The Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse Reviewed

A Diverse Anthology of Gay Themed Poetry Edited by Stephen Coote

Apr 24, 2009

The Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse is a collection of poems by and about gay people, but has Stephen Coote put together a concise anthology or is this collection crass?

Originally published in 1983, The Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse as edited by Stephen Coote takes the reader from the depths of classical Athens to the flourishing contemporary gay literature scene in America, and in so doing creates an opportunity to view how attitudes about gay people and from gay people about the world around them, have changed and developed over time.

The Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse contains a dense introduction on the history of homosexuality. Stephen Coote's introduction explains the difference between what homosexuality meant during pre-Christian times to what it means today and therein offers a basis on which to read the poetry within the collection through use of an informed framework.

This is immensely helpful in decoding some of the earlier works, especially the Greek epigrams which, without proper understanding of how Ancient Greeks perceived same-sex attraction and sexual relationships, could seem contrary and confusing. However, Stephen Coote pre-empts this with a concise, if slightly problematic guide, in The Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse.

Problematic, though, because the reader must keep in mind that the collection is only Stephen Coote's representation of homosexual verse throughout the ages, nothing less, but certainly nothing more. For this reason, a label like "definitive", as many have called this anthology, can only talk about the scale of the book, which is impressive, but no collection could be classed as a definitive work where such a mammoth subject is concerned.

Stephen Coote's Selection of Poems in The Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse

Historically, Stephen Coote's compendium blazes from the fires of the turbulent Stonewall era so that, even though it was published in 1983, The Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse very much feels like it is a cloying attempt to mould an identity, to find precedent and understand ones origins, and perhaps that is why Stephen Coote has made some of the more questionable selections that he has.

For instance, there are standard poems that would be expected, from the famous Sappho (poems 42, 43 and 93), to Walt Whitman with We Two Boys Together Clinging and The Beautiful Swimmer amongst others. The Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse does, however, contain some surprises.

Chief amongst them are fifteen of Shakespeare's sonnets (20, 29, 35, 36, 53, 55, 57, 60, 67, 87, 94, 104, 110, 116, and 144) where Stephen Coote would have the reader discern an implied homoeroticism and tease out the possibility of a gay Shakespeare to perhaps bolster the credibility of The Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse or give it an amount of literary gumption.

This, and other such inclusions like it, would be fine if they were not to the detriment of the anthology's integrity. For instance, Allen Ginsberg has two poems featured, Maybe Love and Please Master, both of which, it is largely agreed, pale next to his greater works such as the eminent Howl, yet the latter Stephen Coote did not feature at all in The Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse, perhaps because he was too occupied with Shakespeare's sonnets and the vague possibility of allusions to gay love within.

W. H. Auden is also sparsely represented, and Coote's use of the rather washed-out Uncle Henry means it barely counts as an inclusion at all. Admittedly, however, the choice of At Daybreak as the sole item from Siegfried Sassoon's repertoire is a feather in Stephen Coote's hat for choosing an exacting and calculated edition to The Penguie Book of Homosexual Verse that informs of the poet's work without overindulging the audience.

Stephen Coote's The Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse; An Important Collection

These grievances aside, and also forgetting the fact that translations of many of the classical poets have had grafted to them modern day slang such as "queers" and "gays" which clunk and blur meaning, Stephen Coote's The Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse is still a collection worth reading and, indeed, celebrating.

From the collection's subjunctive assertion of Shakespeare's homosexuality to its actual statements on life for gay people throughout the ages as made by bringing the glorious Gay Boys by James Kirkup to lie beside Christina Rossetti's taboo Goblin Market, and creating an audacious synergy therein, the anthology originates an important historical meta-narrative that, whilst problematic, nevertheless makes Stepehen Coote's collection, The Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse, a milestone in its field.

(Publisher: Penguin Books; Date: February 3, 1983; Page Count: 416 pages; Binding: Softcover; ISBN-10: 0140422935; ISBN-13: 9780140422931)

The copyright of the article The Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse Reviewed in World Poetry is owned by Steve Williams. Permission to republish The Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse Reviewed in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.