The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide
Encyclopedia
The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide is a bimonthly, nationally distributed journal of history, culture, and politics for GLBT people and their allies who are interested in the gamut of social, scientific, and cultural issues raised by same-sex sexuality. Library Journal (in its July 1995 issue) described it as “the journal of record for GLBT issues.” As of June, 2008, the G&LR/W had a circulation of approximately 12,000.
’s GLBT alumni that Dr. Schneider edited (1987–1995). (Dr. Schneider took a doctorate in sociology at Harvard in the early 1980s.) The original goal was to provide a vehicle for publishing gay-related talks given at Harvard University. One such talk was that of novelist Andrew Holleran, who agreed to the publication of his 1992 address, “My Harvard,” a recollection of his undergraduate years—but only if the 8,000-word entry were published in its entirety. This called for a new vehicle, and the idea for a supplementary publication was born.
At the same time, the supply of serious GLBT publications was dwindling. Christopher Street, a venerable literary journal, was in decline, as was Boston-based Gay Community News. A magazine called Out/Look had come and gone. The Advocate, once an eclectic grab-bag of news, literary pieces, and political agitprop, was becoming a newsmagazine with a focus on politics and celebrities, going to a slick format ostensibly to compete with the newly founded Out and Genre magazines. But a void existed when it came to serious, in-depth discussion of GLBT history and culture, which Dr. Schneider set out to fill with The Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review, whose first quarterly issue came out in Winter 1994.
Initially published by the Harvard Gay & Lesbian Caucus, in 1996 the magazine was organized as a 501(c)(3) educational corporation. In 2000, the magazine’s name was changed to The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide to reflect its independent status, and in 2001 the Review started to publish on a bimonthly basis.
From the magazine’s inception, each issue has been organized around a conceptual theme with essays from leading scholars and writers in the given field. Recent themes have included, for example, “The science of homosexuality,” “Eros and God,” and “Weird Psychology.” In addition to these essays, which account for about 60% of the magazine’s content, each issue offers book reviews, several poems, and special columns such as “International Spectrum” and “Artist’s Profile.” The Review has recently launched a redesigned website at www.GLReview.com, which offers a sampling of articles from the current and past issues, writers’ guidelines, subscription information, and so on.
The journal’s mission statement reads as follows: “The mission of The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide is to provide a forum for enlightened discussion of issues and ideas of importance to lesbians and gay men; to advance gay and lesbian culture by providing a quality vehicle for its best writers and thinkers; and to educate a broader public on gay and lesbian topics.”
History
The Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review was founded by Dr. Richard Schneider Jr. in 1993 as an offshoot of The Harvard Gay & Lesbian Newsletter, a publication serving HarvardHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
’s GLBT alumni that Dr. Schneider edited (1987–1995). (Dr. Schneider took a doctorate in sociology at Harvard in the early 1980s.) The original goal was to provide a vehicle for publishing gay-related talks given at Harvard University. One such talk was that of novelist Andrew Holleran, who agreed to the publication of his 1992 address, “My Harvard,” a recollection of his undergraduate years—but only if the 8,000-word entry were published in its entirety. This called for a new vehicle, and the idea for a supplementary publication was born.
At the same time, the supply of serious GLBT publications was dwindling. Christopher Street, a venerable literary journal, was in decline, as was Boston-based Gay Community News. A magazine called Out/Look had come and gone. The Advocate, once an eclectic grab-bag of news, literary pieces, and political agitprop, was becoming a newsmagazine with a focus on politics and celebrities, going to a slick format ostensibly to compete with the newly founded Out and Genre magazines. But a void existed when it came to serious, in-depth discussion of GLBT history and culture, which Dr. Schneider set out to fill with The Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review, whose first quarterly issue came out in Winter 1994.
Initially published by the Harvard Gay & Lesbian Caucus, in 1996 the magazine was organized as a 501(c)(3) educational corporation. In 2000, the magazine’s name was changed to The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide to reflect its independent status, and in 2001 the Review started to publish on a bimonthly basis.
Current status
As of 2008, paid subscriptions totaled about 8,000, with circulation estimated at 12,000. Dr. Schneider has remained editor-in-chief. Martha E. Stone, literary editor, has served from the beginning as well. As of August 2008, the G&LR had published 75 issues.From the magazine’s inception, each issue has been organized around a conceptual theme with essays from leading scholars and writers in the given field. Recent themes have included, for example, “The science of homosexuality,” “Eros and God,” and “Weird Psychology.” In addition to these essays, which account for about 60% of the magazine’s content, each issue offers book reviews, several poems, and special columns such as “International Spectrum” and “Artist’s Profile.” The Review has recently launched a redesigned website at www.GLReview.com, which offers a sampling of articles from the current and past issues, writers’ guidelines, subscription information, and so on.
The journal’s mission statement reads as follows: “The mission of The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide is to provide a forum for enlightened discussion of issues and ideas of importance to lesbians and gay men; to advance gay and lesbian culture by providing a quality vehicle for its best writers and thinkers; and to educate a broader public on gay and lesbian topics.”
Some notable contributors
- Edward AlbeeEdward AlbeeEdward Franklin Albee III is an American playwright who is best known for The Zoo Story , The Sandbox , Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , and a rewrite of the screenplay for the unsuccessful musical version of Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's . His works are considered well-crafted, often...
- David BergmanDavid BergmanDavid Bergman is an American writer and English professor at Towson University. He was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts , grew up in Laurelton, New York, and graduated from Kenyon College and earned a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University ....
- Michael Bronski
- Alfred CornAlfred Corn- Early life :Alfred Corn was born in Bainbridge, Georgia in 1943 and raised in Valdosta, Georgia.Corn graduated from Emory University in 1965 with a B.A. in French literature. Corn earned an M.A...
- Samuel R. DelanySamuel R. DelanySamuel Ray Delany, Jr., also known as "Chip" is an American author, professor and literary critic. His work includes a number of novels, many in the science fiction genre, as well as memoir, criticism, and essays on sexuality and society.His science fiction novels include Babel-17, The Einstein...
- John D'EmilioJohn D'EmilioJohn D'Emilio is a professor of history and of women's and gender studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He taught at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1982, where his advisor was William Leuchtenburg...
- Emma DonoghueEmma DonoghueEmma Donoghue is an Irish-born playwright, literary historian and novelist now living in Canada. Her 2010 novel Room was a finalist for the Man Booker Prize and an international bestseller. Donoghue's 1995 novel Hood won the Stonewall Book Award and Slammerkin won the Ferro-Grumley Award for...
- Martin DubermanMartin DubermanMartin Bauml Duberman is an American historian, playwright, and gay-rights activist. He is Professor of History Emeritus at Lehman College and the Graduate School of the City University of New York and was the founder of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at the CUNY Graduate School...
- Lillian FadermanLillian FadermanLillian Faderman is a scholar whose books on lesbian relationships and romantic friendship in history have earned critical praise and awards. Faderman is a professor of English at California State University in Fresno, California.-Early life:...
- Edward Field
- Barney FrankBarney FrankBarney Frank is the U.S. Representative for . A member of the Democratic Party, he is the former chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and is considered the most prominent gay politician in the United States.Born and raised in New Jersey, Frank graduated from Harvard College and...
- Jewelle GomezJewelle GomezJewelle Gomez is an American author, poet, critic and playwright. She lived and worked in New York City for twenty-two years working in public television, theatre as well as philanthropy before relocating to the West Coast...
- Marilyn HackerMarilyn HackerMarilyn Hacker is an American poet, translator and critic. She is Professor of English at the City College of New York....
- Andrew HolleranAndrew HolleranAndrew Holleran is the pseudonym of Eric Garber , a novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is a prominent novelist of post-Stonewall gay literature. He was a member of The Violet Quill, a gay writer's group that met briefly from 1980-81. The Violet Quill included other prolific gay writers...
- Jill JohnstonJill JohnstonJill Johnston was an American feminist author and cultural critic who wrote Lesbian Nation in 1973 and was a longtime writer for The Village Voice. She was also a leader of the lesbian separatist movement of the 1970s. Johnston also wrote under the pen name F. J...
- Matthew KennedyMatthew Kennedy (author)Matthew Kennedy is an American author, film historian, and anthropologist.-Biography:Kennedy was born in Redding, California, attended Shasta High School, and the University of California, Los Angeles, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in theater arts in 1979...
- Larry KramerLarry KramerLarry Kramer is an American playwright, author, public health advocate, and LGBT rights activist. He began his career rewriting scripts while working for Columbia Pictures, which led him to London where he worked with United Artists. There he wrote the screenplay for Women in Love in 1969, earning...
- John LauritsenJohn LauritsenNot to be confused with the television news reporter in Minnesota of the same name.John Lauritsen is a retired market research analyst. He is an author and activist. Lauritsen wrote for the New York Native and was an early skeptic of the theory that HIV causes AIDS. He covered the debate over the...
- Terence McNally
- Tim MillerTim MillerTimothy or Tim Miller may refer to:* Tim Miller , American ice hockey player* Tim Miller , American performance artist and writer* Timothy Miller, historian of religion...
- William Percy
- Felice PicanoFelice PicanoFelice Picano is an American writer. He graduated cum laude from Queens College in 1964 with English department honors. He founded SeaHorse Press in 1977, and The Gay Presses of New York in 1981 with Terry Helbing and Larry Mitchell; he was Editor-in-Chief there. He was an editor and writer for...
- John RechyJohn RechyJohn Francis Rechy, , is an American author, the child of a half-Scottish and half-Mexican father, Roberto Rechy, and a Mexican-American mother, Guadalupe Flores. In his novels he has written extensively about homosexual culture in Los Angeles and wider America, and is among the pioneers of modern...
- Susan Fox Rogers
- Ned RoremNed RoremNed Rorem is a Pulitzer prize-winning American composer and diarist. He is best known and most praised for his song settings.-Life:...
- Douglas SadownickDouglas Sadownick-Biography:Born in the Bronx, he attended Columbia College for his B.A., New York University for his graduate work in English, and the graduate program in clinical psychology at Antioch College in clinical psychology. He received his Ph.D. from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Clinical Psychology in...
- Sarah Shulman
- Gore VidalGore VidalGore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...
- Patricia Nell WarrenPatricia Nell WarrenPatricia Nell Warren is an openly lesbian American author and journalist.-Biography:Primarily known as an author, Warren is also commonly known as "the mother of Frontrunners" - the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender running/walking clubs that have been started in Los Angeles and other large...
- Edmund WhiteEdmund WhiteEdmund Valentine White III is an American author and literary critic. He is a member of the faculty of Princeton University's Program in Creative Writing.- Life and work :...
- Evan WolfsonEvan WolfsonEvan Wolfson is an American civil rights attorney and advocate. He is founder and executive director of Freedom to Marry, a group favoring same-sex marriage in the United States...