Bibliographies of Gay Literature II

In 2014, I posted about a handful of early 20th century bibliographies of gay literature, covering novels, short stories, plays and in some cases biography and biographical fiction. Those publications not only tried to provide a list of titles but also described them through various ratings systems to declare the extent of the gay content and/or the nature of the content. A number of other bibliographies that are more descriptive in nature, and focus exclusively on the novel have also been published and are presented here. A single work focused entirely on plays has also been included as it can be thought of as the third part in a mammoth undertaking covering British Commonwealth and American novels and plays by Drewey Wayne Gunn.  This batch of bibliographies focus more on thumbnail sketches, and in some cases more lengthy analysis, of the storyline as opposed to boiling things down to a single rating. Using resources from both groups of bibliographies together can provide a more complete picture of an individual novel or play.

Indianapolis : Bobbs-Merrill, 1977

Playing the Game : The Homosexual Novel in America
Austen, Roger
Indianapolis : Bobbs-Merrill, 1977

Austen provides information about the publications he covers in a prose style as opposed to a list. Structured into chapters covering chronological segments of history, novel storylines are discussed and played off of one another. 

•  The Dim Past (1870-1929)

•  The Thirties

•  The Forties

•  The Fifties

•  Since 1960

The Selected Bibliography (1870-1965) offered at the end of the text provides a quick list of the titles covered in the preceding chapters. 

New York : Garland, 1991

The Gay Novel in America
Levin, James
New York: Garland Publishing, 1991

Structurally, Levin's The Gay Novel in America owes much to Austen's 1977 work. Also structured into prose chapters covering segments of literary history, but more fully fleshing out the earliest literature, Levin also pushes forward to the 1980s.

•  Locked in Victoria's Closet

•  Butterflies, Pansies, Twilight Men, and Strange Brothers

    —The Novel Between the Wars

•  Postwar Permissiveness: 1946-1950

•  Homosexuality in the Freudian Fifties

•  The Sixties: Time of Transition

•  Politics, Power, and Pride

•  The Enigmatic Eighties

The Notes section at the end of each chapter also serves as a quick list of titles discussed within the chapter.

New York : Harrington Park Press, 2003

Lost Gay Novels : A Reference Guide to Fifty Works from the First Half of the Twentieth Century

Slide, Anthony

New York : Harrington Park Press, 2003

Slide offers a narrower list of titles, limiting the bibliography to fifty, but provides a lengthy entry of 3-5 pages for each title. Major storylines and themes are discussed as well as providing biographical information on the authors. Titles are listed in alphabetical order by author but an appendix also provides the titles and authors in chronological order. Some of the commentary on the relative literary quality is a bit harsh towards the works discussed, but the value of the remaining content is not diminished. One can certainly argue how truly lost some of these titles are but highlighting those that may be known to some of us is of benefit to all who are interested in gay novels from the early 20th century.

Jefferson, NC : McFarland, 2014

Gay Novels of Britain, Ireland and the Commonwealth, 1881-1981 : A Reader's Guide

Gunn, Drewey Wayne

Jefferson, NC : McFarland, 2014

Gunn's British Commonwealth bibliography, covering one hundred years, consists of numbered entries arranged in chronological order from 1881 to 1981, marking the end of the pre-AIDS era.  Many entries cover multiple titles and are grouped in one of two ways ; multiple titles published within a short time-frame with a common element or theme or multiple titles by the same author covering a longer time frame. Short biographical entries are provided for many authors. A postscript provides a general sketch of politics and publishing after 1981.

Jefferson, NC : McFarland, 2016

Gay American Novels, 1870-1970 : A Reader's Guide

Gunn, Drewey Wayne

Jefferson, NC : McFarland, 2016

Gunn's American bibliography, covering one hundred years, consists of numbered entries arranged in chronological order from 1870 to 1970, marking the end of the pre-Stonewall era.  Many entries cover multiple titles and are grouped in one of two ways ; multiple titles published within a short time-frame with a common element or theme or multiple titles by the same author covering a longer time frame. Short biographical entries are provided for many authors. A postscript provides a sketch of major works from 1971-1981, ending where his British Commonwealth bibliography does, at the end of the pre-AIDS era.

Jefferson, NC : McFarland, 2017

For the Gay Stage : A Guide to 456 Plays, Aristophanes to Peter Gill

Gunn, Drewey Wayne

Jefferson, NC : McFarland, 2017

Gunn's bibliography of plays covers a the huge time period from the 5th century BCE through 2014. Consistent with his earlier bibliographies for British Commonwealth and American novels, numbered entries are arranged in chronological order and provide the play's storyline and information about production history.  Play entries have been grouped into the following chapters opening with a brief list of major gay historical or cultural events from the period. 

•  Pre-Modern, 5th c. BCE-18th c. CE

•  Early Modern, 1881-1943

•  Post-World War II, 1945-1969

•  Post-Stonewall, 1970-1981

•  AIDS, 1982-1989

•  Early Nineties, 1990-1994

•  Pre-Millennium, 1995-2000

•  Early Contemporary, 2001-2007

•  Recent Contemporary, 2008-2014

Bibliographies of Gay Literature

Over the years there have been a number of bibliographies created to define and describe literature with gay content or a gay sensibility. The titles included here focus primarily on pre-Stonewall fiction. In appropriate blog entries, I will reference these bibliographies and include any associated ratings.

New York: Castle, 1960

The Homosexual in America : A Subjective Approach, 2nd ed.
Cory, Donald Webster (pseud. Edward Sagarin)
New York: Castle, 1960
Appendix D: A Checklist of Literature

The updated checklist in Cory's 2nd edition was compiled with the assistance of The Mattachine Society so significant similarity exists with the ratings from the Mattachine Review list (see below).

I. the theme is presented in a hidden fashion; its listing is matter of personal interpretation of the readers. The presentation is usually either as a glorified friendship, or a transposition of sexes.
II. the theme is rather clear, but is brief, mentioned in passing and minor to the book as a whole.
III. a major incident or a major character deals with homosexuality.
IV. the book is primarily concerned with homosexuality.

New York: Village Press, 1959

The Homosexual in Literature : A Chronological Bibliography, c.700 B.C. - 1958

Garde, Noel I. (pseud. Edgar J. Leoni)
New York: Village Press, 1959

For more information on Edgar J. Leoni and the history of this bibliography, see Hugh Hagius' Swasarnt Nerf's Gay Guides for 1949.

Primary: Central character(s) clearly homosexual(s) and/or homosexuality is intrinsic part of central theme or network of plots.
Other Than Primary (OTP): All other works not considered as "Primary", and differentiated by the following letter-symbols:

a: substantial, explicit dialogue or exposition involving major homosexual character(s).
b: substantial dialogue or explicit exposition involving minor homosexual character(s).
c: latent, veiled, repressed or implied homosexuality of a major character.
d: brief, superficial references in dialogue or exposition, whether involving major or minor homosexual characters.
e: third-person references (character not in book); latent, veiled homosexuality of minor character in work of a significant author.
f: false suspicion or accusation, or self-suspicion.

In some cases, where use of one letter alone would give an inadequate impression, several are used in combination, e.g. c/d or b&c.

It does not by any means follow that all works which by definition are "Primary" are necessarily more significant, even with respect to substantial homosexual content, than all OTP works. To provide some further guidance, references include the following asterisk notations, uniform to both Primary and OTP listings:

*** very substantial
** quite substantial, or something of especial interest
* not very substantial
(no asterisk) rather negligible

San Francisco: Mattachine Society, 1957-1960

Mattachine Review, Homophilic Bibliography

v.3:no.8 - v.6:no.11

Aug. 1957 - Nov. 1960

San Francisco: Mattachine Society

Beginning with Part V of the bibliography the focus shifts to fiction, poetry, drama, biography, etc. (Prior installments focused on technical and reference books on homosexuality.)

I. works in which homosexuality is only implied, suggested or presented in a veiled fashion

II. works in which homosexuality, while appearing in clear-cut fashion, plays only a minor part, or in which a minor character is a homosexual.

III. works which include a major or important homosexual episode, or in which a major character is a homosexual.

IV. works dealing primarily with homosexuality, or in which homosexuality is the most important theme.

Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1982

The Male Homosexual in Literature : A Bibliography, 2nd ed.

Young, Ian

Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1982

This is the gold standard and is often referenced in the used book market for items of gay interest. Young references both Cory and Garde for their earlier lists. Although items from both Cory and Garde are included in Young, the rating systems these authors used provide a level of detail (although subjective) that Young lacks.

[W]orks of primary importance (those in which homosexuality is a major aspect or which are otherwise of particular relevance) are marked thus *. Items not marked in this way have undefined homosexual content.