Larry Kramer is an icon for AIDS and LGBT rights activism, fighting against the disease at a time when the world largely didn't even know what it was and what to call it. In the 1980s, after witnessing gay men wither and die, Kramer became the image of a lone warrior against the then-unnamed disease.
Unfortunately, the world lost one of the old guards as Larry Kramer passed away due to pneumonia Wednesday morning, May 27. He was 84 years old and was a month away from what would have been the writer's 85th birthday on June 25.
Morally honest and unapologetic, his advocacy translated to his work, often through the eyes of his character and alter-ego Ned Weeks. Here are some of Larry Kramer's works, written decades ago, but remains just as relevant.
"Faggots" (1978)
When Faggots was first released in 1978, Kramer found himself in the middle of the straight and the gay worlds, with both hating him. "The straight world thought I was repulsive, and the gay world treated me like a traitor," Kramer told Michael Specter of The New Yorker in a 2002 interview. The uproar forced the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookstore, the only gay bookstore in Ney York, to pull his novel from the shelves.
"Faggots" was a satirical novel following Fred Lemish, based on Kramer himself, looking for true, long-lasting love. He goes through the 1970 "fast lane" lifestyle pervading the gay communities of New York at the time. However, Kramer did extensive research before writing the novel, talking to people, and visiting the places that would become the backdrops of Lemish's travels. It was here that he realized people were conflicted about the lavish lifestyle.
"The Normal Heart" (1985)
The semi-autobiographical stage play focuses on the early stages of the HIV/AIDS crisis, as seen by Ned Weeks, a writer and activist who struggles to establish a non-profit organization. In the 1980s, several gay men in the New York area have been dying one after the other from an unspecified disease. His efforts to establish support and awareness in the unknown disease face created tension between Weeks and the people around him.
Like Weeks, Kramer is a writer/activist who founded the Gay Men's Health Crisis, a non-profit organization in NYC focused on uplifting people's lives with AIDS. The character of Ben Weeks, Ned's brother, is also based on Arthur Kramer, Larry's brother. Their relationship in real life has largely influenced the Weeks siblings in the play.
In 2014, "The Normal Heart" was adapted into a TV drama film and featured Marvel star Mark Ruffalo as Ned Weeks,
"Reports from the Holocaust: The Making of an AIDS Activist" (1989)
This book was first published in 1989, followed by a revised edition in 1994. It contains a selection of Kramer's nonfiction works on LGBT civil rights and AIDS activism, covering his time with the HIV/AIDS advocacy groups such as Gay Men's Health Crisis and ACT UP.
Although "Reports from the Holocaust" generally reminds the LGBT community members to accept responsibility for their own lives and give back to the community by advancing their rights, it does raise some critical questions. A part of the book sternly reminds the readers that "the principal lesson of the Holocaust is that we must assume responsibility for the behavior of the governments that rule us," before asking whether LGBT-focused organizations are complicit in the oppression of its members.
It also promotes individual empowerment, starting with taking charge of things that seem to be mundane and insignificant. He even included a section of a 1987 speech regarding the power that likens it to little pieces of paper on the floor; other people ignore it until a person who picks it up comes. He does the same small thing day after day. The small pieces of paper pile up, and he soon becomes known for this small task.
To find out more how music, like literature, has helped advanced equality for all, here are 8 Great LGBT-Themed Alternative Songs: Green Day, The Smiths, And More.
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