The status of gay and lesbian literature - for centuries considered marginal at best and corrupting at worst - has changed dramatically over the last twenty-five years. Gay and lesbian programs now flourish in universities around the world, and the body of gay and lesbian writing continues to grow and to enter the mainstream. At no time has there been a greater need for a focused and insightful guide to the remarkable range of literature and its authors. The revised edition of The Gay and Lesbian Literary Heritage is a reader’s companion to this impressive body of work. It provides overviews of gay and lesbian presence in a variety of literatures and historical periods; in-depth critical essays on major gay and lesbian authors in world literature; and briefer treatments of other topics and figures important in appreciating the rich and varied gay and lesbian literary traditions. Included are nearly 400 alphabetically arranged articles by more than 175 scholars from around the world.