I think as such it has had its day. It rose in the Seventies, Eighties, Nineties in response to these new opportunities and new challenges and the two big clarities — the one of liberation and the one of Aids — and there was an urgency, a novelty to the whole thing. In our culture at least those things are no longer the case. I observe that the gay novel is dissolving back into everything else and we are living increasingly in a culture where sexuality is not so strongly defined.
—Alan Hollinghurst quoted in The Times, 4.6.18. Matthew Todd disagrees.
2 comments:
Thanks to Tim for posting this and to Octavio Roca for flagging the Times article about Hollinghurst's declaration. Because I chose not to register with the Times of London, I was unable to read that, so my comment is based on Matthew Todd's rebuttal, but I must say I found the latter highly persuasive. Our community (and yes, I believe there is such a thing as the LGBTQ community) still has plenty of stories to tell and issues to address and feelings to express. Of course, gay novelists need readers, which is why I'm proud of what Bookmen DC represents.
Cheers, Steve
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