From the publication of his pivotal first book, Homosexual: Oppression and Liberation, in 1971, Dennis Altman AO has been a leading voice in gay liberation movements in Australia and beyond. Across a career spanning more than 50 years, Altman has written about gay rights alongside other currents in Australian politics and society, identifying cultural shifts and exploring their impacts, as well as US politics, including under Trump. His books, including Homosexual and Queer Wars, are being embraced by a new generation of queer theorists worldwide, with editions in multiple languages. This collection of his favourite non-fiction has been ordered chronologically to capture the sense of Australia as it was and as it is, charting the course of a conversation about civil rights and cultural change, while at the same time illuminating the persistence of prejudice. Interspersed with personal essays reflecting on Altman’s cultural heritage, grief and ageing, Writing My World is a powerful and illuminating chronicle.
