Dirk Vanden (born Richard Fullmer; May 7, 1933 – October 21, 2014),[1] was an American author and illustrator. He is considered the first gay Mormon writer[2] and has been called a "pioneer of gay literature" by the Lambda Literary Review. A graduate of the University of Utah, his work appeared in ONE Magazine, Vector,[3] and California Scene,[4] as well as in Latter-Gay Saints: An Anthology of Gay Mormon Fiction.[2] His novel I Want It All was the first book to explore San Francisco's leather subculture.[5] His greatest success was his All trilogy: I Want It All, All or Nothing, and All Is Well.[6] Vanden received a Lambda Literary Award for Gay Erotica in 2012 for the revision of this trilogy, All Together.[7]

In spite of his success, Vanden, together with Richard Amory, was highly critical of the way editor Earl Kemp and publisher Greenleaf Classics treated his work, citing Greenleaf's non-payment of royalties, employment of editors not familiar with gay literature,[4] and insistence on inserting graphic sex into his books as examples of their heavy-handed approach to LGBT publishing.[2]

He died of cancer at his home in Carmichael, California in October 2014.[1]

Bibliography

  • To Themselves Unknown
  • Tom, Tom, the Piper’s Son (published as Who Killed Queen Tom?, 1969)
  • Hatters and Hares (published as The Leather Queens, 1969; re-released as Down the Rabbit Hole)
  • The Stag in the Tree (published as Leather, 1969)
  • Exile in Paradise (published as Twin Orbs, 1969)
  • I Want It All (1969)
  • All Or Nothing (1970)
  • All Is Well (1971)
  • All of Me: A Gay Mystery (2010)
  • It Was Too Soon Before…: The Unlikely Life, Untimely Death, and Unexpected Rebirth of Gay Pioneer, Dirk Vanden (2012)

References

  1. 1 2 Gunn, Drewey Wayne (November 6, 2014). "Remembering Dirk Vanden". Lambda Literary Review. Retrieved 2015-11-28.
  2. 1 2 3 Stack, Peggy Fletcher (August 14, 2013). "Writer sees growing acceptance of LGBT within Mormon faith". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2014-09-24.
  3. ↑ Gunn, Drewey Wayne (August 10, 2011). "Dirk Vanden: Pioneer Of Gay Literature". Lambda Literary Review. Retrieved 2014-09-24.
  4. 1 2 Vanden, Dirk (2012). It Was Too Soon Before…: The Unlikely Life, Untimely Death, and Unexpected Rebirth of Gay Pioneer, Dirk Vanden. Lethe Press. pp. 151–156. ISBN 9781590213544. Retrieved 2014-09-24.
  5. ↑ "Sadomasochistic Literature". glbtq.com. 2002. Archived from the original on 2014-06-06. Retrieved 2014-09-24.
  6. ↑ Gunn, Drewey Wayne (2013), "The Heroic Quest: Dirk Vanden's All Trilogy," 1960s Gay Pulp Fiction: The Misplaced Heritage, ed. Gunn and Jaime Harker, 268-91.
  7. ↑ Grindley, Lucas (June 5, 2012). "The Next Great LGBT Writers: Lambda Announces This Year's Winners". The Advocate. Retrieved 2014-09-24.
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