Homosexuality
The problem with ‘queer art’
In 1911 Duncan Grant’s ‘Bathing’ went on display as part of a design scheme for the dining room of the…
Vigilante justice: Pure Men, by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, reviewed
The grotesque posthumous lynching of a homosexual by a frenzied mob prompts Sarr’s protagonist to investigate the shadow world of gay life in Senegal
Wham! How George Michael shot to stardom straight from school
The singer himself described his career as ‘unreal’, and admitted that one reason for cruising was the rare chance it gave him to meet ‘ordinary people’
Andy Ogles goes both ways: congressman flip-flops on ‘homosexuality’ post
Andy Ogles, a Republican congressman from Tennessee, chose an unorthodox way to mark Pride month yesterday: by tweeting, “Homosexuality has…
A family affair: Love Lane, by Patrick Gale, reviewed
Banished to the Canadian Prairies, Harry Cane lives on the land alone, except for secret nightly visits from his long-term lover and brother-in-law, Paul
Love and loneliness in the Outer Hebrides: John of John, by Douglas Stuart, reviewed
Summoned home to his dying grandmother in Harris, a gay young man is treated with both violence and tenderness by his father, a Calvinist precentor with a guilty secret
A portrait of the fin de siècle in all its morbid decadence
Matthew Sturgis leads us into a sultry, incense-laden world where Death itself nurses a sinister preference for the young
James Baldwin – dogged by painful uncertainties throughout life
Often snared in emotional turmoil, he never knew who his father was, and resisted being pigeonholed on questions of race, blame and responsibility
Frederic Prokosch – the man who seemed to know everyone
A beguiling memoir boasts intimate encounters with many of the 20th century’s most celebrated writers – but should we believe a word of it?
A flying visit: Palaver, by Bryan Washington, reviewed
A mother travels impulsively from Texas to Tokyo to spend time with her estranged son when she hears an unfamiliar catch in his voice over the phone
A prolonged love affair: The Two Roberts, by Damian Barr, reviewed
A tender, evocative novel portrays the lives of the once celebrated painters Colquhoun and MacBride, from their first meeting in Glasgow to their fractious later years
Glamour and intrigue: The Silver Book, by Olivia Laing, reviewed
A rigorously researched novel mingles fact and fiction in retelling the events that led up to the murder of the film director Pier Paolo Pasolini on 2 November 1975
Hard-won gay rights will be easily lost
In the Palace of Westminster a fortnight ago, I spoke at a reception celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Tory…
The enigma of C.P. Cavafy
The homosexual poet from Alexandria avoided publication in his lifetime, despite being a ruthless self-promoter with a very high opinion of his own work
The scourge of the sensitivity reader
A comparatively new figure with no accredited expertise now dictates to literary agents, senior editors and award-winning authors
The Spectator letter that marked a turning point in gay history
Signing his real name (a brave decision for a homosexual in 1960), Roger Butler sparked a good deal of discussion on a ‘shunned topic’, which eventually led to a change in the law
Is there ever a good time to discuss the care of the elderly?
The young are too busy enjoying themselves, the middle-aged are loath to initiate it and the elderly themselves can’t always take part, but it’s a subject sorely in need of public discourse
The weirdness of the pre-Beatles pop world
As his mental health declined, the record producer Joe Meek grew increasingly fascinated by the other-worldly, communing in graveyards with Buddy Holly and the Pharaoh Ramses the Great
The queer traditions of King’s College, Cambridge
Simon Goldhill describes how intimate friendships between students and teachers were actively encouraged, with the college providing a refuge for gay men and helping them define their sexuality
Red-letter days for Gilbert & George
After a successful show in Moscow in 1990, the odd couple went on to even greater triumph in China three years later, as the long-suffering curator of both exhibitions describes
Exquisite: Tom Stoppard’s The Invention of Love, at Hampstead Theatre, reviewed
The Invention of Love opens with death. Tom Stoppard’s play about A.E. Housman starts on the banks of the Styx,…
Why does James Baldwin matter so much now?
The rise of Queer Studies and Black Lives Matter has led to renewed interest in Baldwin – who was exasperated in life with being categorised by colour or as ‘gay’
Guadagnino is a true master of erotic desire: Queer reviewed
Queer, which is based on the novella by William S. Burroughs, is the latest film directed by Luca Guadagnino (Call…
The demonising of homosexuals in post-war Britain
The tabloids in particular stirred up fear and distrust with lurid stories of orgies, prostitution, drug-taking, political corruption, sinister concealment and susceptibility to blackmail
Familiar scenarios: Our Evenings, by Alan Hollinghurst, reviewed
There’s a certain pattern to an Alan Hollinghurst novel. A young gay man goes to Oxford. He’s middle class and…
