"Who is Oscar Wilde?"

I love Oscar Wilde, though I will admit I don't know all that much about his personal life. My mom has always been a big fan, so I'm sure she can tell me a thing or two about that. I recently The Picture of Dorian Gray and thought it was brilliantly disturbing. And I also recently listened to the opera Salome, based on Wilde's play.

 

E M Forster 1879-1970 (wiki article here)
wrote a number of novels (Passage to India, Room with a View, Howard's End, etc), including Maurice - although he wrote that novel about a homosexual love story back in 1913-14, it was only published after his death in 1971... The book was also made into a movie in 1987.

 

If you didn't know Wilde was gay, go back and (re)read The Importance of Being Earnest. He actually wrote it during the trials while he was being charged with seducing a young man (which he did successfully, it was the man's father that did the suing). Wilde did eventually admit to having had gay relations (which is what he was sent to prison for) but WON THE CASE! XD The play is basically a further 'fuck you' to the father.

Tomson Highway is a Native Canadian author and playwrite, and I would highly recommend his writing. He and his younger brother are/were gay and very much involved in the Native and art scenes in Ontario. His brother died of AIDS in the '90s I believe. Highway wrote Kiss of the Fur Queen for him.

Gregory Maguire is the guy that wrote Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which Wicked the Musical is based off of. It's a great read (very different from the play) and if you read it through the lens of 'queerness' it's pretty powerful.

Tennessee Williams (do I need to explain this one? No, didn't think so.)

Additionally: The Great Queers of History

 

I loved the Picture of Dorian Gray, though it took me a little to get into it. I never knew he was gay! Though, it seems obvious in hindsight

 

- W. H. Auden Studied him at A-level, love his work.
- Maria Rainer-Von Trapp She might be homosexual, and the Sound of Music was written off her life. Not sure this counts Reference: https://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/0472097725-fm.pdf

 

I always thought he was actually bisexual. His relationships with women didn't seem like "beared" relationships and like Lord Byron he was alleged with having affairs with men and women.

 

Actually he was married and always spoke highly of his wife. He only had this relationship with some random young boy, who seemed to be just an idiot without any talent except to rip Wilde off.
Oscar Wilde was in really good terms with the society when the affaire began : He never did anything that could seem suspicious, he just had a pretty normal life as a famous writer and family man.

From that relationship we've got 'De Profundis', probably his best work. He wrote the book in jail, and if you are into Wilde, the book is a must-read.

That young boy just ruined Wilde. The fact that the boy's father was against the relationship wasn't the real problem. The kid was just making scenes, showing off, telling all his friends, etc... Of course sooner or later the father had to find out.

 

Oscar Wilde is best known for his witty Uncyclopedia quotes.

 

He was also really sexist and extremely up-himself, though. His writing is phenomenal, so long as you can look past that.

 

To be fair, Tatianna was pretty young during her season and Oscar Wilde wasn't exactly in the spotlight.