In 1980 and 1981 seven gay writers-Christopher Cox, Robert Ferro, Michael Grumley, Andrew Holleran, Felice Picano, Edmund White, and George Whitmore-formed a literary club in New York called The Violet Quill. David Bergman defined them as a group of gay writers joined by friendship, ambition, and concern for their art, who got together[ ... ] to read to one another from their works in progress (Violet Quill Reader XI). The Violet Quill meetings proved invaluable for establishing a support system at a time when writing gay novels was courageous.

Lanzilotta, Luca. Robert Ferro's and Felice Picano's Italian Journeys through the Eyes of Max and Felice. Italian Americana 39, no. 2 (2021): 127-142.

Luca Lanzilotta is a Senior Lecturer in Italian at Dickinson College.

For more information on the published version, visit Italian Americana's Website. https://blogs.luc.edu/italianamericana/2021/11/08/vol-xxxix-no-2-summer-2021/

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