Not a Tame Lion: Love and Faith in the Letters of John Boswell
Reading and lecture followed by book signing and reception.
Presented in collaboration with the Yale Divinity Student Book Supply, with support from the St. Thomas More Chapel and Center at Yale; additional support from Yale Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies
In letters to his sister spanning three tumultuous decades, groundbreaking Yale historian John Boswell (1947-1994) provided a window on early gay and lesbian struggles for rights and acceptance and on the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic. In “Not a Tame Lion,” John’s sister shares unpublished letters from the author of 1980’s Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Christianity that reveal his personal views on love and sexuality and his deep and abiding Christian faith. His letters to his younger sister included age-appropriate lessons on life issues ranging from peer pressure to depression, and correspondence between John and his father highlights John’s commitment to social justice regardless of the toll it might exact on him personally and professionally.