b'Tales of Vibrant Gay Life, No Longer Lostin TranslationMichael Gillespie celebrates a literary and personal triumphBY DONNY LEVITMichael Gillespie, of South Orange, is a translator and scholar who holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature. I nOctober1650,apamphletwrittentor Erwin Ritter von Busse published Berlin GardenhasFast-forward to 1993, when Berlin Garden of by Massachusetts Bay Colonist WilliamErotic Delights was republished in German. Thats Pynchon was the cause of great conster- when South Orange resident Michael Gillespie nation to Puritan officials. Pynchon wascomes in. A translator and scholar who holds a accused of heresy for penning The Meri- Ph.D.incomparativeliteraturefromIndiana torious Price of Our Redemption and all cop- of Erotic Delights, five stories that explored gay life inUniversity,Gillespierecentlyretiredfromteaching ies were promptly burned. This was the firstearly twentieth-century Germany. Publishing underglobal arts and cultures at New York University. He recorded book burning and censorship event in thethe pseudonym Granand in 1920, his storytellingplayed a pivotal role in giving new exposure to fledgling United States. is witty, vibrant, compassionateand treats his gayGranands work.Book banningor the attempt to do sois on theprotagonists with grace.As Gillespie tells it, hes not exactly sure where he rise. According to an American Librarian AssociationBefore long, regional courts in Berlin and Leipzigstumbled upon the stories. One possibility is that he report, there have been no less than 1,651 titles sub- banned Granands work twicein both 1920 andcame across it while visiting Berlin at the Schwules jected to legal attempts to remove them from libraries1921. The gay characters, depicted without apologyMuseum (Queer Museum), a grassroots effort that throughout the U.S. this year alone. or shame, were considered indecent, and all copiespreservesandinterpretsthehistoryofLGBTQ+ Just over a century ago, author and theater direc- were confiscated. Granands work was forgotten. people. However, his husband, Marvin Taylor, be-32/ matters magazine / holiday 2022'