Black Gay Men’s Writing Collective Mourns the Death of E. Lynn Harris
The members of Other Countries, a New York City-based black gay men’s writing collective, mourn the death of E. Lynn Harris. Since the 1991 publication of his landmark novel, Invisible Life, E. Lynn’s masterful storytelling gave the world a window into the lives of black gay men, and provided a measure of visibility for black gay men in real life, particularly in the black community. His work was always entertaining, and in the best tradition of good storytellers, his popular, sexually-conflicted character Basil Henderson was a person many readers struggled with, but at the same time wanted to read more about. E. Lynn’s novels placed the lives of black gay men within the black community, not outside of it as they are often depicted by the media. The best-selling novels of E. Lynn, along with those of novelist Terry McMillan, were influential in convincing mainstream publishers that black people will buy and read books in large numbers.
E. Lynn was a great supporter of new writers through his E. Lynn Harris Better Days Literary Foundation. His anthology, Freedom in This Village (2004), presented the work of a range of black gay male writers. E. Lynn Harris opened the door to writing and publishing for many black lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender writers. Even with his death that door remains open, and we believe we can best honor his memory by continuing to give the world new and interesting stories.
July 26, 2009
New York City
