- 1,112 and Counting
1,112 and Counting is an essay written by novelist and playwright
Larry Kramer in1983 . Published in thegay newspaper the "New York Native ", it was perhaps the first essay written about the then-nascentAIDS crisis. It begins with a summary of HIV's toll thus far and ends with a call todirect action . The essay was dismissed by much of the gay community at the time. This was in part because it criticized widespread sexual practices by gay men at the time (casual, anonymous sex), and in part because Kramer was said to be a self-hating gay man, based on his novel "Faggots" - which also criticized casual, anonymous sex.Nevertheless, in its stridency and urgency, "1,112 and Counting" influenced much of queer writing for the decade to come. It also helped cement Kramer's reputation as an advocate for gay men's rights.
Excerpt
::If this article doesn't scare the shit out of you, we're in real trouble. If this article doesn't rouse you to anger, fury, rage, and action, gay men may have no future on this earth. Our continued existence depends on just how angry you can get.
Notes
*Mass, Lawrence D., editor. (1988) "We Must Love One Another or Die: The life and legacies of Larry Kramer." St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0304335452.
External links
* [https://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2003/05/66488.html The full text of "1,112 and Counting"]
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