James Kirkup (April 23, 1918 – May 10, 2009)

James Falconer Kirkup, FRSL (England, 23 April 1918 – Andorra, 10 May 2009) was a prolific English poet, translator and travel writer. He was brought up in South Shields, and educated at South Shields Secondary School and Durham University. He wrote over 30 books, including autobiographies, novels and plays. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1962. Kirkup came to public attention in 1977, when the newspaper Gay News published his poem The Love That Dares to Speak Its Name, in which a Roman centurion describes his lust and attraction for Jesus after his death. The paper was successfully prosecuted in the Whitehouse v. Lemon case, along with the editor, Denis Lemon, for blasphemy by Mary Whitehouse, then Secretary of the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association. (Picture: Maurice de Sausmarez, Portrait of James Kirkup, Gregory Fellow in Poetry (1951). Oil on canvas. University of Leeds Art Collection P1/1951. Reproduced with permission of Jane de Sausmarez ©.)

During World War II he was a conscientious objector, and worked for the Forestry Commission and on the land in the Yorkshire Dales and at the Lansbury Gate Farm, Clavering, Essex. He taught at The Downs School in Colwall, Malvern, where W.H. Auden had earlier been a master. Kirkup wrote his first book of poetry, The Drowned Sailor at the Downs, which was published in 1947. From 1950 to 1952 he was the first Gregory Poetry Fellow at Leeds University, making him the first resident university poet in the United Kingdom.

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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Kirkup

( Further Readings )

More LGBT History at my website: www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Gay Classics

GayRomLit Ebook Giveaway: Marshall Thornton - Boystown

I asked to all the authors joining the GayRomLit convention in Albuquerque in October (http://gayromlit.com/authors.php) a personal favor, a special Ebook Giveaway: every 2 days I will post 1 book from each author, and among those who will leave a comment, I will draw a winner. Very easy and very fast ;-) I will send a PM to the winner, so remember to not leave anonymous comments!

And the ebook giveaway goes to: lisa_thecat please contact me

Today author is Marshall Thornton (http://www.marshallthornton.wordpress.com/)

Boystown: Three Nick Nowak Mysteries by Marshall Thornton
Paperback: 212 pages
Publisher: Torquere Press (June 8, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1610402332
ISBN-13: 978-1610402330
Amazon: Boystown: Three Nick Nowak Mysteries

A former police officer turned private investigator, Nick Nowak is haunted by his abrupt departure from the department, as well as the traumatic end of his relationship with librarian Daniel Laverty. In these three stories set in Chicago during the early eighties, Nick locates a missing young man for a mysterious client, solves a case of arson at a popular nightspot, and goes undercover to prove a dramatic suicide was actually murder. When he isn't detecting, and sometimes when he is, Nick moves through a series of casual relationships. But his long suppressed romantic side surfaces when he meets Detective Bert Harker. Will he give love another chance? Or, will he continue to bury himself in the arms of strangers? Stories include Little Boy Found, Little Boy Burned, and Little Boy Fallen. Marshall Thornton is an award-winning author, playwright and screenwriter living in Long Beach, California. Author of the Boystown detective series, he holds an MFA in screenwriting from UCLA. While there he received the Carl David Memorial Fellowship and was recognized in the Samuel Goldwyn Writing awards.

Best Mystery Series 2011 - Well Read Reviews

Bonus ebook: Little Boy Dead: A Boystown Prequel. This is a novella length intro to the series which is available on Amazon for 99 cents, but there will be a free giveaway on May 11th and 12th for all to access.

Gay Romance Challenge: May 2012

Here is the Bestsellers List on Amazon I'm referring to for the challenge:

Bestsellers in Gay Romance

And here is the actual situation (in bold the books I read with link to the review and marked as New the books entering the Challenge this month):

1) Frog by Mary Calmes
Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007XAFECY/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (April 24, 2012)
2) Who We Are by TJ Klune
Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1613724608/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (April 27, 2012)
3) Play It Again, Charlie by R. Cooper
Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1613724527/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (April 20, 2012)
4) Redemption by Olivia Duncan Craig
Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007QERCAO/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Publisher: ODC Press (April 1, 2012)
5) Redemption by Fire (Redemption by Fire Series) by Andrew Grey
Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007ZSFMD0/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (May 1, 2012)
6) Unintended by M.J. O'Shea
Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007U1QKDI/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services (April 13, 2012)
7) Coming Home by M.J. O'Shea
Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/161372442X/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (April 9, 2012)
8) One Small Thing by M.J. O'Shea & Piper Vaughn
Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0080HKOTW/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (May 3, 2012)
9) Country Mouse by Amy Lane & Aleksandr Voinov
Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007WIEFHW/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Publisher: Riptide Publishing (April 21, 2012)
10) Scrap Metal by Harper Fox
Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006H9B70U/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Review: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/1575408.html

( books from 11 to 100 )