About
Ken Harvey’s work has been published in over 20 literary magazines. His book of short stories, If You Were With Me Everything Would Be All Right, won the Violet Quill Award for Best Gay Fiction of the Year and was named one of the "twenty books of note" by the Lambda Literary Review. The book was also translated into Italian and received enthusiastic reviews in Italy. His memoir, A Passionate Engagement, was honored by the American Library Association as a Rainbow Book. Ken has read his work on On Point, a program on National Public Radio, and is a book reviewer for Lambda Literary. When not working on his own writing, he teaches at writing such programs as the Young Writers Institute at the Bennington Writing Seminars. He also works with writers individually to help them perfect their craft. Ken is a member of the Authors Guild and has been awarded residencies in Taos, New Mexico and at the Millay Colony for the Arts. He holds a B.A. from Bowdoin College, an M.A. in Spanish Language and Literature from the Middlebury Language Schools and an M.F.A in Creative Writing and Literature from the Bennington Writing Seminars.
Featured Work
The Book of Casey Adair (University of Wisconsin Press)
Against the backdrop of a looming military coup in the fall of 1980, Casey Adair
arrives in Madrid from the United States to work in the theatre. He is quickly thrust into a world of protest and resistance by his radical roommate, Gustavo. At the same time, Casey befriends Octavio, a prostitute who encourages Casey’s sexual awakening in startling ways. When his relationship with his college friend Penelope (aka “Poppy”) is upended the evening of John Lennon’s murder, Casey faces a crisis that seems impossible to resolve.
Three years later, Casey finds himself teaching in Boston, where his career is complicated by his sexuality and the specter of AIDS. Using what he learned from Gustavo about protest and resistance in Madrid, Casey becomes an AIDS activist, putting his teaching job at risk. He struggles to understand how his many roles – friend, teacher, caretaker, dissident, lover – can co-exist. His story might be specific, but the questions he faces are ones we all must address: “What is our universe of responsibility in a world that asks so much of us?” and “How far does love commit us to give of ourselves?”
Told through letters, journal entries and other documents, The Book of Casey Adair is a novel of the early 1980s that has deep relevance today.
