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Hughes, LangstonLangston Hughes, whose literary legacy is enormous and varied, was closeted, but homosexuality was an important influence on his literary imagination, and many of his poems may be read as gay texts.
Beat GenerationThe writers of the Beat Generation, many of whom were gay or bisexual, endorsed gay rights as a part of their rebellion against inhibition and self-censorship.
Comedy of MannersThe Comedy of Manners, which flourished on the Restoration stage, has been particularly amenable to twentieth-century gay male writers as a vehicle for social satire in both dramatic and nondramatic works.
Sedaris, DavidUsing his and his family's experiences, particularly his childhood in Raleigh, North Carolina, and his own wacky perspective on life, David Sedaris has become a world-famous humorist, comedian, writer, playwright, and radio personality.
Novel: LesbianFrom the great modernist writers of the 1920s and 1930s to the pulp writers of the 1950s to the lesbian writers of today, lesbian novelists have had a powerful impact on the lesbian community.
From its beginning, the nineteenth century in England had a purposeful homosexual literature of considerable bulk, both male and female, though it was fettered by oppression.
Persecuted for his homosexuality by the Castro government he had once championed, Cuban novelist, essayist, and poet Reinaldo Arenas challenged all types of ideological dogmatism.
Baudelaire, CharlesLast updated on: 11/15/12
The courthouse of the U. S. District Court of the Southern District of Florida.
On November 14, 2012, President Obama announced his nomination of Judge William Thomas to serve on the United States District Court of the Southern District of Florida. Judge Thomas is President Obama's seventh openly glbtq judicial nomination and his first openly gay African-American man to serve on the federal bench.
As Chris Geidner reports in BuzzFeed, the President included Thomas among a diverse set of new nominees, saying "They . . . represent my continued commitment to ensure that the judiciary resembles the nation it serves."
The President added, "These individuals have demonstrated the talent, expertise, and fair-mindedness Americans expect and deserve from their judicial system. I am grateful for their willingness to serve and confident that they will apply the law with the utmost impartiality and integrity. Too many of our courtrooms stand empty. I hope the Senate will promptly consider all of my nominees and ensure justice for everyday Americans."
Judge Thomas is currently a Circuit Court Judge in Miami, a position in which he has served since 2005. He previously served as a state and federal public defender. He is a 1991 graduate of Washington and Jefferson College and earned his law degree at Temple University in 1994.
Thomas is President Obama's first openly gay African-American male to be nominated to a judicial appointment, but, if approved by the Senate, he would be the second openly gay black judge. The first, Judge Deborah Batts, was nominated by President Clinton and serves on the Southern District of New York bench. She took "senior status," a near retirement, earlier this year and made news a year ago when she wed Dr. Gwen Zornberg, as reported here.
President Obama has now nominated seven openly glbtq lawyers for lifetime-tenured federal judgeships. Three of them have been approved by the Senate. Judges J. Paul Oetken and Alison Nathan both now sit on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Judge Michael Fitzgerald sits on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Awaiting confirmation by the Senate are, in addition to Thomas, Pamela Ki Mai Chen, an out lesbian who was nominated this summer to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and Judge Michael McShane, an openly gay man who was nominated in September to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.
The final openly gay judicial nominee put forward by President Obama, Edward DuMont, eventually had his nomination withdrawn after there was no movement on it over the course of two sessions of Congress. He was nominated for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Geidner reports that Denis Dison of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund told him that Thomas was recommended for a judgeship by the Presidential Appointments Project, which the Victory Fund coordinates.
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