Subjects matter: an interview with author Martin Duberman
washingtonblade.comGay writer and historian Martin Duberman is the very definition of a living legend. At the age of 93, with nearly 40 books to his credit, Duberman shows no signs of slowing down.
His latest book, “The Line of Dissent: Gay Outsiders and the Shaping of History” (G&LR Books, 2023), out Jan. 8, compiles a dozen essays (many of which were previously published in “Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide”), along with a pair of codas.
Some of the names, including W.H. Auden, Alfred Kinsey, and Sylvia Rivera, will be familiar to many readers, while others are sure to be revelations.
Duberman was gracious enough to make time for an interview in advance of the book’s publication. BLADE: In the introduction to “The Line of Dissent,” you write that the book is “opinionated” and “contains no demolition jobs,” and you note “appraisals are mostly appreciative.” Is this in response to something you’d seen other historians doing? MARTIN DUBERMAN: Historians, being human, have a wide range of responses to the individuals they choose to write about.