Show for March 11, 2011. Gay Writers and Gay Rights.
In his new book, Eminent Outlaws: The Gay Writers Who Changed America, Christopher Bram says it was literature more than any other art form that opened America’s eyes to same-sex relationships and paved the way for gay rights. In the years following World War II, when homosexuality was taboo territory for movies, TV and other mass media, it was writers who broke the silence. Chris and I discussed the impact of writers such as Gore Vidal, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, James Baldwin and Allen Ginsburg; the sometimes nasty critical reaction to their work; and how Chris himself read his way out of the closet.
Chris’s previous nine books include Father of Frankenstein, the basis for the movie Gods and Monsters.
Click the Play arrow above to listen to the show, or you can download the MP3 here (if using a Mac, control-click the link and choose “Save Link As…” If using a PC, right-click and choose Save Target As…”)
Show for July 4, 2010. Lift Every Voice and Sing: the Story of an Anthem. Frank Kameny: Gay Rights Before Stonewall.
Two stories for the 4th of July: In part 1, we listen to performances of Lift Every Voice and Sing, sometimes called the black national anthem, as historian Imani Perry discusses its meaning and importance to the civil rights struggle. In part 2, Frank Kameny recalls the early days of the gay rights movement. Kameny, now 85, led some of the key battles for gay equality, picketing the White House and staging 4th of July protests in the mid-1960s.
Click the “play” arrow above to listen to the show, or download the MP3 here (if using a Mac, control-click the link and choose “Save Link As…” If using a PC, right-click and choose Save Target As…”)
