Celebrating Gay Pride with “The Boys in the Band”

In honor of Gay Pride Month, The Boston Public Library and the Boston Literary District are pleased to present a screening and discussion of the pioneering LGBTQ film, The Boys in the Band with MATT BELL and MICHAEL BRONSKI.

In this 1970 film, directed by William Friedkin and based on the play by Mart Crowley, Michael (Kenneth Nelson) is hosting a birthday celebration for a pal when he gets an unexpected visit from old friend Alan (Peter White). The problem is, Alan is straight and everyone else at the party is openly gay. Michael hopes to conceal his sexuality from Alan, but this charade doesn’t last. Don’t miss this important and timely discussion about the changing role of the closet in the LGBTQ community.

MATT BELL is Associate Professor of English at Bridgewater State University, where he teaches courses in American literature, film, and queer studies. His published work has examined a wide range of literary and film texts, including Frankenheimer’s The Manchurian Candidate, Baldwin’s Another Country, Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part I, and Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi. He is currently at work on a book called Riotous Plots: Gay Liberation and Narrative Form. Most recently he is the author of the anthology, The Boys in the Band: Flashpoints in Cinema, History and Queer Politics.

MICHAEL BRONSKI is Professor of the Practice in Activism and Media in the Studies of Women, Gender, Sexuality at Harvard University, and the author of numerous books. His Queer History of the United States won the 2011 Lambda Literary Award for Best Non-Fiction. He’s currently at work on the YA edition, which will be published next year, and The World Turned Upside Down: The Queerness of Children’s Literature. In 2017, Michael Bronski was awarded the Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Publishing Triangle.

This event, cosponsored by the Boston Literary District, is free and open to the public.