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Quote by Kevin Sessums

“Everyone disappoints [Larry Kramer]. So it's not a problem for him either way.”

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Kevin Sessums is an American author known for his unique perspective and profound insights. His works cover a range of topics including gender, identity, and human experience, and have been well-received by readers. more

“Those people are seen, I assume, by Larry [Kramer] as writing partly about gay issues and problems, whether it's on the surface or not, and I am not. But another thing is when we met, there still wasn't exactly a gay/straight divide in the minds of a lot of straight people. There weren't any gay people, as far as we knew, at Yale.”

People Writing Mind Stills Problem Issues Mets Gay Assuming Surface Divides Larry Gay People Yale Kramer

Author:Kevin Sessums

“There was a lot really awful about that time [in fifties] if you were gay.”

Ifs Gay Awful

Author:Kevin Sessums

“One of the few nice things about [time in Yale] was you got to know people before there were labels on them, so you got to know them as people, not as either gay or straight. Because as far as we knew, we thought everyone was straight.”

People Knows Nice Gay Labels Nice Things Yale

Author:Kevin Sessums

“If someone had come up to me at Yale and asked me how many homosexuals there were in my class, I would have said I don't think there are any. There may have been a few who were shy with girls. You have to understand, this was the 1950s.”

Ifs Thinking May Has Beens Said Girl Class Come Up Shy Homosexual Yale

Author:Kevin Sessums

“Back in Kansas City, I associated Harvard with sort of gnarly guys who wore capes for effect in a kind of Oscar Wilde scene. Even though I also knew there was such a thing as the Harvard-Yale game, I was still a little surprised that Harvard had a football team. I just assumed if there were such a thing as gay people, that they were nothing like us. Little did I know that probably half the swim team at Yale was gay.”

People Ifs Knows Kind Littles Stills Guy Games Cities Half Team Effects Football Scene Gay Swim Oscars Harvard Gay People Football Team Kansas Yale Capes Wilde Kansas City Gnarly Swim Team

Author:Kevin Sessums

“[Robert Gottlieb] wouldn't have published 'Remembering Denny' . Denny was a Rhodes Scholar. He was on the swimming team. Had this great California crew cut and this great smile. Life magazine covered his graduation, and Alfred Eisenstaedt photographed it. We all expected him to be president some day. But he committed suicide when he was in his 50s. If he were gay in the 1950s, then the rest of what I wrote was commentary because life was so miserable for gay men back then. And that's why he committed suicide.”

Ifs Men Remember President Cutting Team Gay Suicide Committed Expected Magazines Miserable California Covered Swimming Scholar Crew Commentary Gay Men Swim Team

Author:Kevin Sessums

“I talked to [Larry] Kramer a little bit about it while I was writing 'Remembering Denny' . Denny was one of those people who took a long time to come out.”

People Writing Littles Long Remember Bits Little Bit Long Time Larry Kramer

Author:Kevin Sessums

“My father always wanted me to be president of the United States, and his fallback position was that I not become a ward of the county. I think my father was okay about my going into journalism, though.”

Thinking States Wanted Father President United United States Position Okay Journalism County

Author:Kevin Sessums

“You're talking about the 1970s now and not the 1950s. We were all more sophisticated by that time, and I just assumed he was gay. But I do remember when we were all sitting around on a roof one night and Larry turned to me and said, "You do know I'm gay, don't you?" There was a statement made. A declaration. We just never had really talked about it.”

Knows Made Said Remember Night Talking Gay Sitting Statements Roof Sophisticated Declaration Remember When One Night Larry Sitting Around

Author:Kevin Sessums

“I don't write poetry for the New Yorker. My poems appear in the Nation, mostly.”

Writing Nations New Yorkers

Author:Kevin Sessums

Quote by Kevin Sessums

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