LGBT Issues & History

Writer Edmund White. He has been called "unquestionably the foremost American gay novelist." White's novels draw significantly from his own experiences in a style he calls "auto-fiction." In his newest book, "Genet: A Biography" (Knopf), White documents the life of controversial French writer, Jean Genet.

Novelist David Leavitt discusses his new book "While England Sleeps." Themes are the betrayals, loyalties, and dilemmas of gay men in the 1930s.

Terry talks with two authors of children books which were once part of the reading list for the Rainbow curriculum in the New York Public schools. The two books were controversial, and removed from the list, because they dealt with children of gay parents. Leslea (Les-LEE-ah) Newman is the author of "Heather has Two Mommies," and Michael Willhoite wrote "Daddy's Roommate." (Both books are published by Alyson Publishers, Boston, Mass).

Professor and military sociologist Charles Moskos. He formulated President Clinton's new policy on homosexuals in the military which has been dubbed "don't ask don't tell" (enlistees would not be asked about sexual orientation nor would they declare it, once in the service). Moskos has done field research during every major army deployment over the last 30 years, most recently in Somalia to interview African-American soldiers. Moskos is also a proponent of a national service program for college students, which has caught the eye of President Clinton.

U.S. Congressman Barney Frank, Democratic Representative from Massachusetts, and one of two openly-gay members of Congress. He's been lobbying for lifting the ban on gays and lesbians in the military. Terry will talk with him about President Clinton's announcement last week about gays and lesbians in the military. (In a recent Washington Post op-ed piece, Frank defends Clinton, blaming, instead, those allied against lifting the ban.)

The film "Silverlake Life: The View From Here" was started by filmmaker and film teacher Tom Joslin to chronicle his and his lover's battles with AIDS. Joslin asked his former student Peter Freidman to complete the film after Joslin's death. We'll talk with Friedman about working on "Silverlake Life," which opens the sixth season of PBS' P.O.V. series on Tuesday, June 15.

Journalist Michelangelo Signorile. He writes regularly for "The Advocate," and "Out" magazine. He has a new book, called "Queer in America: Sex, the Media, and the Closets of Power." Signorile is a proponent of controversial practice of "outing" -- revealing the homosexuality of someone in power or position whether that person wants it known or not.

Delaria says don't call her a lesbian: she's a dyke who does standup and jazz singing. She has a new recording of songs, "Bulldyke in a China Shop."

Commentator Maureen Corrigan reflects on the opening of the Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Gay Rights March, two events which overlapped recently in Washington, D.C.

Journalist Randy Shilts is the national correspondent for the San Francisco Chronicle. His book, "And the Band Played On," was one of the earliest written about the AIDS epidemic and it's impact on the gay community. Shilts' new book is about gay life in the military, called "Conduct Unbecoming." He started the it in 1988, before the current debate about gays in the military.