Dirk Vanden

Dirk Vanden (born May 7, 1933, died October 21, 2014[1]), born Richard Fullmer, was an American author and illustrator. He is considered the first gay Mormon writer[2] and has been called a "pioneer of gay literature" by the Lambda Literary Review. A graduate of the University of Utah, his work appeared in ONE Magazine, Vector,[3] and California Scene,[4] as well as in Latter-Gay Saints: An Anthology of Gay Mormon Fiction.[2] His novel I Want It All was the first book to explore San Francisco's leather subculture.[5] Vanden received a Lambda Literary Award for Gay Erotica in 2012 for All Together, a collected edition of three of his early works.[6]

In spite of his success, Vanden, together with Richard Amory, was highly critical of the way editor Earl Kemp and publisher Greenleaf Classics treated his work, citing Greenleaf's non-payment of royalties, employment of editors not familiar with gay literature,[4] and insistence on inserting graphic sex into his books as examples of their heavy-handed approach to LGBT publishing.[2]

He died of cancer at his home in Carmichael, California in October 2014.[1]

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 Gunn, Drewey Wayne (November 6, 2014). "Remembering Dirk Vanden". Lambda Literary Review. Retrieved 2015-11-28.
  2. 1 2 3 Stack, Peggy Fletcher (August 14, 2013). "Writer sees growing acceptance of LGBT within Mormon faith". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2014-09-24.
  3. Gunn, Drewey Wayne (August 10, 2011). "Dirk Vanden: Pioneer Of Gay Literature". Lambda Literary Review. Retrieved 2014-09-24.
  4. 1 2 Vanden, Dirk (2012). "It Was Too Soon Before…: The Unlikely Life, Untimely Death, and Unexpected Rebirth of Gay Pioneer, Dirk Vanden". Lethe Press. pp. 151–156. Retrieved 2014-09-24.
  5. "Sadomasochistic Literature". glbtq.com. 2002. Retrieved 2014-09-24.
  6. Grindley, Lucas (June 5, 2012). "The Next Great LGBT Writers: Lambda Announces This Year's Winners". The Advocate. Retrieved 2014-09-24.

See also

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