"When I first started to write, I was aware of being queer, but I didn't write about it. Queer poems would probably not have been accepted by the editors I sent them to"

Thom Gunn's quote speaks with the problem of being a queer author in a time when queer stories were not accepted. He knew his own queerness, however he picked to not discuss it in order to have his work accepted by the editors he sent it to. This quote talks to the power of the publishing industry to shape what stories are informed and how they are informed. It likewise speaks with the guts of queer writers who choose to blog about their experiences despite the capacity for rejection. Gunn's quote is a tip of the importance of producing area for queer stories and of the power of queer writers to inform their stories in their own words.