My Life with Boris
To the Editor:
I enjoyed Pavel Golubev’s ”Queer Modernism in Russia” (May-June 2025) in part because I am infatuated with pugilist Boris Snezhkovsky, immortalized in Konstantin Somov’s 1933 painting The Boxer, among many paintings of Snezhkovsky. Somov (1869-1939) was one of the few who lived openly as a gay man in his day, and his oils were so powerful as to be nearly transformative for me.
One of Somov’s paintings sold in 2023 for $13 million. Though alas I must admire a mere copy of The Boxer as I dress for the day, his painting—and his life—remind me of the need to fight for beauty and truth.
Garrett Glaser, La Jolla, CA
Why Liberation Was So Necessary
To the Editor:
Regarding the “Origins” issue (March-April 2025) on the start of the LGBT liberation movement, the question is: Just what were LGBT people trying to liberate themselves from? Sexual liberation must be
understood in the context of the Judeo- Christian culture from which we are fitfully and only partially extricating ourselves. That emphatically binary tribal culture prohibited any sexuality not intended to swell the tribe’s numbers, a culture uncomfortable with nakedness, ashamed of the body as the soul’s baggage. This begins with Judaism and becomes successively adopted by Christianity and Islam, persistent forces in our world. This culture’s representatives now hold national power and international hegemony, so our gains in liberation can’t be taken for granted.
Ancient Greek culture was not burdened by any of that. Theirs was a frankly bisexual culture that acknowledged same-sex attraction and love. Men and boys exercised in the nude and performed athletic games in the same manner. Sappho records her bisexuality in the fragments we have of her work, and historians Thucydides and Xenophon testify to the generals and admirals who went to war with their male lovers. Indeed, the Sacred Theban Band was a respected military force of 300—150 pairs of lovers—sworn to fight to the death rather than shame their lover. They were undefeated until Philip and son Alexander swept through Greece.
And today? We have really just begun the great task of liberation from an ancient, tribal, Judeo-Christian culture, and the far right, now in political control, would like to lock the doors. Gay people, like everyone else, are subject to religion’s offer of community, fellowship, and its afterlife promises, but hardly any denominations of the mainstream religions offer unconditional acceptance, and American evangelical faiths are actively hostile to that goal.
Walter L Mosley, Wilmette, Illinois
Edmund White’s Wisdom
To the Editor:
Regarding your review of Edmund White’s The Loves of My Life: A Sex Memoir, I received an early lesson on this topic when I was a student at Johns Hopkins University and White was a visiting professor (1977-79). Two quotations in particular stand out in my mind.
One of the first things Ed said to his creative writing class was: “Desire is the engine of the universe.” Let that sink in. The engine of the universe is … desire.
The other thing Ed said to me was said in private. When I was bemoaning the fact that my boyfriend at the time had just up and left me, and that I felt used, Ed came back with: “Better to feel used than useless.”
John Sakowicz, Talmage, CA
An Overlooked Departure
To the Editor:
I was surprised not to see an obituary for China scholar and Harvard professor Ross Terrill in the [January-Feb. 2025 issue of] The G&LR. It was, after all, your periodical that tipped me off about his insanely hedonistic life story as revealed in his journal. His memoir Breaking the Rules: The Intimate Diary of Ross Terrill is a fascinating account of a private life lived unabashedly during a long period of major cultural change.
Ross may not have been everyone’s cup of tea politically, but he certainly did it his way, and simultaneously dodged the AIDS bullet. Breaking the Rules was really mind-blowing to read about someone who moved in conservative professional circles but lived such a brazenly pleasure-seeking personal life. His life qualifies for a mention to your readers.
Mathew Vipond, Easton, PA
