George Whitmore – författare

Trailblazing, visionary, and too often neglected – this collection honours and celebrates seven queer playwrights from America, Ireland, and Britain whose lives were cut short by HIV/AIDS.Curated by The AIDS Plays Project, and edited by its director, Alastair Curtis, this anthology revives seven plays written by pioneering queer playwrights, providing a platform that restores and mends the link between queer artists and their audiences that has largely been severed by the ongoing AIDS crisis.The plays in this collection showcase a striking a striking, eclectic range of styles and stories - from a nineteenth-century drag-infused riff on La Traviata to a comedy about a bisexual ghost haunting rural Massachusetts, to a San Francisco-set tragedy about phone sex and an urgent exploration of Irish politics in a London pub. It also highlights these writers' lasting impact on queer culture and activism—whether by introducing the first bisexual characters on Broadway, performing agitprop theatre on the streets of South London, or promoting sex positivity during the darkest days of the epidemic.The lives of each playwright are retold through moving accounts by those who knew them, brought their writing to life on stage, or championed their work. These are paired with responses from contemporary queer theatre-makers, forging an intergenerational connection and contributing to an ongoing exploration of twentieth-century queer history. Ultimately, the collection acts as a blueprint for how studying and performing the queer past can shape the future of queer playwriting and performance, and ensures that the voices of the writers lost in the AIDS epidemic are not forgotten.

Trailblazing, visionary, and too often neglected – this collection honours and celebrates seven queer playwrights from America, Ireland, and Britain whose lives were cut short by HIV/AIDS.Curated by The AIDS Plays Project, and edited by its director, Alastair Curtis, this anthology revives seven plays written by pioneering queer playwrights, providing a platform that restores and mends the link between queer artists and their audiences that has largely been severed by the ongoing AIDS crisis.The plays in this collection showcase a striking a striking, eclectic range of styles and stories - from a nineteenth-century drag-infused riff on La Traviata to a comedy about a bisexual ghost haunting rural Massachusetts, to a San Francisco-set tragedy about phone sex and an urgent exploration of Irish politics in a London pub. It also highlights these writers' lasting impact on queer culture and activism—whether by introducing the first bisexual characters on Broadway, performing agitprop theatre on the streets of South London, or promoting sex positivity during the darkest days of the epidemic.The lives of each playwright are retold through moving accounts by those who knew them, brought their writing to life on stage, or championed their work. These are paired with responses from contemporary queer theatre-makers, forging an intergenerational connection and contributing to an ongoing exploration of twentieth-century queer history. Ultimately, the collection acts as a blueprint for how studying and performing the queer past can shape the future of queer playwriting and performance, and ensures that the voices of the writers lost in the AIDS epidemic are not forgotten.

George Whitmore’s acclaimed and affecting coming-of-age novel about a boy searching for his identity in the wake of a terrible accidentWhen a car crash took one of his legs at age twelve, it also robbed Craig of his last hope for a steady childhood. Living in a Nebraska town with his abusive, alcoholic father and strong-willed mother, Craig is delighted when, in the middle of his recuperation, his uncle Wayne returns home, discharged from service in the navy. At times Wayne is like a surrogate father to Craig, helping him with his rehabilitation and igniting his imagination with tales of adventure sailing around the world. But with Wayne’s nightly calls to a man known as “the Chief,” it becomes clear to Craig that his uncle is still very much a mystery.Beautifully written and utterly heartrending, Nebraska is a poignant story about a boy’s maturation into manhood, and about the vividly drawn family members that surround him throughout his youth in the doldrums of rural life.

The witty and intimate story of a young man’s search for fulfillment during the cultural and sexual revolution of 1970s New York CityDanny Slocum is a gay man in New York at a time of unprecedented sexual freedom. And yet Danny hasn’t had a satisfying encounter with another man in years, a plight that drives him to sex therapy. Virgil, Danny’s therapist, suggests that Danny work with another man, Joe, who has a similar problem, in the hopes that they can work out their anxieties together. The arrangement brings memories of Danny’s bygone relationships bubbling to the surface as he searches his past for where exactly things went wrong, coming to the realization that perhaps what he craves, above all else, is to be whole.Part novel and part memoir, The Confessions of Danny Slocum is a heartfelt, deeply relatable look at sex, love, happiness, and their painful reverse.