The Columbia Anthology of Gay Literature [Hardcover]
Worth buying if: You teach or study queer studies using an extensive anthology of gay literature.
Skip it if: You prefer a slim contemporary queer memoir or single-author novel rather than a comprehensive anthology.
Exact edition: Hardcover · ISBN-13 9780231096706. The Amazon link uses this ISBN, so the product page should open to the edition shown here.
If this page helped you decide, purchasing through the Amazon button above supports UPB Books at no extra cost to you and helps us continue improving the site. Thanks for visiting today.
Check Amazon for the current price and availability of this exact edition.
Affiliate disclosure: purchases made through links on this site may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.
Summary
Byrne R. S. Fone's The Columbia Anthology of Gay Literature collects poems, stories, essays and plays across eras to map literary expressions of gay experience, context, and craft in a comprehensive, classroom-ready volume.
Why this book now
For readers and educators revisiting queer canons, Columbia Univ Pr's 1998 anthology remains a dense reference for historical continuity and curricular inclusion of gay literature.
30-second preview
Two quick cards, fifteen seconds each.
Card 1 of 2
Best for readers who...
Good fit if you want...
- You teach or study queer studies using an extensive anthology of gay literature.
- You want primary texts—poems, short stories, essays and plays—collected across historical periods.
- If you enjoy condensed, powerful scenes, the plot offers no tidy answers, leaving your sympathies to shift as characters make difficult decisions.
- You prefer a slim contemporary queer memoir or single-author novel rather than a comprehensive anthology.
- You want only twentieth- or twenty-first-century gay fiction rather than cross-period selections.
- If you dislike shifting perspectives, the prose indulges in poetic detours that slow narrative progress.
Decided it fits?
Exact edition: Hardcover · ISBN-13 9780231096706
Worth buying if: You teach or study queer studies using an extensive anthology of gay literature.
Skip it if: You prefer a slim contemporary queer memoir or single-author novel rather than a comprehensive anthology.
Check Amazon for the current price and availability of this exact edition.
Reader guide
Cues to help you decide faster.
Reading commitment
Substantial Longer sessions help
At 829 pages, expect a serious time investment; approach as a reference to sample, teach from, or read in focused thematic chunks rather than cover-to-cover in one sitting.
What stands out here
This Columbia Univ Pr hardcover emphasizes breadth and canonical context—curation by Byrne R. S. Fone that foregrounds continuity and contrasts across gay literary history.
Best way to approach it
Browse by period, author, or genre: dip into individual poems or stories, use the anthology's organization for syllabus construction, and compare paired texts across eras.
Was this page helpful?
Quick thumbs only. No login.
Loading feedback…
Hardcover: ISBN-13 9780231096706
Check Amazon for the current price and availability of this exact edition.