George Davis Whitmore (September 27, 1945 – April 19, 1989) was an American playwright, novelist, and poet. He also wrote non-fiction accounts about

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

and

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

Early life

George Whitmore was born on September 27, 1945, in Denver, Colorado. His parents were Lowell Whitmore and Irene Davis. Whitmore graduated from MacMurray College in 1967, where he "received a BA degree in English and Theatre", and he attended graduate school at

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont, United States. Founded as a women’s college in 1932,

for one year.

Career

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, Whitmore chose to work at

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization

in New York City (1968–1972) in lieu of military service. He then worked at the Citizens Housing and Planning Council of New York City from 1972 to 1981. Whitmore emerged as an author in the context of the early gay literary movement that flourished in New York during the 1960s and 1970s. He wrote two books of poetry, three plays, and three novels. He also wrote for ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazi ...

'', the '' New York Native'', and ''

Christopher Street Christopher Street is a street in the West Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is the continuation of 9th Street west of Sixth Avenue. It is most notable for the Stonewall Inn, which is located on Christopher St ...

''. He was also the "contributing editor and literary critic" at ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States * ''The Harvard Advocate' ...

'' from 1974 to 1976. Whitmore was a member of The Violet Quill, the Gay Academic Union, and Gay Men's Health Crisis. His writing explored taboos, homosexuality, disability, and coming of age. In 1988, Whitmore and David Whittacre were awarded $47,000 after suing a Greenwich Village dental clinic for discriminating against them on the basis of their HIV status. The clinic shut down due to legal costs; although there were plans for it to be reopened as a nursing home for AIDS patients, this ultimately never happened.

Personal life and death

Whitmore lived in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, and his longtime companion was Michael Canter. He died on April 19, 1989, at the New York University Medical Center.

Works

Novels

*''The Confessions of Danny Slocum'' (1980) *''Deep Dish'' (1980–1982) *''

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

'' (1987)

Plays

*''The Caseworker'' (1976) *''Flight--The Legacy'' (1979) *''The Rights'' (1980)

Poetry

*''Tricking. And Other Poems'' (1974) *''Getting Gay in New York'' (1976)

Non-fiction

*''Someone Was Here: Profiles in the AIDS Epidemic'' (1988)

References

External links

* George Whitmore
"Bearing Witness"
''New York Times'', January 31, 1988.
online portrait

online portrait
* George Whitmore Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitmore, George 1945 births 1989 deaths MacMurray College alumni Bennington College alumni American relationships and sexuality writers American male dramatists and playwrights American male essayists American male novelists American gay writers American LGBTQ novelists Poets from New York City AIDS-related deaths in New York (state) Gay poets American LGBTQ poets 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American poets 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male poets 20th-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) 20th-century American essayists American male non-fiction writers Writers from New York City Writers from Denver Poets from Colorado Novelists from Colorado 20th-century American LGBTQ people LGBTQ people from New York (state) LGBTQ people from Colorado American conscientious objectors