The M.D. Anderson Memorial Library’s latest exhibit shines a light on the groundbreaking literary work of the LGBTQI community.
“LGBTQI: Celebrated Classics & Contemporary Works”, which opened June 20 in conjunction with Houston LGBT Pride week, displays poems, fiction, nonfiction and drama works that are connected to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, queer and intersex community.
“We wanted to share some of our great LGBT book collections,” said the exhibition’s curator, Julie Grob.
The collection of books ranges from early works, such as Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray” to contemporary works like Jeffery Eugenides’, “Middlesex.” The exhibit is broken into four different eras, pre-Stonewall, post-Stonewall, the AIDS Crisis and contemporary. These eras explore the evolution of LGBTQI literature, as many of the earlier works of the collection were banned.
The exhibition was made in part by Edward Lukasek, a former Special Collections employee who donated over 1,000 books to Special Collections. Norma J. Lee also donated a number of lesbian and feminist books to the collection.
Grob is planning an event to relaunch the collection in the fall for students returning to campus. The event will feature Special Collections donor Edward Lukasek, as well as other panelists who will provide in-depth information about the exhibit and Special Collections.
The works displayed in the exhibit are available to read in Special Collections on the second floor of the library. “LGBTQI: Celebrated Classics & Contemporary Works,” is on display until September 28.
