Rodger Streitmatter

In Outlaw Marriages author Rodger Streitmatter chronicles the hidden relationships, both tender and turbulent, of fifteen same-sex couples in recent history. What I appreciated most about this book was the sheer amount of information that was new to me; I'd had no idea about the backgrounds of many of these fascinating women and men. Many a time I interrupted my reading in the middle of a chapter, inspired to find out more (e.g., listen to Fanfare for the Common Man, search for images of show more Johns' flag paintings, find Baldwin's books at the library). On the other hand, I also found the writing somewhat irritating. The chapters were laid out rather unimaginatively -- formulaic and dry. The author also came across as self-congratulatory at having coined the term "outlaw marriage," forcing it into the text at every conceivable opportunity. show less

A quick read, relying mainly on secondary sources, Outlaw Marriages is an important reminder that some lesbians and gays have not needed the sanction of the state in order to create fulfilling lives together (The average relationship length here is thirty- five years). The majority of the couples, like social reformer Jane Addams and her partner Mary Rozet Smith, for example, consist of one ‘famous’ person supported by the work of a behind-the-scenes spouse. One of the book’s theses is show more that the more public partners did their best work when together. While true in some cases (Tennessee Williams and Frank Merlo, for example), this point is debatable in others. show less

Its wonderful to have a book like this that sheds a light on the same sex couples that have existed long before they were officially recognized and also the contributions that any good partner (same sex or not) can have on the life of the one they love. This book just made me very happy, even when the relationships didn't work out long term.

I want to like this book more than I do. The profiled couples are interesting. The writing style, on the other hand, is very plain, almost perfunctory, with some repetitiveness in the descriptions and largely lacking in complex sentences. I've read about three of the fifteen couples, but don't think I'll finish the book before the digital ARC expires.

Honestly, I'm wondering if maybe I'm just not cut out for biographies. (The section on Whitman and Doyle makes me interested in reading show more Whitman's poetry, though. So I guess I've gotten something out of it?) show less