Larry Kramer: We Need More Books About Gay History
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Larry Kramer believes that we need more books about gay history. With the release of his newest book The American People: Volume 2 The Brutality of Fact, he spoke to the New York Times and lamented that most historians are straight which precludes them from writing comprehensive, representative documents that are reliable narratives.
From the interview in the New York Times:
Kramer: I have been writing a two-volume novel based on historical research into homosexuality and the AIDS plague for a number of years and have come to appreciate a veritable library of writers, scientists, etc. etc. Tony Kushner, Laurie Garrett, Daniel Mendelsohn, John le Carré (I love spy stories!), James Ellroy (and complicated mysteries!), Anne Applebaum, Masha Gessen, Dr. Jacques Pépin, who wrote the classic “The Origins of AIDS,” Timothy Snyder on various holocausts.
NYT: Which subjects do you wish more authors would write about?
Kramer: Gay history. Most historians taken seriously are always straight. They wouldn’t know a gay person if they took him to lunch. A good example is Ron Chernow’s biography of Hamilton, which doesn’t include the fact that he was both gay and in love with George Washington. Gore Vidal pointed this out to me.
Read the full interview here.
