differenceshuaigay

GAYMEN'SLITERATUREINTHETWENTIETHCENTURYAlsobyMarkLillyCHARLOTTEBRONTE'S'VILLETTE'(editor)""LESBIANANDGAYWRITING:AnAnthologyofCriticalEssays(editor)""SHAKESPEARE'S'MEASUREFORMEASURE'""THENATIONALCOUNCILFORCIVILLIBERTIES:TheFirstFiftyYears""AlsopublishedbyMacmillanGayMen'sLiteratureintheTwentiethCenturyMARKLILLY!
50thYEARMMACMILLANMarkLilly1993Softcoverreprintofthehardcover1stedition1993Allrightsreserved.
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Firstpublished1993byTHEMACMILLANPRESSLTDHoundmills,Basingstoke,HampshireRG212XSandLondonCompaniesandrepresentativesthroughouttheworldAcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
TypesetbyNickAllen/LongworthEditorialServicesLongworth,Oxon.
ISBN978-0-333-49436-3ISBN978-1-349-22966-6(eBook)DOI10.
1007/978-1-349-22966-6Thisbookisdedicatedtoallthosemilitantactivistsinthelesbianandgaycommunitywhosecourageandtenacityinthefaceofoverwhelmingoddsisaninspirationtousall.
IfBritaineverbecomesacivilisedandjustsociety,itwillpartlybeasaresultoftheirselflessefforts.
ContentsAcknowledgementsviiiIntroductionix1TheHomophobicAcademy12TheLegacyofByronandWilde153ThePoemsofConstantineCavafy334E.
M.
Forster:Maurice535TheLovePoetryoftheFirstWorldWar646JeanGenet:TheAutobiographicalWorks837ThePlaysofTennesseeWilliams1058YukioMishima:ConfessionsofaMask1279JamesBaldwin:AnotherCountryandGiovanni'sRoom14410ThePlaysofJoeOrton16811ChristopherIsherwood:ASingleMan18012AndrewHolleran:DancerfromtheDanceandNightsinAruba19013DavidLeavitt:TheLostLanguageofCranes206Notes220Index230viiAcknowledgementsTheauthorandpublisherswishtothankthefollowingforpermissiontousecopyrightmaterial:RosicaColinLtd.
,onbehalfoftheauthor'sEstatefortheextractsfrom'Reserve'and'Soliloquy1'inCollectedPoemsbyRichardAldington.
Copyright1948,1976RichardAldington.
FaberandFaberLtd.
,fortheextractfrom'TheModernAchilles'inTheBuriedStreambyGeoffreyFaber,1941.
DavidHighamAssociatesLtd.
,onbehalfoftheauthor'sEstatefortheextractfrom'MyCompany'inCollectedPoemsbyHerbertRead(FaberandFaber).
MacmillanPublishersLtd.
,fortheextractsfrom'Lament'inWhinbyWilfridGibsonand'SentryGo'inNeighboursbyWilfridGibson.
RandomCenturyGroup,fortheextractfrom'Fulfilment'inArdoursandEndurancesbyRobertNicholls(Chatto&Windus),and'TheSecret'byRobertNichollsinAureliaandOtherPoems(Chatto&Windus).
Everyefforthasbeenmadetotraceallthecopyrightholders,butifanyhavebeeninadvertentlyoverlookedthepublisherwillbepleasedtomakethenecessaryarrangementatthefirstoppor-tunity.
Iwasgreatlyassistedinmyworkbypreviousstudies,notablyGregWoods'sArticulateFlesh,MartinTaylor'santhologyofFirstWorldWarpoetry,Lads,withitsfineintroduction;andHenryScottStokes'sTheLifeandDeathofYukioMishima.
Ithanktheseauthorswarmlyfortheirassistance.
ParticularthanksarealsoduetoRobertRebein,oftheUniversityofBuffalo,whomadedetailedsuggestionsforchangesandadditions.
viiiIntroductionInanecstasyofincoherentrage,hisfatherproceededtospitrepeatedlyonthepagesuntilhischinwascoveredwithsaliva;thenheliftedthebooktohismouth,anddismembereditwithhisteeth.
WhenhisinnocentsonbravelypersistedindemandingwhatitwasthatOscarWildehaddone,hereceivedtheanswerwrittenonascrapofpaper:Illumcrimenhorribile.
.
.
quodnonnominandumest.
[Thathorriblecrime.
.
.
whichisnottobenamed.
](BeverleyNicholsbeingcaughtreadingDorianGray).
.
.
allapieceofliteratureshoulddo,Ithink,istellyouwhatitwasliketouchingFrankRomero'slipsforthefirsttimeonahotafternooninAugustinthebathroomofLes'sCafeonthewaytoFireIsland.
(AndrewHolleran,DancerfromtheDance)Poet,youarenoliar.
Theworldthatyouimagineistherealone.
Themelodiesoftheharpaloneknowtruth,andinthislifetheycanbeouronlytrueguides.
(Cavafy,'ThePoetandtheMuse').
.
.
thegreatdifferencebetweenpeopleinthisworldisnotbetweentherichandthepoororthegoodandtheevil,thebiggestofdifferencesinthisworldisbetweentheonesthathadorhavepleasureinloveandthosethathaven'tandhadn'tanypleasureinlove,butjustwatcheditwithenvy,sickenvy.
(TennesseeWilliams,SweetBirdofYouth)Hislife,passions,trials,loves,were,atworst,filth,and,atbest,diseaseintheeyesoftheworld,andcrimesintheeyesofhiscountrymen.
Therewerenostandardsforhimexceptthosehecouldmakeforhimself.
Therewerenostandardsforhimbecausehecouldnotacceptthedefinitions,thehideouslymechanicaljargonoftheage.
Hesawnoonearoundhimworthhisenvy,didixXIntroductionnotbelieveinthevast,greysleepwhichwascalledsecurity,didnotbelieveinthecures,panaceas,andsloganswhichafflictedtheworldheknew;andthismeantthathehadtocreatehisstandardsandmakeuphisdefinitionsashewentalong.
Itwasuptohimtofindoutwhohewas,anditwashisnecessitytodothis.
.
.
alone.
ijamesBaldwin,AnotherCountry)Idon'tknowifyou'relivingstillOrfalleninthefightButinmyheartyourheartissafeTillthelastnight(FirstWorldWarpoem,'HisMate',byStuddertKennedy)Alloftheseextractsappearinthisbook.
Seentogether,theygiveanideaoftheextraordinarydiversityofapproachamongstthewritersIproposetodiscuss.
Tendernessliessidebysidewithrage,existentialrejectionofconventionsrubsshoulderswithsexualhedonism.
Onlywithsteadyreflectioncanweteaseoutsomesharedpreoccupations.
Eachchapterinthisbookisdedicatedtotheworkofanauthorwhowasorispredominantlyorexclusivelygay,withtheexceptionofthechapteronthepoetryoftheFirstWorldWar(thereasonsformakingtheexceptionaresetoutinthechapteritself)andthesectiononByron(whowasbisexual).
Thebookisanintroduction,andhasbeenwrittenwiththefirst-yearcollegeanduniversitystudent,andthegeneralreader,especiallyinmind.
Itwouldofcoursebegratifyingtofindmyacademiccolleaguesamongstitsreaders,butitisnotdesignedforthem.
Ihavetriedtodowithoutmostofthetechnicaljargonofacademiccriticism,andtowriteasclearlyandconciselyaspossible.
Clarityofexpositionhasbeenmyguidingprinciple.
Forthemostpart,eachchapterdealswithasingleauthor.
Ihavewritteneachoftheseparatechaptersinsuchawaythateachoneformspartofacontinuingargumentaboutgaywritingacrossthewholeperiod,butalsosothateachchaptermakessenseasaseparateessay.
Thisisbecausetherewillbereaderswhohaveaninterestinoneortwoauthors,butdonotwishtoworktheirwaythroughthewholebook.
Thisbookisnotageneralsurvey,andthereforeintheselectionofauthorsfordiscussion,Ihavemadenoattempttobecompre-Introductionxihensive.
Thereis,forexample,nothingonmajorfigureslikeProust,Gide,MannorAuden,oroncontemporarywriterswhohaveattractedconsiderableacclaimsuchasThornGunn,EdmundWhiteandAgustinGomez-Arcos.
Instead,myaimhasbeentochoosealimitednumberoftextsfromalimitednumberofwritersinordertoinvestigatecertainsharedthemesandpatterns.
Confiningthescopeinthiswayhasallowedmetogivedetailedreadingsofindividualtexts,inawaythatisimpossibleinageneralsurvey.
Ofcourse,mychoicesarepersonalandthereadermustjudgetheirsuitability.
Nevertheless,Ishouldliketoprovideashortrationaleforthem.
Akeyprinciplewascoherence;thatis,positivelytochooseagroupofgayauthorswhoseworkcouldbediscussedintheform,asitwere,ofadevelopingstory.
FromByrononwards,thewritersstudiedhereallexpressarejectionofthesocietyinwhichtheyfindthemselves.
Theyfallintotwogroups.
Therearethose,followingShakespeare'sCoriolanus,whosaydefiantly,ontheirexpulsionfromsociety,'Thereisaworldelsewhere'and,whenbanished,retort,'Ibanishyou!
'GenetBaldwinandMishima,intheirdeeploathingofcontemporarysociety,adoptthisattitude,renouncetheworldvehemently,butcombinetheirvigorousiconoclasmwithimpliedorexplicitsuggestionsforadifferentworld.
Thesecondgroupofwriters,peoplelikeForster,Isher-woodandLeavitt,arereformersratherthanrebels.
Theyspeakcalmly,tryingtomoveorcajolethereaderintotolerantattitudesandarenunciationofprejudice.
Theywanttochangeafewdetailshereandthereratherthansweepthewholeboardclean.
Withinbothgroupscertainthemesemergerepeatedly.
Thereistheexistentialistdeterminationnottoacceptsocialrulesandcustomsfortheirownsake;eachpersonmusthavethecouragetorealisehisfreedomthroughexercisingit,oftenindefianceofsocialnorms.
Thenthereisthethemeofself-contempt:gaycharacters(inBaldwin,HolleranandWilliams,forexample)whoacceptsociety'sevaluationoftheirownworthwithoutquestion,andwhoseregrettablefateisthereforetobeseenasinsomesenseself-inflicted.
Mostofthesewritersalsoarticulateadesiretoescapefromtheoppressiveheterosexualworldintoanalternativeone.
Thismightbethecrazydrug-drenchedexcitementofHolleran'sdiscosinNewYorkandFireIsland;orthepastoralidyllinForster'sMaurice;ortheworldofartisticcreationinthepoetryofCavafy;orthezanyworldof'camp'humourinthexiiIntroductionplaysofOrton.
Mostoftheseworksexaminethenotionftheoutsider.
Societieshaveaneedtoidentifyeasytargets-gays,Jews,blacks-forabuseand,ifnecessary,murder,inordertoexorcisetheiranxietiesabouttheirlives,overwhichtheyclearlyfeeltheyhavenocontrol.
Asthesethemesemergeagainandagainindifferentforms,diverselyexpressedbutneverthelesssuggestingacertaincohesionanduniformity,theirsignificanceandmeaningforthereaderofthisbookwill,Ihope,besatisfactorilyamplifiedandenriched.
Thisbookisintendedasacontributiontowardsthefieldofgaystudies.
Incomparisonwiththeestablishedsuccess,especiallyintheUnitedStates,ofstudiesbasedonwomenandrace,gaystudiesareintheirinfancy.
Thespecialistpublishinghouses,academicsub-committees,universityandcollegecourses,grants-infactthewholeapparatusbymeansofwhichtheworldknowsthatanareaofstudyhasarrivedat'respectability'-arenotasfirmlyinplaceforgaystudiesasforstudiescentringonwomenandpeopleofcolour.
However,despitetheconsiderableop-position,itlooksclearthattheywillnotonlycontinuetodevelop,buttoexpandatadramaticrate.
Butthereisalivelyandcontinuingdebateabouttheirrationale.
Ishouldliketosetout-especiallyforthebenefitofreadersnewtothedebate-someofthequestionsthatareraisedbytheveryexistenceofgaystudies.
Weneedtostartwiththequestionofpurpose.
Whyhavegayorblackorwomen'sstudiesatallSurelytheyencouragetheseparatisttendenciesofWesternculturegenerally.
Anintellectualghettohasthesameadverseeffectsasaphysicalone:peopledividedfromeachother,akindofinformalapartheid.
Themeritofliterarystudiesunderthetraditionaldispensation,soitisargued,isthat,irrespectiveofconsiderationsofgender,race,sexualorientationoranyotherdefiningcategory,workscanbediscussedandinterpretedusingtoolsofcriticismwhich,becausetheyrepresentaunifyingconsensus,alsobestowprestigeandevenreliabilityontheresultingjudgements.
Thiscomplaintvoicesalegitimateconcern.
ManyofthoseinvolvedinwhatIproposetocall'minoritystudies'(tobeunderstoodasincludingwomen)addressitbysayingthattheyliketothinkofthesestudiesastemporaryandprovisional,inthewaythatIsuggestbelowallcriticalapproachesare.
Theargumentrunsthat,atthepresentmoment,mainstreamcultureignoresanddebasesminorityexperience(thisismorefullydevelopedinIntroductionxiiichapter1),andthereforeinorderbothtocounteractthenegativestereotypesandtheprejudicedorculturallyill-informedcom-mentariesofthetraditionalists,thereneedstobeaperiodinwhichamoreorlesssustained,committedandconcentratedattacktakesplace.
Oncethevalueofminorityexperienceisunderstoodandvalued,academicseparatismcanwitheronthevine.
However,itisonlyfairtoaddthattherearemorehard-lineseparatistswhocannotimagineheterosexualseveraccom-modatingthemselvestothelegitimateaspirationsofgaypeople(andsoformen/women;black/white)andwemustthereforeresignourselvestoanindefinitefutureinwhichinterestgroupsexistasopenlyintheacademyastheydointheworldofsocietyandpolitics.
Therearethreeothermajorcomplaintsmadebyopponentsofgay/black/women'sstudies.
First,intellectualendeavourrequiresneutrality,butthevastmajorityofthoseengagedinsuchstudiesarepartisansormembersofthegroupinvolved,andun-embarrassedlydeclaretheircommitmenttoadvancethestatusandinterestsofthegroup.
Howcanacademicstudiesbeimpartialifthereisafixedagendainadvance,andcertainunfavourableconclusionsarelikelytobesuppressedSecondly,minoritystudiesareseenaspoliticalinthesensethattheyseektodestabiliseanddiscreditmainstreamassumptionsaboutcultureandvalue.
AnexcellentexampleofthisistakingplaceasIwrite(Spring1991)inWashingtonDC,whereanexhibitionofpaintingsonthethemeoftheAmericanWesthasbeensuppliedwithacatalogueandcommentaryinterpretingfamouscanvassesnotintheestablishedway(asgivingvalidityandevenglorytowhiteAmericans'territorialincursionsagainsttheIndians)butinawaythatcastigatesthosedeedsasbarbarous.
Thirdly,thetraditionalcriteriaofliteraryexcellenceareseentobeunderthreatfromminoritystudies.
Novelsandpoemswhich,undertheolddispensation,wouldnothavebeenconsidered(toputitbaldly)goodenoughtobestudied,arenowbeingallowedontosyllabusesbecauseoffashion.
Furthermore,theyareactivelydisplacingsomeofthegreatclassicswhichhavealreadyprovedtheirworth.
Ephemeralworksshouldnotbeaccordedthesamestatusascanonictextswhosesurvivalovertimeisclearevidenceoftheirexcellence.
Itisnotsuggestedthatliteraryworksofminorityinterestshouldbeomittedfromsyllabuses;butthattheirplacethereshouldbewonnotbecausetheyare'relevant'orxivIntroductionfashionable,butbecausetheyarefineworksofartaccordingtothetraditionalcriteria.
Wenowtumtotheargumentsofthedefence.
First,ifminoritystudiesarepartisan,thensoaretraditionalstudies.
Thedifferenceliesinthefactthatthepartisanshipofthefirstgroupisopenlyavowedandclearlyunderstood,whereasthatofthesecondgroupconstitutesasortofhiddenagenda.
Individualtraditionalistsmaynotevenbefullyawarethemselvesofthenatureoftheirownpartisanship,butsuchlackofawarenessdoesnotreduceitseffect.
Furthermore,itisnowanacceptedcommonplacethat'neutrality'ornon-partisanshipisimpossible;wecananddoseethingsonlyfromasubjectivestandpoint.
Ofcourse,someinterpretationsareregularlydescribedasbeingmore'objective'thanothers,butthisisoftenanimpressioncreatedbyacertainapparentlydetachedlinguisticstyleanddoesnotnecessarilyreflectasubstantivedifference.
Secondly,ifpractitionersofminoritystudiesaretobedescribedasintentondiscreditingmainstreamculturalvalues,theanswerisahappyacknowledgementthatthisisindeedthecase.
Itisnotclearwhysuchanapproachisanydifferentfromthevehementprotectionofmainstreamculturalvalues.
Therearedefendersandattackersinanybattle,buttheyareallequallyfighters.
Thethirdchargehasprovedtobethemostcontentious:thatestablishedandtestedcriteriaofexcellencearereplacedbywhimsicalfashionablenotionsofpoliticalrelevance,withtheresultthat'inferior'worksarestudied.
Theanswertothis,putsimply,isthatthereisnojustificationforassumingthattraditionalcriteriaare'better'thannovelones,orthatconsiderationsotforexample,fashionorpoliticalconcernshouldbeconsideredinferiortoanyothers.
Inaddition,thereisanunacknowledgeddishonestyinthetraditionalists'casewhichconsistsintheimpliedpretencethatthemainstreamliterarycriteriaonwhichtheyrelyhavealengthyhistoricalpedigree.
Infact,theircriticalassumptionsarequitemodem,andiftheyweretolookonlyalittlebackwardstheywouldfindmuchtoquarrelwith.
Forexample,eighteenth-centurywriterslikePope,Addison,SteeleandSwifttookitforgrantedthatliteraturewas,partlyatleast,politicalpropaganda.
Inthenineteenthcentury,animportanttestoftheworthinessofanovelwaswhetheritwasfitforladiesandcouldbeleftinthedrawing-room;JaneEyre,togiveoneexample,wasnot.
Weshouldalsolooktothefuturewhenconsideringthisissue.
ItismorethanIntroductionXVlikelythatatsomepossiblyneardateinthefutureMobyDickwillbeseenasawickedbookbyvirtueofits'speciesism'(itdealswiththecruelpersecutionofadumbanimal)justasitisnowconsideredbyfeministcriticismasastatementofmasculineassertivenessbyvirtue,interalia,ofthealmostcompleteabsenceoffemalecharacters.
Literatureisread,andcanonlyberead,inthecontextofsocietiesinwhichhundredsofvariablesalterandadjustthewaywewanttosearchforvalue.
Weshouldbearinmindthat,whenweconsiderthepast,everysetofcriticalassumptionsandpracticessinceAristotlenowseemstoustobeeithersimplistic,offensive,absurdorattheveryleastradicallyincomplete.
Soitwillbewith'newcriticism',structuralism,deconstruction;andsoitwillcertainlybewithgaystudiesasaconcept.
Thetraditionalists'impliedclaimtohavediscoveredsometranscendentcriteria,goodforalltime,isthereforeprofoundlyunhistorical.
Finally,awordabouttheterm'gaymen'sliterature'.
Thereisnoconsensusatthemomentastoitsscope,anditcanthereforeincludesomeorallofthefollowingcategories:worksthatdealwithhomosexualitywrittenbyheterosexuals;worksbyclosetedgaymen,writingwithoutdirectreferencetohomosexuality,whosemeaningisneverthelessinformedbythewriter'ssexuality(Forster'sTheLongestjourney,TennesseeWilliams'sTheGlassMenagerie);theworkofgaywritersseeminglyunaware(con-sciously)oftheirsexuality,butarticulatingitnevertheless(theHopkinsofTheBugler'sFirstCommunionandHarryPloughman);andfinallytheworkof'out'gaywriters,addressingissuesofhomosexualdesireandculturedirectly(AndrewHolleran,EdmundWhite).