ABSTRACT
Although many of the important twentieth-century writers were gay, most of them remained rather closeted about it. This was not the case of poet Allen Ginsberg, whose very fame in part rested on his willingness not only to proclaim his own homosexuality but to write seriously and poetically about it and to campaign for gay and lesbian rights. This, he insisted, was part of his being, and he gloried in it, proclaiming it everywhere, lending his support to gays when it was not popular to do so. As gay power grew, he remained controversial, even defending the National American Man- Boy Love Association (NAMBLA). He enjoyed being a spokesman for those who were different, and he did make a difference.
