Today it is widely recognized that gay men played a prominent role in defining the culture of mid-20th-century America, with such icons as Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee, Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, Montgomery Clift, and Rock Hudson defining much of what seemed distinctly "American" on the stage and screen. Even though few gay artists were "out," their sexuality caused significant anxiety during a time of rampant antihomosexual attitudes. Michael Sherry offers a sophisticated analysis of the tension between the nation's simultaneous dependence on and fear of the cultural influence of gay artists.
"The accomplishments of Gay Artists are many. . . . Highly recommended for scholars--and also for non-academics--who have interests in twentieth-century American culture, in queer studies, and in studies of modern U.S. empire. . . . It should become a vital reference for those studying how these three interconnected subjects collided. . . . Gay Artists recently won the 2008 LGBT Award for Nonfiction from the Lambda Literary Foundation. It deserves to pick up several more."
-American Studies
"A first-rate contribution to American cultural history."
Journal of American History
"[A] valuable contribution to queer history."
Material Culture
"As an in-depth look at the critical reaction to major American artists, Sherry's study compares favorably to other academic studies. . . . Recommended."
CHOICE
"An important book, deserving of a central place not only in gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender studies, but also in academia and at the American table."
Multicultural Review
"An extended and often brilliant discussion of gay musicians, dramatists, dancers, and writers from the late 1940s through the 1960s."
Rain Taxi
This is an important and utterly fascinating history of the idea that gay men have exerted a disproportionate and perhaps conspiratorial influence over the arts, particularly theater and modern music.
George Chauncey, author of Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Nixon, Myself, and Others
1 Discovery
2 Explanation
3 Frenzy
4 Barber at the Met
5 Aftermath
Notes
Index
Michael S. Sherry is professor of history at Northwestern University and author of three books, including the Bancroft Prize-winning The Rise of American Air Power: The Creation of Armageddon.
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Distributor: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication Date: 09-10-2007
Pages: 304
Measurements: 9.5in X 6.38in
