Today in Labor History May 31, 1819: Poet Walt Whitman was born. Whitman published his first and most famous collection of poems, Leaves of Grass, in 1855, using his own money. It was criticized as obscene for its sensuality. During the Civil War, he volunteered in hospitals caring for the wounded. Many believe Whitman was gay or bisexual, based on his writings, though it is disputed by some historians. Oscar Wilde met Whitman in the United States in 1882 and told the homosexual-rights activist George Cecil Ives that Whitman's sexual orientation was beyond question—"I have the kiss of Walt Whitman still on my lips." Whitman is considered by many to be Americas first and greatest poet. He inspired many who came after him, including Ezra Pound, Langston Hughes, Kerouac, Ginsberg, Ferlinghetti, Gary Snyder and June Jordan.
Today In Labor History April 7, 1933: Prohibition ended for beer. Once again, unions could freely organize workers in the bars and workers could drink freely. As Oscar Wilde said, “Work is the curse of the drinking classes.”
Stoked that Louis Bayard, author of The Pale Blue Eye, has a novel coming out about Oscar Wilde and his wife. I had no idea Wilde was married and had two sons! THE WILDES: A NOVEL IN FIVE ACTS will be released September 17 by Algonquin and Hachette. #OscarWilde#bookstodon#fiction@bookstodon
"It should also not be a surprise – considering the links between the LGBTQ+ movement and feminism today – that if you were a supporter of the homosexual cause, you were also likely to support rights for women. So: the burgeoning gay rights movement in Britain was connected to wider late-Victorian movements for reform, part of a larger impulse to find new and better ways of living in the modern world."