Reviews
"This book examines a new series of discourse about gay men who were prominent in the field of the arts and letters and is a valuable contribution to cultural history in the United States."-- Journal of the History of Sexuality, "An extended and often brilliant discussion of gay musicians, dramatists, dancers, and writers from the late 1940s through the 1960s." -- Rain Taxi, "As an in-depth look at the critical reaction to major American artists, Sherry's study compares favorably to other academic studies. . . . Recommended." —CHOICE, The accomplishments of Gay Artists are many. . . . Highly recommended for scholars--and also for non-academics--who have interests in twentieth-century American culture, in queer studies, and in studies of modern U.S. empire. . . . It should become a vital reference for those studying how these three interconnected subjects collided. . . . Gay Artists recently won the 2008 LGBT Award for Nonfiction from the Lambda Literary Foundation. It deserves to pick up several more.-- American Studies, "The accomplishments of Gay Artists are many. . . . Highly recommended for scholars--and also for non-academics--who have interests in twentieth-century American culture, in queer studies, and in studies of modern U.S. empire. . . . It should become a vital reference for those studying how these three interconnected subjects collided. . . . Gay Artists recently won the 2008 LGBT Award for Nonfiction from the Lambda Literary Foundation. It deserves to pick up several more."-- American Studies, Masterfully investigates how gay artists--mostly male--came to define modern American culture while navigating the restrictions imposed by Cold War homophobia.-- Journal of Cold War Studies, "This book examines a new series of discourse about gay men who were prominent in the field of the arts and letters and is a valuable contribution to cultural history in the United States." - Journal of the History of Sexuality, This is an important and utterly fascinating history of the idea that gay men have exerted a disproportionate and perhaps conspiratorial influence over the arts, particularly theater and modern music. _George Chauncey, author of Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, "An important book, deserving of a central place not only in gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender studies, but also in academia and at the American table." _ Multicultural Review, "An extended and often brilliant discussion of gay musicians, dramatists, dancers, and writers from the late 1940s through the 1960s." _ Rain Taxi, "The accomplishments of Gay Artists are many. . . . Highly recommended for scholars--and also for non-academics--who have interests in twentieth-century American culture, in queer studies, and in studies of modern U.S. empire. . . . It should become a vital reference for those studying how these three interconnected subjects collided. . . . Gay Artists recently won the 2008 LGBT Award for Nonfiction from the Lambda Literary Foundation. It deserves to pick up several more." - American Studies, The accomplishments of Gay Artists are many. . . . Highly recommended for scholars--and also for non-academics--who have interests in twentieth-century American culture, in queer studies, and in studies of modern U.S. empire. . . . It should beco|9780807831212|, "As an in-depth look at the critical reaction to major American artists, Sherry's study compares favorably to other academic studies. . . . Recommended." -- CHOICE, This book examines a new series of discourse about gay men who were prominent in the field of the arts and letters and is a valuable contribution to cultural history in the United States.-- Journal of the History of Sexuality, " Gay Artists in Modern American Culture uncovers a forgotten Cold War gay renaissance."-- American Literary History, Gay Artists in Modern American Culture uncovers a forgotten Cold War gay renaissance.-- American Literary History, "An important book, deserving of a central place not only in gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender studies, but also in academia and at the American table." —Multicultural Review, "An extended and often brilliant discussion of gay musicians, dramatists, dancers, and writers from the late 1940s through the 1960s." —Rain Taxi, "As an in-depth look at the critical reaction to major American artists, Sherry's study compares favorably to other academic studies. . . . Recommended." _ CHOICE, "Masterfully investigates how gay artists--mostly male--came to define modern American culture while navigating the restrictions imposed by Cold War homophobia."-- Journal of Cold War Studies, "An important book, deserving of a central place not only in gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender studies, but also in academia and at the American table." -- Multicultural Review, This is an important and utterly fascinating history of the idea that gay men have exerted a disproportionate and perhaps conspiratorial influence over the arts, particularly theater and modern music. --George Chauncey, author of Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World
Synopsis
Today it is widely recognized that gay men played a prominent role in defining the culture of mid-20th-century America, with such icons as Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee, Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, Montgomery Clift, and Rock Hudson defining much of what seemed distinctly "American" on the stage and screen. Even though few gay artists were "out," their sexuality caused significant anxiety during a time of rampant antihomosexual attitudes. Michael Sherry offers a sophisticated analysis of the tension between the nation's simultaneous dependence on and fear of the cultural influence of gay artists., Today it is widely recognized that gay men played a prominent role in defining the culture of mid-twentieth-century America, with such icons as Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee, Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, Montgomery Clift, and Rock Hudson defining much of what seemed distinctly "American" on the stage and screen. Even though few gay artists were "out," their sexuality caused significant anxiety during a time of rampant antihomosexual attitudes. Michael Sherry offers a sophisticated analysis of the tension between the nation's simultaneous dependence on and fear of the cultural influence of gay artists.Sherry places conspiracy theories about the "homintern" (homosexual international) taking control and debasing American culture within the paranoia of the time that included anticommunism, anti-Semitism, and racism. Gay artists, he argues, helped shape a lyrical, often nationalist version of American modernism that served the nation's ambitions to create a cultural empire and win the Cold War. Their success made them valuable to the country's cultural empire but also exposed them to rising antigay sentiment voiced even at the highest levels of power (for example, by President Richard Nixon). Only late in the twentieth century, Sherry concludes, did suspicion slowly give way to an uneasy accommodation of gay artists' place in American life., Today it is widely recognized that gay men played a prominent role in defining the culture of mid-twentieth-century America, with such icons as Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee, Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, Montgomery Clift, and Rock Hudson defining much of what seemed distinctly "American" on the stage and screen. Even though few gay artists were "out," their sexuality caused significant anxiety during a time of rampant antihomosexual attitudes. Michael Sherry offers a sophisticated analysis of the tension between the nation's simultaneous dependence on and fear of the cultural influence of gay artists. Sherry places conspiracy theories about the "homintern" (homosexual international) taking control and debasing American culture within the paranoia of the time that included anticommunism, anti-Semitism, and racism. Gay artists, he argues, helped shape a lyrical, often nationalist version of American modernism that served the nation's ambitions to create a cultural empire and win the Cold War. Their success made them valuable to the country's cultural empire but also exposed them to rising antigay sentiment voiced even at the highest levels of power (for example, by President Richard Nixon). Only late in the twentieth century, Sherry concludes, did suspicion slowly give way to an uneasy accommodation of gay artists' place in American life., Sherry explores the prominent role gay men have played in defining the culture of mid-20th-century America, including such icons as Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee, Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, Montgomery Clift, and Rock Hudson.
