The Lost Autobiography of Samuel Steward

Recollections of an Extraordinary Twentieth-Century Gay Life

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Gender Studies, Gay Studies, History, Americas, United States, 20th Century, Biography & Memoir
Cover of the book The Lost Autobiography of Samuel Steward by Samuel Steward, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Samuel Steward ISBN: 9780226541556
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: April 24, 2018
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: Samuel Steward
ISBN: 9780226541556
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: April 24, 2018
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

On August 21, 1978, a year before his seventieth birthday, Samuel Steward (1909–93) sat down at his typewriter in Berkeley, California, and began to compose a remarkable autobiography. No one but his closest friends knew the many different identities he had performed during his life: as Samuel Steward, he had been a popular university professor of English; as Phil Sparrow, an accomplished tattoo artist; as Ward Stames, John McAndrews, and Donald Bishop, a prolific essayist in the first European gay magazines; as Phil Andros, the author of a series of popular pornographic gay novels during the 1960s and 1970s. Steward had also moved in the circles of Gertrude Stein, Thornton Wilder, and Alfred Kinsey, among many other notable figures of the twentieth century. And, as a compulsive record keeper, he had maintained a meticulous card-file index throughout his life that documented his 4,500 sexual encounters with more than 800 men.

The story of this life would undoubtedly have been a sensation if it had reached publication. But after finishing a 110,000-word draft in 1979, Steward lost interest in the project and subsequently published only a slim volume of selections from his manuscript.

In The Lost Autobiography of Samuel Steward, Jeremy Mulderig has integrated Steward’s truncated published text with the text of the original manuscript to create the first extended version of Steward’s autobiography to appear in print—the first sensational, fascinating, and ultimately enlightening story of his many lives told in his own words. The product of a rigorous line-by-line comparison of these two sources and a thoughtful editing of their contents, Mulderig’s thoroughly annotated text is more complete and coherent than either source alone while also remaining faithful to Steward’s style and voice, to his engaging self-deprecation and his droll sense of humor. Compellingly readable and often unexpectedly funny, this newly discovered story of a gay life full of wildly improbable—but nonetheless true—events is destined to become a landmark queer autobiography from the twentieth century.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

On August 21, 1978, a year before his seventieth birthday, Samuel Steward (1909–93) sat down at his typewriter in Berkeley, California, and began to compose a remarkable autobiography. No one but his closest friends knew the many different identities he had performed during his life: as Samuel Steward, he had been a popular university professor of English; as Phil Sparrow, an accomplished tattoo artist; as Ward Stames, John McAndrews, and Donald Bishop, a prolific essayist in the first European gay magazines; as Phil Andros, the author of a series of popular pornographic gay novels during the 1960s and 1970s. Steward had also moved in the circles of Gertrude Stein, Thornton Wilder, and Alfred Kinsey, among many other notable figures of the twentieth century. And, as a compulsive record keeper, he had maintained a meticulous card-file index throughout his life that documented his 4,500 sexual encounters with more than 800 men.

The story of this life would undoubtedly have been a sensation if it had reached publication. But after finishing a 110,000-word draft in 1979, Steward lost interest in the project and subsequently published only a slim volume of selections from his manuscript.

In The Lost Autobiography of Samuel Steward, Jeremy Mulderig has integrated Steward’s truncated published text with the text of the original manuscript to create the first extended version of Steward’s autobiography to appear in print—the first sensational, fascinating, and ultimately enlightening story of his many lives told in his own words. The product of a rigorous line-by-line comparison of these two sources and a thoughtful editing of their contents, Mulderig’s thoroughly annotated text is more complete and coherent than either source alone while also remaining faithful to Steward’s style and voice, to his engaging self-deprecation and his droll sense of humor. Compellingly readable and often unexpectedly funny, this newly discovered story of a gay life full of wildly improbable—but nonetheless true—events is destined to become a landmark queer autobiography from the twentieth century.

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book Political Descent by Samuel Steward
Cover of the book Lovable Racists, Magical Negroes, and White Messiahs by Samuel Steward
Cover of the book Four Last Songs by Samuel Steward
Cover of the book The Senses of Walden by Samuel Steward
Cover of the book The X Club by Samuel Steward
Cover of the book With the Boys by Samuel Steward
Cover of the book Engineering the Eternal City by Samuel Steward
Cover of the book Visions of Sodom by Samuel Steward
Cover of the book Authors of the Storm by Samuel Steward
Cover of the book SuperVision by Samuel Steward
Cover of the book Kindly Inquisitors by Samuel Steward
Cover of the book The Color of Mind by Samuel Steward
Cover of the book Evidence by Samuel Steward
Cover of the book Electing Judges by Samuel Steward
Cover of the book Chicago's Block Clubs by Samuel Steward
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy