Communists, Cowboys, and Queers by David Savran

Communists, Cowboys, and Queers by David Savran

During the late 1940s and 1950s, argues David Savran, the baiting and brutalization of “communists and queers” were high on the national agenda. Within this historical context, Communists, Cowboys, and Queers offers a bold and radical reassessment of the works of theater’s most prominent and respected figures - Arthur Miller, the alleged communist, and Tennessee Williams, the self-acknowledged “queer.” Savran analyzes the radically different configurations of gender and sexuality in Miller’s and Williams’s writings and studies the ways in which each confronted and negotiated the postwar homophobic and anticommunism crusades. Through a detailed reexamination of their plays, films, and short stories, Savran argues against the popular images of both playwrights and the findings of most academic critics. Ultimately, his provocative exploration of the constitution of the Old Left, the demographic changes following World War II, the gay rights movement, the New Left, and the counterculture distinguishes Communists, Cowboys, and Queers as the first book rigorously to historicize the achievements of Miller and Williams.

David Savran is associate professor of English at Brown University. He is the author of Breaking the Rules: The Wooster Group and In Their Own Words: Contemporary American Playwrights.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780816621231
ISBN 10	0816621233
Title	Communists, Cowboys, and Queers
Author	David Savran
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	University of Minnesota Press
Year published	1992-10-01
Number of pages	224
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.