"I heard about a magazine called Fire," said Pete, "that you guys started it in 1926 which tackled topics, such as gay issues, not typically discussed in mainstream magazines."

"It was a flop, but I learned a valuable lesson from the process, which I have carried throughout my existence."

"What lesson Langston?"

"One I hope all gay men and women will carry with them throughout their lives, gay is never démodé, never accept the contingencies of heterosexuality and never be ignored."

"Do you ever get upset when folks say you were in the closet and never wrote much about gay people?"

"No, Pete, I lived in a time when we did not have the freedoms celebrated today. We wrote between the lines."

"You must have made many sacrifices, writing as a gay man for straight people in the 1920s."

"The LGBT community will have to make many sacrifices in their lives, but will never be called on to make the sacrifices we made in those days, just as those who follow you will enjoy more freedoms."

"It’s called progress."

"Yes, it is, Pete. However, to answer your question, all my writings were created through the eyes of a proud gay man, and I could not have asked for more."

"I second that emotion, honey, and thank you, Langston."

"Pleasant dreams, Pete."

http://thechroniclesofswishypete.blogspot.com/

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