soon-to-be-published novel, The City and the Pillar, to a number of established writers. Christopher Isherwood was one of them. Vidal, then 22, and … More "Flourish—but not forever." On the late Gore Vidal’s longtime kinship with Christopher Isherwood.
BY NICHOLAS DE VILLIERSAssistant Professor of English and film at the University of North Florida It seems to me that, for a writer, the issue isn’t how to be “eternal” (mythological definition of the “great writer”) but how to be desirable after death. —Roland Barthes, The Preparation of the Novel (303) Almost every journalist I’ve … More The Amicable Return of Roland Barthes
The I-35W bridge in Minneapolis is lit up in rainbow colors to commemorate last year’s Pride celebration on June 24th, 2011. Image via Creative Commons. BY STEWART VAN CLEVEFormer assistant curator of the Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies at the University of Minnesota As the end of June approaches, people … More 40 years of Twin Cities Pride: We’ve come a long way, yet still have so far to go.
