The best of the Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review

the long version

When The Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review started publishing in early 1994, it stepped into a huge void in gay and lesbian literary culture, which had always lacked a national venue for the general-interest essay, a void that stretched all the way from Harpers to the New York Review of Books. This volume highlights some closely-watched debates that took place in the pages of The Review, such as the one between Barney Frank and Rich Tafel on political strategy, and that of David Bergman and Bruce Bawer on cultural style and assimilation. It captures the memories of key observers who lived through critical historical or literary events, such as Holly Hughes, Edmund White, Karla Jay, and Andrew Holleran. Other chapters cover the major sub-fields in gay and lesbian studies, such as literary criticism, political and cultural history, and the science of homosexuality. In each case, the chapter presents the leading contributors to the field and offers a balanced range of perspectives.