Edmund White, Novelist and Pioneer of Gay Literature, Dies at 85

New York Times

2 days ago

Edmund White, who became a pioneer in gay literature by mining his own varied catalog of sexual experiences in more than 30 books and hundreds of articles and essays, died on Tuesday. He was 85.
Mr. White died of natural causes, his agent, Bill Clegg, said in an email on Wednesday. Mr. White, who had been H.I.V. positive since the 1980s, survived two major strokes in 2012 and a heart attack in 2014.
Many of Mr. White's novels, short story collections and works of nonfiction were critical successes, and several were best-sellers.
The New York Times called 'Forgetting Elena' (1973), about the rituals of gay life on a fictionalized Fire Island, 'an astonishing first novel, obsessively fussy, and yet uncannily beautiful.' His second novel, 'Nocturnes for the King of Naples' (1978), took the form of letters from a young gay man to his deceased ex-lover.
'A Boy's Own Story' (1982), a tale of coming out set in the 1950s, was narrated by a teenager who bore more than a passing resemblance to a young Mr. White. His other semi-autobiographical novels, 'The Beautiful Room Is Empty' (1988) and 'The Farewell Symphony' (1997), follow the same unnamed protagonist into adulthood during the 1960s, then through the horrors of AIDSas he approaches middle age.
His nonfiction works included several memoirs. 'My Lives' (2005), one of his best-reviewed books, chronicles his first 65 years in chapter titles that include 'My Shrinks,' 'My Hustlers' and 'My Blonds.' He zeroed in on his life in 1960s and 70s New York with 'City Boy' (2009), and on his time away from New York with 'Inside a Pearl: My Years in Paris' (2014).
He also wrote biographies of the French authors Jean Genet, Marcel Proust and Arthur Rimbaud.
Over the seven years that Mr. White spent researching and writing 'Genet' (1994), he traveled extensively, visiting the haunts of his peripatetic subject. His frequent companion was Hubert Sorin, a young French architect whom he called 'the love of my life' and who died of AIDS in 1994.
The 'Joy of Gay Sex' (1977), a how-to based on the 1972 best seller 'The Joy of Sex,' was a groundbreaking effort that became somewhat obsolete once fears of H.I.V. made safe sex far more common. Its co-author was Charles Silverstein, a psychologist who had been treating Mr. White when a publisher suggested they collaborate, not knowing they were already acquainted.
He is survived by his husband, Michael Carroll, according to Mr. Clegg, his agent.
A complete obituary will follow.
Alex Marshall contributed reporting.