The first collection of the writings and speeches of the founder of the gay liberation movement records his efforts to win acceptance of gays and lesbians as a cultural minority and his reflections on Marxism, spirituality, art, and politics. Harry Hay is the acknowledged father (or mother, as he might prefer) of the modern gay liberation movement. As a Communist Party organizer and historian who founded the Mattachine Society in 1949, Hay began turning out essays, position papers, critical studies, and manifestos concerning what it means to be gay in the world. Radically Gay is a collection of those writings, edited by historian Will Rosco, and its breadth and depth is amazing. Radically Gay is an important contribution to gay history and letters; it tells us not only where we have been, but, more importantly, where we might be going. This collection of writings spans 50 years in the intellectual development of Hay, one of the founders of the modern Gay Rights Movement. Beginning in the late 1940s, Hay organized the Mattachine Society, one of the earliest homophile groups formed to bring public acceptance to the lives of gay Americans. For better or worse, Hay formulated the idea of the homosexual as a political minority, and since then he has been in the vanguard fighting for equal treatment for gays and lesbians. Following the evolution of Hay's intellectual development in roughly chronological, this strong collection of essays puts the current debate over gay rights in a clearer historical perspective; for example, despite the recent battle over gays in the military, Hay organized one of the first public demonstrations against the military's exclusionary rules in 1966. Now, at the age of 84, Hay is active in the radical faerie movement, which celebrates the fundamental differences and unique perceptions with which gays view the world. This title will be of particular interest to the gay studies community, as well as more knowledgeable lay readers patronizing larger collections.?Jeffery Ingram, Newport P.L., Ore. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. Used Book in Good Condition