Demonised by the Church throughout the Middle Ages and the
Renaissance\, homosexuals became the scapegoats of society\, constantl
y facing exile or a brutal death. In "Heroes to Exiles"\, the human cos
t of this long exile is told through the lives of the most eminent homo
sexual men and women in history.
Some were artists like the
wild living Benvenuto Cellini or the repressed Edward Lear. Others wer
e poets such as Thomas Gray\, W. H. Auden or novelists such as Henry Ja
mes and A. J. Symonds. Their places of refuge changed through the centu
ries from Italy in the 18th\, to Paris in the 19th and Berlin\, Califor
nia and Tangier in the 20th. Some experiences were tragic\, like those
of William Beckford\, Lord Byron or Oscar Wilde\, and some were triumph
ant\, like the remarkable story of the Ladies of Llangollen who became
the most famous lesbians in Europe. Often treated with outright suspici
on\, homosexuals were targets for the totalitarian dictatorships of the
20th century. As such they were consigned in their tens of thousands t
o exile in Siberia or to the Nazi death camps. Even when peace returned
after World War II most democracies still proscribed homosexual behavi
our\, forcing the Americans Paul Bowles and James Baldwin to seek exile
in Europe and North Africa. Today the tolerance of Ancient Greece has
returned to most Western societies although homosexuals are still perse
cuted in some Islamic countries such as Iran.
No need to R
SVP. This is a free event...with refreshment provided and all are welco
me
\;
URL:http://london.indymedia.org/events/4308 SUMMARY:Heroes and Exiles: Gay Icons Through the Ages LOCATION:Gay's the Word
66 Marchmont Street
London
W
C1N 1ABWe are 2 minutes walk from Russell Square Tube Station and 10 min
utes from either Euston or King's Cross.