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.

"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