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In June 2003, Canada began sanctioning same-sex marriages. In November, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled that denying marriage rights to gay couples violated the state constitution. In February 2004, four thousand marriage licenses were issued to same-sex couples in San Francisco before the state supreme court ordered a halt. The debate is less about homosexuality than it is about the state and sanctity of marriage.
What people remember about a moment of social change is what was said by our best writers--writers who can approach a subject with the sort of nuance missing from the editorial pages, who can give us a way of thinking about it from all sides, who write not to convince but to understand an issue. Especially those issues that will take years to resolve.
We're pleased to be publishing an anthology that is not only timely but one that will be a lasting artifact of this moment in our history. The "M" Word includes essays from ten outstanding writers, gay and straight, serious and humorous:
• Francine Prose on what would have happened had Oscar Wilde married his lover
• George Saunders on how we shouldn't outlaw only Same-Sex Marriage, but also Sameish-Sex Marriage
• Wendy Brenner on being the maid of honor in a gay wedding
Essays by Dan Savage, Stacey D'Erasmo, David Leavitt, Alexander Chee, Jim Grimsley, and Michael Parker round out this provocative collection.
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