The 25 Most Influential Works of Postwar Queer Literature
By Kurt Soller, Liz Brown, Rose Courteau, Kate Guadagnino, Sara Holdren, Brian Keith Jackson, Evan Moffitt, Miguel Morales, Tomi Obaro, Coco Romack, Michael Snyder and June Thomas for The New York Times
Six opinionated writers debate — and define — the state of L.G.B.T.Q. writing in order to make a list of the most essential works of fiction, poetry and drama right now.
If there’s no single definition of what it means to be queer — a word whose meaning seems to shape-shift constantly, just like the culture around it — then there’s perhaps no consensus on what defines queer literature as a genre either. Still, one thing many queer people share is that we first discovered ourselves on the page. Often furtively, we read novels or recited poems or watched plays that seemed not only to speak exclusively to us, but also showed us a way of speaking about ourselves to others.
But among those works we sought out in school libraries or online, which have been the most influential in making and furthering queer culture?
Discover the list here.