This play does not have a wasted piece of dialogue or a false moment.Īs for Wilde himself, you probably know the sad tale: Wilde was brought to trial in 1895 and sentenced to two years hard labor for the crime of “Gross Indecency”. His play, The Importance Of Being Earnest (1895) is, for me, the most perfect stage comedy of all time. His short story The Happy Prince (1888) is a story for children and so it lacks the naughty bits hinted at in Dorian Gray, but it still stands as a story with a metaphor for the vanity of gay culture. “Books are well written, or badly written. Still, he did revise it extensively for a new edition in 1891: six new chapters were added, some of the more decadent passages and gayness were removed, and a preface was included consisting of 22 epigrams, including: “If a work of art is rich and vital and complete, those who have artistic instincts will see its beauty and those to whom ethics appeal more strongly will see its moral lesson.” One London newspaper called it: “Unclean, poisonous, and heavy with the mephitic odours of moral and spiritual putrefaction”. Reviewers were critical of the novel’s decadence and gay allusions when first published. Although sodomy isn’t actually mentioned, Dorian Gray is simply sticky with homoeroticism and innuendo. It was a brave step on Wilde’s part to write such a novel. The Picture Of Dorian Gray (1890) is basically just an ode to the beauty of men, written in an age where being queer was a crime punishable with hard labor and imprisonment. He became obsessed with beauty from an early age, which became a major theme in most of his works. As famous for his lust for a certain peaches and cream young man, as he is for his literary works, now his decipherable portrait is the most widely recognized LGBTQ symbol after the Rainbow Flag. Over 120 years after his death, Wilde remains the quintessential gay man. “Give a man a mask and he will tell you the truth.”ĭo we need a #BornThisDay post about the Gay Icon, Oscar Wilde? Is there anything that I could share with all of you that has not been gleaned from the life and works of the world’s most famous homosexual? October 16, 1854– Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde: A public presence was crucial to Rodwell’s vision for the store: its front window was adorned with slogans such as “Gay is Good” and “Gay Power.Photograph by Napoleon Sarony, public domain But eventually, the shelves were filled with more and more LGBT-related publications. His first year was a rough one – vandals broke in three times. However, after a couple of years, Adonis evolved into a gay adult bookstore, which made Oscar Wilde the first of its kind in the United States to operate long term.Īt first, Oscar Wilde only offered a limited number of publications for sale and Rodwell had to spread books out so that the shelves would appear full. It was preceded by Adonis Bookstore, in San Francisco, which opened several months earlier, in March 1967. The Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop had its grand opening weekend on November 18-19, 1967, becoming the first gay and lesbian bookstore to operate on the East Coast. On his letterhead and on the store window, he called Oscar Wilde “A Bookshop of the Homophile Movement.” He modeled the store after the Christian Science reading rooms he had grown up with, which sought to impart a positive image of the world. Rodwell saw the bookstore as a community bulletin board, carrying announcements of important activities, as a clearing house for those interested in law reform in New York State, and as a spur to writers who would now have a place to sell their gay-themed work. The shop stocked books and periodicals that dealt with gay and lesbian issues in a positive manner Rodwell refused to sell pornography. The shop was named after Oscar Wilde, who, Rodwell wrote, was “the first homosexual in modern times to defend publicly the homosexual way of life, is a martyr to what has recently become known as the ‘homophile movement.’” At the age of 26, Rodwell rented a very public storefront on Mercer Street near Waverly Place. When Mattachine rejected this idea, Rodwell decided to do it himself, despite the fact that he had no experience running a bookstore. Craig Rodwell, an active member of the Mattachine Society of New York, suggested that Mattachine open a bookstore that would also have offices and space for community meetings.
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