For years now, Italy has lacked a periodical devoted to LGBT research. This special issue of the French journal Inverses—unique because it is written entirely in Italian—aims to fill this void and to stimulate a broad reflection on the presence of homosexuality in Italian culture.
A nonfiction section spanning the Renaissance to the contemporary era includes multidisciplinary essays ranging from poetry to the figurative arts, to cinema, criticism and fiction. The role of images in the shaping of a gay tradition is highlighted in the heart of the journal with a dossier devoted to the pictorial work of a contemporary artist. The final section brings together significant figures from the LGBT cultural scene in Italy to explore, through autobiographical and/or polemical pieces, the particularities that have influenced their personal development and shaped their critical and creative activity.
A rigorous yet passionate tool that seeks to establish a dialogue between the past and the present, scholars and creatives, the generations that have contributed to gay discourse over the past thirty years with the new voices recently emerging. And an invitation to reflect on the possible ‘rebirth’ of an LGBT studies journal in Italy.
