I've accompanied several dying people on their travels, and the desert seems to be a favored destination. It is very hot and dry and lyrical in its own way. Edmund White accompanydesertdestination Change image and share on social
I changed my writing style deliberately. My first two novels were written in a very self-consciously literary way. After I embraced gay subject matter, which was then new, I didn't want to stand in its way. I wanted to make the style as transparent as possible so I could get on with it and tell the story, which was inherently interesting. Edmund White changeconsciouslydeliberately share on social
Just like Barack Obama, my views on gay marriage have evolved, and now I am a reluctant groom. Edmund White barackevolvegay Change image and share on social
I lived through the Fifties in the Midwest when everything that was happening - the repression of homosexuality, for instance, the demonization of the Left, the giggly, soporific ordinariness of adolescence, the stone-deafness to the social injustice all around us - seemed not only unobjectionable but also nonexistent. Edmund White adolescencedeafnessdemonization share on social
Everyone seems agreed that writing about sex is perilous, partly because it threatens to swamp highly individualised characters in a generic, featureless activity (much like coffee-cup dialogue, during which everyone sounds the same), and partly because it feels... tacky. Edmund White activityagreecharacter share on social
I used to think that I could be successful if I pretended to be a 23-year-old black woman. I wanted to find a young black woman who would be willing to go in on this with me. I would write her novels, and then she would do the touring. I always thought I was too old and the wrong color. Edmund White blackcolorfind share on social
In the case of my book, I don't think it's really the coming-out gay novel that everyone really needed, even though it was received as such. The boy is too creepy, he betrays his teacher, the only adult man with whom he's enjoyed a sexual experience, etc. Edmund White adultbetraybook share on social
One of the side benefits of staying in the closet is you can have a much bigger career. Edmund White benefitbigcareer Change image and share on social
I asked my body if it was going to die or not from AIDS. And it said 'no.' I sort of paid attention to that. Edmund White aidaskattention Change image and share on social
The culmination of a long struggle was 2013, which could clearly be labeled the Year of the Gay. State after state had legalized gay marriage, despite intense opposition from the religious right. Edmund White culminationgayintense Change image and share on social