Out In History: Collected Essays

Bright, witty, sad, insightful, reflective and controversial......these essays, essentially life stories, will keep you thinking, reading and questioning about what it means to be gay in the current state-of-flux we call modern society. Out in History is Thom Nickels finest achievement thus far. In Out In History, author and journalist Thom Nickels explores the lives of many prominent gay, lesbian and bisexual people throughout history in a language that exemplifies the marriage of brevity and substance. The numerous and diverse personalities profiled include: Michelangelo, Christopher Marlowe, Bessie Smith, James Baldwin, Thomas Eakins, Marianne Moore, Adrienne Rich, Hart Crane, Cary Grant, Napoleon, James Merrill, Joe Orton, Djuna Barnes, Anna Freud, Lawrence of Arabia, George Sand, Jean Cocteau, Andre Gide, Aleister Crowley, James Dean, Ned Rorem, Gore Vidal, Phillip Johnson and Sal Mineo, to name but a few. Comprised of to-the-point profiles of writers, artists, politicians, architects, world leaders, the famous and infamous, this inclusive tableaux offers a unique perspective seldom if ever found in standard historical portraiture that makes for a compelling and informative read. Woven throughout the book's numerous essays are a colorful history of Nickels' own [gay and lesbian] Philadelphia; interviews with Quentin Crisp and Allen Ginsberg shortly before their deaths; an in-depth 'conversation' with Andy Warhol's first boyfriend; a loving nod to the brilliance of Susan Sontag, and observations from Episcopal bishop and author John Spong.