The Violet Quill Reader: The Emergence of Gay Writing After Stonewall

by David Bergman (Editor)

The Violet Quill Club brought together the finest and most important gay writers to emerge after the Stonewall riots. Edmund White, Andrew Holleran, Robert Ferro, Michael Grumley, Felice Picano, George Whitmore, and Christopher Cox--these are the writers whose novels, plays, short stories, essays, and journalism defined what it was to be gay before that first announcement of AIDS.

Genres: LGBT, Nonfiction, Queer, Anthologies, Gay, Short Stories, Gay Fiction

410 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

There have been various criticisms of the Violet Quill, a group of seven gay male writers (Edmund White, Andrew Holleran, Felice Picano, Robert Ferro, Michael Grumley, George Whitmore, and Christopher Cox) that met about 8 times total in 1980 and 1981 in New York City to share and critique each other’s work. Some critics, such as writer Dennis Cooper, have stated that academics and historians are making a mountain out of a molehill, vastly over-stating the Quill’s importance; while others, particularly LGBT folk from subsequent generations, have dismissed the group as a bunch of privileged GWMs who produced mostly work of narrow parameters that has not survived the test of time (at one of the annual LGBT writer’s conferences of the early 90’s (called Out/Write) which I attended, keynote speaker Edmund White disabused the audience of the notion that all of the VQ members were particularly financially secure, which is apparently true). I was very interested to read this book, which offers a generous sampling of letters, fiction, articles and memoirs from each member of the group; I’ve not only had a renewed interest in gay literature of late, particularly in that of the 70’s up through the early 90’s, I’ve also always been fascinated by individualistic artistic movements and salons, of artists banding together for mutual support and inspiration. Frankly, the Quill critics have some valid points, but they also need to relax, because there is much in this book to admire, and I still believe that short-lived or not, the group (or at least key members) did indeed influence and help create and advance a distinct gay literature/fiction niche in modern publishing, both during the Quill’s brief lifetime and after, for better and for worse.

First off, all the work by Edmund White presented here is excellent; in particular the 30+ page short story “An Oracle,” a moving, witty character piece about a newly-widowed former pretty boy facing life alone. I was enthralled by the beautiful storytelling and White’s unsparing but sympathetic portrait of the lead character. In addition, excerpts from his novels A Boy’s Own Story (which I need to reread) and Nocturnes for the King of Naples are only slightly less fine. Other pieces of note are excerpts from Andrew Holleran’s Dancer from the Dance (one of my favorite gay-themed novels) and the informative, often dishy diary excerpts from Felice Picano and Michael Grumley, respectively. However, the short stories here from both Picano and Grumley are undistinguished, as are both an excerpt from an early novel by George Whitmore and his short story “Getting Rid of Robert,” which I found actively annoying. What a surprise then that the third contribution from Whitmore, the good-sized excerpt of his final novel, Nebraska, proved to be quite impressive: a dark, gripping piece told in first person colloquial language that rang completely true throughout – I liked this so much that I plan to read the novel in full sometime. The lone story from Christopher Cox and the three pieces from Robert Ferro range from okay to very good (the extract from Ferro’s novel Second Son was lovely), while Andrew Holleran’s moving tribute to Ferro, written after Ferro had succumbed to AIDS, closes things out.

All in all, a valuable document of this group’s output. A must-read companion book (a sort of academia-sequel from the same author): The Violet Hour: The Violet Quill and the Making of Gay Culture (2004). I’m there.
David BergmanAndrew HolleranFelice PicanoEdmund WhiteRobert FerroMichael GrumleyGeorge WhitmoreChristopher Cox

[Kathy Stone · Rating 3 out of 5]

As in the case of most anthologies this one is uneven in writing styles. What it does well is that it tells a consistent story of Pre-and Post-AIDS writing in the gay male community. Many of the books mentioned in this anthology are no longer in print so it is the only way to read these writers. As four of the seven writers died of AIDS at the high point of the epidemic these pieces are important so for that reason. To be able to write coherently while suffering a debilitating illness takes a lot of creativity. I am not going to side with the writers lifestyle choices and this is not a forum for political debate. Yes, there are gay sex scenes so if that is offensive to you I would not recommend this book. It is informative about the AIDS pandemic in so is necessary to understanding the early eighties health crisis.

[Jaden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lent this book a while ago before I was familiar with most of the authors associated with The Violet Quill. So my first impression of this book was an uninformed one. Now that I've been exposed to Andrew Holleran, Edmund White, and Felice Picano, I have an enormous amount of respect for this group and I find Mr. Bergman's book to be fascinating and insightful. It's rather sad that many of the authors from The Violet Quill have passed on, but it is wonderful that Mr. Bergman has memorialized them in this impressive book

[Virgowriter (Brad Windhauser) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and informative cross-section of male writers post-stone wall

[InfiniteLibrary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really must read the full versions of most of the books in here now!

[Mic Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

The works excerpted are hit and miss, but I learned a TON about queer literature.