Christopher Bram (born February 22, 1952) is an American author.
Bram grew up in Virginia Beach, Virginia (outside Norfolk), where he was a paperboy and an
Eagle Scout. He graduated from the
College of William and Mary in 1974 (B.A. in English). He moved to New York City in 1978.[1]
His nine novels range in subject matter from gay life in the 1970s to the career of a Victorian musical clairvoyant to the frantic world of theater people in contemporary New York. Fellow novelist
Philip Gambone wrote of his work, "What is most impressive in Bram's fiction is the psychological and emotional accuracy with which he portrays his characters ... His novels are about ordinary gay people trying to be decent and good in a morally compromised world. He focuses on the often conflicting claims of friendship, family, love and desire; the ways good intentions can become confused and thwarted; and the ways we learn to be vulnerable and human."[2] Bram has written numerous articles and essays (a selection is included in Mapping the Territory). He has also written or co-written several screenplays, including feature documentary and short narrative films directed by his partner,
Draper Shreeve.[3]
Eminent Outlaws: The Gay Writers Who Changed America (2012)
The Art of History: Unlocking the Past in Fiction and Nonfiction (2016)
Essays
"Perry Street, West Greenwich Village" in Hometowns: Gay Men Write About Where They Belong edited by John Preston, 1990
"Slow Learners" in Boys Like Us: Gay Writers Tell Their Coming Out Stories edited by Patrick Merla, 1996
"A Queer Monster: Henry James and the Sex Question" in James White Review, 2003
"Delicate Monsters" in I Do, I Don't: Queers on Marriage edited by Greg Wharton and Ian Phillips, 2004
"Homage to Mr. Jimmy" in Gods and Monsters (new edition of Father of Frankenstein), 2005
"The Zen of Tolstoy," Commonweal Magazine, March 2016
"Mr. Smith Goes to Heaven: Remembering Bob Smith," Sessums Magazine, January 2018
"Pauline at the Buggy Whip Factory: Our Day with Pauline Kael," Sessums Magazine, February 2019
"A Fan's Notes," introduction to Isherwood in Transit, University of Minnesota Press, 2020
References
^Reif, Erika (March 20, 1999). "Author Won't Be There For Film's Big Moment; His Novel Was Made Into Gods And Monsters". The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA).