J.D. McClatchy, editor of The Yale Review, and fellow writers Samuel Delaney and Edmund White will read from their memoirs in the newly published anthology "Boys Like Us: Gay Writers Tell Their Coming Out Stories" at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 23, at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, corner of Wall and High streets.
"Boys Like Us" was described by playwright Tony Kuschner as "a collection so diverse, so entertaining, so splendidly consistent in its artistry that it defies the boundaries of what publishers like to call the gay genre. This isn't great gay writing; this is great writing, period."
The reading, which is free and open to the public, is cosponsored by the Research Fund for Lesbian and Gay Studies and the Beinecke Library. A reception will follow. Mr. McClatchy is the author of three books of poetry, works of criticism of contemporary poetry, and four opera librettos. Mr. Delaney, professor of comparative literature at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, has written 23 works of fantasy and science fiction, most notably the 1972 novel "Dhalgren." Mr. White has just completed his fifth novel, "The Farewell Symphony," and is the biographer of Genet.
The writers will be introduced by Patrick Merla, editor of "Boys Like Us" as well as "Christopher Street" and "New York Native."