Walt Whitman
Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist, and among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse.
His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality. Though biographers continue to debate Whitman’s sexuality, he is usually described as either homosexual or bisexual in his feelings and attractions. His poetry depicts love and sexuality in a more earthy, individualistic way, common in American culture.
From Leaves of Grass:
A glimpse through an interstice caught,
Of a crowd of workmen and drivers in a bar-room around the
stove late of a winter night, and I unremark'd seated in a
corner,
stove late of a winter night, and I unremark'd seated in a
corner,
Of a youth who loves me and whom I love, silently approaching
and seating himself near, that he may hold me by the hand,
and seating himself near, that he may hold me by the hand,
A long while amid the noises of coming and going, of drinking
and oath and smutty jest,
and oath and smutty jest,
There we two, content, happy in being together, speaking little,
perhaps not a word.
perhaps not a word.
That shadow my likeness that goes to and fro seeking a liveli-
hood, chattering, chaffering,
How often I find myself standing and looking at it where it
flits,
How often I question and doubt whether that is really me;
But among my lovers and caroling these songs,
O I never doubt whether that is really me.
Tennessee Williams
Williams is considered among the three foremost playwrights of 20th century American drama.
After years of obscurity, he became suddenly famous with The Glass Menagerie, a play that closely reflected his own unhappy family background. This heralded a string of successes, including A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Sweet Bird of Youth.
James Baldwin
American writer and social critic James Arthur Baldwin was born on 2 August 1924. His essays explore palpable yet unspoken intricacies of racial, sexual and class distinctions in Western societies, most notably in mid-20th-century America.
His novels and plays fictionalise fundamental personal questions and dilemmas amid complex social and psychological pressures thwarting the equitable integration not only of African Americans, but also of gay and bisexual men. He died on 1 December 1987.
The award-winning 2016 documentary I Am Not Your Negro uses Baldwin's life and writings to chart the history of racism in America. You can watch a trailer for the documentary here: hard-hitting and highly recommended.
Federico Garcia Lorca
Lorca is considered one of Spain’s greatest poets and dramatists. Born in 1898, in Fuente Vaqueros, Spain, he went to Madrid in 1919 where he met Salvador Dali who would later design the scenery for Lorca's plays.
An estrangement from Dali brought on an increasing depression, a situation exacerbated by his anguish over his homosexuality. He felt he was trapped between the persona of the successful author, which he was forced to maintain in public, and the tortured, authentic self, which he could only acknowledge in private. Lorca's two most successful poetry collections were Canciones (Songs) and Romancero Gitano (The Gypsy Ballads). During the Spanish Civil War, he was murdered by supporters of General Franco.
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde was a prolific Irish writer. He became one of London’s most popular playwrights in the early 1890s and is best remembered for the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. At the height of his fame and success, while The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) was still being performed in London, Wilde had the Marquess of Queensberry prosecuted for criminal libel.
The Marquess was the father of Wilde’s lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. The libel trial unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and trial for gross indecency with men. After two more trials he was convicted and sentenced to two years’ hard labour, the maximum penalty. In 1897, in prison, he wrote De Profundis (published in 1905) a long letter which discusses his spiritual journey through his trials, forming a dark counterpoint to his earlier philosophy of leisure. Upon his release he left immediately for France, never to return to Ireland or Britain.
A E Housman's poem, 'The Colour of his Hair', was written at the time of Wilde's trial and conviction, but the its subject was so controversial that the poem remained unpublished until after Housman's death in 1936:
Oh who is that young sinner with the handcuffs on his wrists?
And what has he been after that they groan and shake their fists?
And wherefore is he wearing such a conscience-stricken air?
Oh they're taking him to prison for the colour of his hair.
'Tis a shame to human nature, such a head of hair as his;
In the good old time 'twas hanging for the colour that it is;
Though hanging isn't bad enough and flaying would be fair
For the nameless and abominable colour of his hair.
Oh a deal of pains he's taken and a pretty price he's paid
To hide his poll or dye it of a mentionable shade;
But they've pulled the beggar's hat off for the world to see and stare,
And they're haling him to justice for the colour of his hair.
Now 'tis oakum for his fingers and the treadmill for his feet
And the quarry-gang on Portland in the cold and in the heat,
And between his spells of labour in the time he has to spare
He can curse the God that made him for the colour of his hair.
Many thanks to the librarians for contributing this post.
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