On Being Different : What It Means to Be a Homosexual

by Miller, Merle; Kaiser, Charles; Savage, Dan

• ISBN13: 9780143106968
• ISBN10: 0143106961
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-09-25
• Publisher: Penguin Classics

Summary

The groundbreaking work on being homosexual in America-available again only from Penguin Classics and with a new foreword by Dan Savage Originally published in 1971, Merle Miller's On Being Differentis a pioneering and thought-provoking book about being homosexual in the United States. Just two years after the Stonewall riots, Miller wrote a poignant essay for the New York Times Magazineentitled "What It Means To Be a Homosexual" in response to a homophobic article published in Harper's Magazine. Described as "the most widely read and discussed essay of the decade," it carried the seed that would blossom into On Being Different-one of the earliest memoirs to affirm the importance of coming out.

Author Biography

Merle Miller (1919–1986) was an editor at Harper’s Magazine, Time, and the Nation, and was the bestselling author of several books, including the novel A Gay and Melancholy Sound and Plain Speaking, a biography of President Harry Truman.

Dan Savage is the internationally syndicated columnist of “Savage Love” and the author of several books. With his husband Terry Miller, he cofounded the It Gets Better project and edited the It Gets Better collection.

Charles Kaiser is an author, journalist, and blogger. His books include 1968 in America and The Gay Metropolis, which was a New York Times Book Review Notable Book. He lives in New York City.