5 LGBTQIA authors who made history

This LGBT+ History Month we take a look at the impact of some of the most influential queer writers of all time 

BY FELICIA KOCH, IMAGES BY FLICKR, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, AND HURRICANE FILMS

These queer authors made history not only through their revolutionary writing, but through their bravery in living life loudly, boldly, and outside of the confines society attempted to stuff them into. The literature that they were so often chastised for creating continues to offer an open hand to those who crave and fight for the freedom of expression in love, life, and art. These iconic literary activists refused to submit to shame and silence and paved the way for the pride that the LGBTQIA community carries so strongly today.

Jane Rule (1931 – 2007) – Desert of the Heart 

The infamous novel, Desert Of The Heart turned cinematic masterpiece, Desert Hearts, starring Helen Shaver and Patricia Charbonneau, was written by Canadian-American Writer, Jane Rule. 

Desert Of The Heart was the first novel Rule had ever written. She wrote it in 1961, a time when homosexual activity was still a criminal offence in both the U.S. and Canada. Her book wasn’t published until 1964, after being rejected by countless publishers. 

Defying the confines of conservative and homophobic critics, Desert Of The Heart inspired an outcry for positive lesbian representation, and Rule instantaneously became an icon amongst the lesbian community, symbolizing a beacon of hope for queer individuals in both life and literature. 

In 1986, the cult classic Desert Hearts hit the screen and is now known for being the first and most highly regarded film in which a lesbian relationship is positively portrayed. Lesbian characters getting a happy ending, let alone surviving the final scene, was virtually unheard of at the time of both the novel and the film’s release. 

Although Rule didn’t consider herself to be very political, she reluctantly took on the role of Canada’s token lesbian and used her newfound stature to educate on topics of homosexuality and literary censorship, ultimately paving an even larger path for queer people to live freely and openly. 

James Baldwin (1924 – 1987) – Giovanni’s Room 

Set in the lively landscape of 1950s Paris, American writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room tells the story of a gay man struggling to confront the guilt and shame surrounding his sexuality. 

The bold honesty and delicate intricacy of Baldwin’s writing were revolutionary and highlighted the hand that society had in the self-imposed hatred within the queer community. 

Prior to Giovanni’s Room, Baldwin often wrote about racism and homophobia in America and even moved to Paris in an attempt to escape the harsh discrimination against queer people of colour in New York. Baldwin had many works published before writing Giovanni’s Room, but despite their positive reviews, he was met with difficulty in finding a publisher for this new novel, given its controversial topic. 

Baldwin was initially criticized for writing so openly about homosexuality, but that didn’t stop him from continuing to write numerous essays and novels dissecting and analyzing the strengths and struggles of queer people and people of colour within America. 

Virginia Woolf (1882– 1941) – Orlando 

This well-known English writer, Virginia Woolf, was an aggressive advocate for women in both her life and within her literature. An important member of the privileged creatives that made up the Bloomsbury Group, Woolf indulged in radical thinking and writing in the early 20th century.

Although she was married to a man, one of her most famous works was and remains the gender-bending novel Orlando, which stood the test of time as a feminist classic. Inspired by and referred to as a love letter to Woolf’s closest friend and lover, Vita Sackville-West, Orlando is a historical biography that explores the complexities of gender through the life of a poet who changes sex from a man to a woman. 

Woolf also wrote A Room Of One’s Own, a groundbreaking essay that discussed the standing of women in society and literature. Being an advocate for the independence of women, Woolf even prepared to testify as an expert witness to support Radclyffe Hall’s novel, The Well of Loneliness. 

Radclyffe Hall (1880 – 1943) – The Well of Loneliness 

The Well Of Loneliness is the only one of English poet and author Radclyffe Hall’s novels to plainly and openly depict lesbian themes. 

Born in 1880, Hall spent an impressive amount of her life shamelessly pursuing and dating women. She referred to herself as a “congenital invert”, a term that was used to describe someone who was attracted to people of the same sex. 

Photographs and letters illustrate Hall’s intentional disregard for heteronormativity and gender conformity. She often wore masculine presenting clothing, and signed letters to her frequent female lovers as “John”. 

It is believed that Hall’s novel, The Well Of Loneliness, may have been autobiographical, as it narrates the life of a wealthy, masculine presenting lesbian navigating their gender, sexuality, and status within Victorian society. It eventually became an iconic piece of lesbian literature, even withstanding prosecution for obscenity that resulted in all copies of the book being ordered to be seized and burned. 

Decades later it was revered as the first British lesbian novel and respected as an impactful piece of literature for and about queer women during a time when they were accused of hardly existing at all. 

Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886) – Poetry 

Only 10 of this American Poet’s works were published in her lifetime, although almost 1,800 of her poems and letters were preserved by friends, family, and love interests, making them available for the public to freely fawn over today. 

Emily Dickinson is praised as an exceptionally unique poet in history for having disregarded the writing styles and trends of her time. She may have indulged in such experimentalism with the presumption that her work would go unread. 

Many of her most romantic and affectionate communications were addressed to her sister-in-law, Susan Gilbert, who she lived next door to for most of her adult life. Historians have yet to confirm whether or not Dickinson was an actual lesbian, or had romantic relationships with women, but an overwhelming amount of her poetry is undeniably sapphic in nature. 

Dickinson’s complete devotion to the written word is perhaps her most admirable attribute and gift to history, as her poetry poignantly accentuates the ways in which solitude and an understanding of oneself is the straightest path towards creative brilliance. She successfully turned her longing and loneliness into some of the most emotion-provoking poetry ever written.

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