Edmund White

Edmund White was born on January 13, 1940, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He has worked as an editor, written novels, memoir, essays and non-fiction, including biographies of Jean Genet, Marcel Proust, and Arthur Rimbaud. His novels, which include Jack Holmes and His Friend, have been widely praised by such writers as Vladimir Nabokov and Susan Sontag, but it is as a cultural critic that White has perhaps had his greatest influence. His pioneering book The Joy of Gay Sex published in 1977 introduced millions, gay and straight alike, to a brave new world of sexual practices and lifestyle. His autobiographical works include A Boy's Own Story, The Beautiful Room is Empty and The Farewell Symphony. He teaches creative writing at Princeton University. He is currently working on a Parisian memoir to be called Inside a Pearl.