Eric Cervini

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Eric Cervini, 2019

Eric Cervini (born 1992)[1] is an American author, activist, and historian of LGBTQ politics and culture.[2] His debut book, (2020) was a New York Times Bestseller.[3] He also produces a podcast, The Deviant's World, and a series on Youtube and, Instagram titled The Magic Closet, both of which focus on sharing LGBTQ history.[4]

Life[]

Cervini was born in California,[5] and raised in Round Rock, Texas by a single mother, Lynn Cervini.[6] He attended Westwood High School,[7] where he graduated with an International Baccalaureate diploma in 2010.

Cervini came out as gay[8] only days before enrolling at Harvard College, where he graduated in 2014 with an AB in History.[9] After a year as the Harvard Scholar at Emmanuel College,[5] Cambridge, in 2015, he won a Gates Scholarship to continue his research as part of a doctorate program. He received a Ph.D. in History in 2019.[10]

Cervini lives in Los Angeles.[11]

Career[]

After seven years researching the pre-Stonewall riots homophile movement,[12] Cervini signed a book deal with Farrar, Straus, & Giroux in 2018.[13] In the months leading up to the book release, Cervini started a podcast The Deviant’s World, and a Youtube and Instagram series, The Magic Closet, to share his research that did not make it into the book.[14]

The Deviant's War: The Homosexual vs. The United States of America[]

In June 2020, Cervini’s book, , was released and became a New York Times Bestseller—the first work of LGBTQ history to make the list in 27 years.[10] The Deviant's War is the first full-length biography of Frank Kameny, a key figure in the gay liberation movement.[15] Kameny is widely considered the “grandfather of the gay rights movement”.[16][17][18] The Washington Post wrote, “Kameny may be responsible for more fundamental social change in the post-World War II world than any other American of his generation.”[19] Cervini delves into the life of astronomer Kameny, who was a pioneer in early homophile movement for LGBTQ rights in the decades leading up to the 1969 Stonewall riots, and beyond.[17] Gay Pride, unnamed until the 1970s, was argued in concept by Kameny to the Supreme Court of the U. S. in 1961.[18] In the 1970s, Kameny scored numerous victories, one being the decision to strike homosexuality from the American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental disorders; “the singular accomplishment that made all future LGBTQ progress possible”.[19][20]

Through a “painstakingly detailed” investigative look into Kameny’s activism—that set him up to be “ostracized and targeted by everyone from his neighbors to the FBI”—Cervini extrapolates for insight into the experiences of other LGBTQ people of the time.[17][18] Cervini’s “exhaustive” research used declassified documents, and forty thousand personal documents, and tells Kameny’s story including the closeted gay subculture, coupled with the government fear that LGBTQ people were communists and/or security risks.[20][18][21] He faced enormous challenges as LGBTQ people faced the same social disdain and institutionalized hatred “faced by blacks and Jews, buttressed by centuries of religious bigotry” but were more loathed.[22] He also covers other key figures in early LGBTQ history including Jack Nichols, Barbara Gittings, Jim Fouratt, Randy Wicker, Marsha P. Johnson, and Sylvia Rivera.[19] In doing so Cervini shows the many intersections of the early LGBTQ rights movement to the Black Freedom Movement, the New Left, lesbian activism, and trans resistance.[21] New York magazine's "Approval Matrix" placed the The Deviant's War in its quadrant for "brilliant" and "highbrow" and The Washington Post book review also called it "brilliant," as well as a "rich portrait of Kameny."[23][24]

Awards and honors[]

Cervini was named to Logo30’s 2020 list of influential LGBTQ figures.[25] The Deviant's War was named to the New York Times Editor’s Choice Recommended Books,[26] won the Randy Shilts Award[27] and was a finalist for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for History.[28]

Book[]

  • 2020: The Deviant's War: The Homosexual vs. The United States of America, Farrar, Straus, & Giroux ISBN 0374721564, 9780374721565

References[]

  1. ^ "Cervini, Eric 1992-". WorldCat Identities.
  2. ^ "Eric Cervini | Authors | Macmillan". US Macmillan. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  3. ^ "Hardcover Nonfiction Books - Best Sellers - June 21, 2020 - The New York Times". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  4. ^ "Hunky queer historian quenches thirst for knowledge on Instagram". Los Angeles Blade: LGBT News, Rights, Politics, Entertainment. 2020-03-17. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "Eric Cervini". hcs.uraf.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  6. ^ Cervini, Eric (2020-06-02). The Deviant's War: The Homosexual vs. the United States of America. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-72156-5.
  7. ^ Gallaga, Omar L. "Gender-neutral app from Austin native due out this week". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  8. ^ Dr. Eric Cervini on Facebook Watch, retrieved 2020-07-16
  9. ^ "Harvard Department of History 2014 Newsletter" (PDF). 2020-07-16.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Deviant's War | Gates Cambridge". www.gatescambridge.org. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  11. ^ "New History Book Illuminates Gay Liberation's Great Debt to the Civil Rights Movement". The Attic. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  12. ^ "'Grandfather of the gay rights movement' gets his due in 'The Deviant's War'". NBC News. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  13. ^ "The Deviant's War | Eric Cervini | Macmillan". US Macmillan. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  14. ^ Holmes, Juwan J. (2020-03-07). "This 'homo historian' is uncovering LGBTQ history & educating followers on social media". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  15. ^ Kaiser, Charles (June 12, 2020). "How a stubborn ex-federal employee launched the gay rights movement". Washington Post. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  16. ^ Cervini, Eric, 1992- author. (2 June 2020). The deviant's war : the homosexual vs. the United States of America. ISBN 978-0-374-13979-7. OCLC 1119765233.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b c Kalman, Audrey. "The pre-Stonewall fight for gay rights in "The Deviant's War"". Daily Emerald. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Juzwiak, Rich (June 22, 2020). "New History Book Illuminates Gay Liberation's Great Debt to the Civil Rights Movement". The Attic/Jezabel. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b c Kaiser, Charles (June 12, 2020). "Review | How a stubborn ex-federal employee launched the gay rights movement". Washington Post. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b Luhrssen, David (June 25, 2020). "The Deviant's War: The Homosexual vs. The United States of America (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), by Eric Cervini". Shepherd Express. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  21. ^ Jump up to: a b "Charis Books and The Invisible Histories Project Host 'The Deviant's War' Virtual Book Tour". Georgia Voice. May 27, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  22. ^ Adams, Michael Henry (June 7, 2020). "The Deviant's War: superb epic of Frank Kameny and the fight for gay equality". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  23. ^ "The Approval Matrix". New York magazine. July 6, 2020.
  24. ^ Kaiser, Charles (June 12, 2020). "How a stubborn ex-federal employee launched the gay rights movement". The Washington Post.
  25. ^ Rudolph 6/27/2020, Christopher. "Meet the Logo30: Dr. Eric Cervini". LOGO News. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  26. ^ "10 New Books We Recommend This Week". The New York Times. 2020-06-18. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  27. ^ "2021 Triangle Award Winners Announced". Publishers Weekly. May 12, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  28. ^ "2021 Pulitzer Prizes". pulitzer.org. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
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