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“The City and the Pillar” by Gore Vidal

The City and the Pillar was originally published in 1948. I account for history when I read pieces like this, so the ending I read (Vidal published a second ending after the first was criticized by even the book’s admirers) was relatively expected. Vidal’s narrative voice is exquisite but I found it harder to devour his fiction in the same way as his essays and interviews. Regardless, the skills that made Vidal an icon still reverberate through this book, which caused quite the scandal in 1948.

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#QueerHeroes Day 30 – TBD

#QueerHeroes Day 30
TBD

I wasn’t sure how to end this or what one person would be the best to end on, but I know that these current times, especially as SCOTUS continues to devolve, will temper us. We’ll mobilize like we always have, unfurling the activists, artists, and innovators that will characterize these times for the ones to come after.

(Also including additional heroes without descriptions in the comments, cause there are way more than 30)

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#QueerHeroes Day 29 – Ryan McGinley

#QueerHeroes Day 29.
Ryan McGinley.

McGinley moved to New York in the 90’s. He began taking polaroids of his friends partying in the East Village. After compiling the photos into a book (The Kids are Alright), he sent it to magazine editors and famous photographers. It was the beginning of an incredible career.

Since then, he’s photographed Beyoncé, Brad Pitt, and a slew of others. He’s organized shows for burgeoning queer photographers as well. GQ called him “the most important photographer in America.”

A Little Life writer Hanya Yanagihara cites his photos as one of her biggest inspirations for the novel.

McGinley’s latest exhibit Mirror Mirror opened at Team Gallery last night. Check it out!

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#QueerHeroes Day 28 – Sasha Velour

#QueerHeroes Day 28
Sasha Velour.

I know most of y’all know who she is so I’ll keep this brief: Miss Velour is doing wonders with her voice and artistry.

She was the season 9 winner of drag race and since then, she’s created a series of short films called One Dollar Drags (check it out) and she’s launching her own magazine. She still finds time to bring her monthly drag revue “Nightgowns!” to her old stomping grounds in Brooklyn.

I went to Nightgowns! shortly after RuPaul’s reprehensible comments about trans people competing on drag race. She began the show with stories of the Mollycoddles, of Marsha, of the Balls, testifying the necessity and validity of trans queens. She’d booked multiple trans performers that night and it was some of the most thrilling, revolutionary drag I’ve ever seen.

She constantly hands her mic to those society too often tunes out. Her creativity can render her Keith Haring one day and Queen Elizabeth the next.

“Gender is a construct, tear it apart!”