7 Queer Audiobooks You Can Listen to for Free
In this time of social-distancing and canceled plans, where we are being encouraged to spend more time indoors, finding ways to fill the hours and keep yourself entertained is key.
When you've already binged as much Netflix as you can handle, and you're tired of talking to your partner/roommates/pets/the walls, give a listen to these free queer audiobooks and get lost in great literature.
The Poems of Oscar Wilde, by Thomas B. Mosher
The collection The Poems of Oscar Wilde, compiled by Thomas B. Mosher, includes practically every poem ever published by the great gay Irish writer.
It is available on LibriVox.
The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde
Wilde's only published novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, is also available for free. The book was controversial for its time, with its blunt exploration of vanity, ego, and hedonism. It upset critics for its homoeroticism, and many had a general distaste for Wilde anyway, owing to his flamboyance and flouting of traditional morals of the day.
It is available on Spotify.
Lavender Lit 101, by Various
Lavender Lit 101 is a collection of 30 American and European gay, lesbian, & bisexual writers from the 16th through the 20th centuries, including poetry, essays, and short stories.
It is available on LibriVox.
Sappho: One Hundred Lyrics, by Bliss Carman
As we previously reported, Sappho was a badass Greek lyric poet who lived on the Island of Lesbos. The Bliss Carman collection Sappho: One Hundred Lyrics presents what remains from the poet's mostly lost body of work.
It is also also available on LibriVox.
The Poetry of Emily Dickinson, by Julie Harris
Emily Dickinson, who was herself no stranger to social-distancing, wrote some of the most original and brilliant poems of the 19th century. She remains one of America's best known and most beloved poets.
A collection put together by Julie Harris is available on Spotify.
Swann's Way, by Marcel Proust
Marcel Proust's Remembrance of Things Past, or In Search of Lost Time, is one of the most influential novels in modern literature. Swann's Way is the first book in the seven volume work.
A translation by G.K. Scott-Moncrieff is available on LibriVox.
A Room with a View, by E.M. Forster
E.M. Forster's A Room with a View, published in 1908, tells the story of a young woman who feels trapped by a stodgy and repressed society. A reader's guide by Penguin Random House notes the character of Mr. Emerson "was created in the image of a man Forster admired, Edward Carpenter, a social pioneer who believed in equality for women and open expression of homosexual love...a beacon of spiritual and sexual liberation who guided [Forster] toward a deeper understanding of himself."
It is available on Spotify.
