a&e features
Larry Kramer’s magnum opus
On the eve of his 80th birthday, author talks new novel, Supreme Court and more
Larry Kramer plans to celebrate his birthday next month by ‘staying alive’ and ‘continue writing.’ (Photo by Jean Carlomusto; courtesy Farrar Straus Giroux)
Larry Kramer is up front about his frailties. Having “almost died three times,” and freely admitting to “not being so mobile,” he also tells a publicist to warn me he’s hard of hearing and a phone interview may be tough. He’s game to try, though.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work out and so after a couple of questions, we opt for an e-mail exchange. It’s not nearly the death knell to friendly sparring I fear. He has his answers back in about 20 minutes and answers several rounds of follow-ups quickly and without grumble.
The occasion? The publication of his new novel “The American People, Vol. 1: Search for My Heart,” which Farrar, Straus and Giroux published in April. It’s a behemoth —nearly 800 pages that tells variously of prehistoric monkeys, the Puritans, the American Revolution, the Civil War and also the abundant — in Kramer’s vision — homosexual proclivities of the U.S. Founding Fathers with a dizzying cast that includes Washington, Hamilton, Lincoln and even John Wilkes Booth.
Kramer, a D.C. native, is widely known for his groundbreaking and searing play “The Normal Heart,” adapted into an HBO Emmy-winning film last year, and other works such as the novel “Faggots” (1978) and his Oscar-nominated screenplay of “Women in Love.” A pioneering AIDS activist, he cofounded the Gay Men’s Health Crisis in 1982 and founded ACT-UP in 1987. He turns 80 next month and lives in New York’s Greenwich Village with his husband, David Webster (they wed in 2013) and their Cairn Terrier, Charlie, a rescue dog Kramer, always a dog person, says is “very good natured.” He ends our session by admonishing me via e-mail to “be sure to put something in about how much you loved ‘The American People’ and everyone should rush out and buy it and read it immediately!” It is not a stretch to accommodate this request.
WASHINGTON BLADE: Is it fair to say your book is a take on “how it might have happened” on issues of gay Americans, HIV and the Founding Fathers?
LARRY KRAMER: No. I am saying that I think this all did happen. I wanted to write a history of our people.
BLADE: Do you feel AIDS was started on purpose by homophobic German scientists?
KRAMER: No! I am saying that the AIDS virus has been with us since our country started, centuries ago.
BLADE: The New York Times review says your book suggests that “gay men have been with us long before homosexuality had a name and it is past time we extend to these men our historical sympathy and imagination.” Is that a fair estimation?
KRAMER: Of course, although I have never had a good review from the New York Times for anything!
BLADE: Did you envision the book as having such scale at the outset?
KRAMER: Yes. I was striving to write a “big book.” The technical problems interested me. I’ve written plays, movies, essays, a shorter novel. I wanted to see how far I could stretch myself. As I love to write, it’s been an exciting, challenging journey.
BLADE: What was the hardest part of the process? Did you hit any artistic brick walls along the way?
KRAMER: The hardest part was trying to figure out what makes a reader read such a long and complicated book that tells many stories and has a huge cast of characters.
BLADE: You’ve spoken of applying gaydar to historical matters. How fair in general do you feel that is or did it matter for your purposes?
KRAMER: I do not think the gay community is plugged in enough to their radar, so I tried to do it for them.
BLADE: In the modern day, much gaydar has been directed at former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ind). It sounds as though he had transparency issues regardless of whether he’s gay or straight, but is this kind of speculation of his being gay warranted?
KRAMER: Who gives a shit about “speculation” and whether it’s warranted or not? That’s the coward’s way out.
BLADE: Art, history and autobiography are always blurred in your work with characters like Ned Weeks (“The Normal Heart”) or Fred Lemish (“Faggots” and “The American People”). What is accomplished either historically or artistically by taking this approach?
KRAMER: A writer has one great subject to write about, his own life. My life has had many rivers, lived by many Larry Kramers.
BLADE: How’s volume two of “The American People” coming? About what percentage is done?
KRAMER: I have a rough draft but it’s very rough.
BLADE: You’ve taken on the possible homosexual proclivities of the Founding Fathers. Is there a point where similar approaches might be unfair or too obscured by history to justify? Any thoughts on those who assume, for instance, David and Jonathan in the Old Testament were lovers?
KRAMER: Having a strong opinion does not need the justification you are speaking about. No history of gay people exists, which is why I am trying to write one.
BLADE: But at any point in writing “American People,” did you feel you were on shaky ground? Isn’t it relatively easy to slap a gay nametag on a historical figure? What purpose is served in doing this beyond crafting entertaining fiction? Obviously it appears you had more in mind than that.
KRAMER: You miss the whole point of the book if you think I just made up these gay historical figures. I certainly was not out to craft entertaining fiction, but to instruct our people in their history. The only “shaky ground” was my concern people would not take seriously what I was telling them. Interesting that the great reviews arriving are from gay critics and the nasty ones are from straights!
BLADE: You’ve spoken often of the virtues of anger. Are you bitter? If so, is this a negative emotion?
KRAMER: I am not bitter. I am angry. Anger is a wonderful motivator for me!
BLADE: How old were you when you left Washington, D.C.?
KRAMER: I went off to Yale when I was 18. I still go back to see friends.
BLADE: Predictions for the Supreme Court gay case argued last week? If we win there, will we have won overall?
KRAMER: We will have won the right to marry. We have not yet won equality or a cure to AIDS.
BLADE: You’ve been critical of so many approaches to activism from HRC to Frank Kameny and beyond over the years. But could we have gotten to the Supreme Court solely using ACT-UP-style approaches? Couldn’t a variety of approaches have helped us in the long run?
KRAMER: Who says these kind of tactics were not used to help win marriage? I don’t remember criticizing Frank.
BLADE: Didn’t you feel Frank and some others spent too much time looking back?
KRAMER: Yes, I did say that.
The cast of Arena Stage’s 2012 production of ‘The Normal Heart.’ (Photo courtesy Arena)
BLADE: You told the Advocate recently you are working on a “Normal Heart” sequel, but didn’t you do that already with “Destiny of Me”? Is this another work?
KRAMER: I am working on a sequel to the HBO movie, which was a big success for them. But it has not been announced yet until they approve my screenplay and whether Ryan Murphy is free to direct it. “The destiny of Me” was more a prequel than a sequel.
BLADE: Were you overall pleased with how the HBO adaptation turned out?
KRAMER: Very much so. I loved working with Ryan and we had such a great cast, Mark Ruffalo, Julia Roberts, Jim Parsons, all of whom we want to use in this sequel.
BLADE: Any thoughts on Armistead Maupin or the late Paul Monette (other gay writers of note)?
KRAMER: Paul was a dear friend and I am friendly with Armistead and I admire their work. I know many of the gay writers today and feel uncomfortable commenting on their work.
BLADE: Did you see the 2012 “Normal Heart” production at Arena Stage in Washington? Any thoughts?
KRAMER: I loved what Arena did. It was especially moving to me because when I was a kid, I went to see many of their productions in that small remodeled old movie theater on New York Avenue.
BLADE: How long have you been with David? Once you recovered, how did it feel to be married?
KRAMER: I first started dating David in the mid-‘60s. We dated for many years but he didn’t want to be pinned down. We finally got together permanently in 1995 or so and got married just a year or so ago. I promptly got very sick and spent almost a year in and out of hospitals. He saved my life several times when doctors were not helping; he found the right ones. It is certainly not the marriage one wanted to have, lover and caregiver. His own career as an architect has suffered as he worries for me. We have both certainly been put to the test and it has brought us even closer together.
BLADE: Has he read “The American People”? If so, what did he say?
KRAMER: He was one of the first people who read the earliest draft. He has a great memory of what and who I’ve written about, which is invaluable. He has always been a big fan, even of ‘Faggots,’ which is about our earlier go-round. He’s the dinky character who breaks Fred’s heart.
BLADE: Plans for your 80th birthday?
KRAMER: To carry on writing and staying alive!
BLADE: Barney Frank said this in his recent memoir: “If you care deeply about an issue and are engaged in group activity on its behalf that is fun and inspiring and heightens your sense of solidarity with others, you are almost certainly not doing your cause any good.” Do you agree?
KRAMER: Joseph Papp, who produced the original “Normal Heart” at the Public Theater said much the same thing to me, to wit: “If you haven’t offended someone, then you haven’t done something right.”
a&e features
Award-winning D.C. chef reaching new culinary heights
Anthony Jones of Marcus DC competing on ‘Top Chef’
In Anthony Jones’s kitchen, all sorts of flags fly, including his own. Executive chef at award-winning restaurant Marcus DC, Jones has reached culinary heights (James Beard Award semifinalist for Emerging Chef, anyone?), yet he’s just getting started.
Briefly stepping away from his award-winning station, Jones took a moment under a different set of lights. Recently, he temporarily gave up his post at the restaurant for a starring small-screen slot on the latest season of “Top Chef,” which debuted in March. (The show airs weekly on Bravo and Peacock).
Before his strategic slice-and-dice competition, however, Jones, who identifies as gay, draws from his deep DMV roots. In the years before “Top Chef” and the top chef spot at Marcus, he was born and raised in Sunderland, Md., in southern Maryland, near the Chesapeake.
Early memories were steeped in afternoons on boats with his dad bonding over fishing, and wandering the garden of his great-grandparents spread with fresh vegetables and a few hogs. “It was Southern, old-school ethics and upbringing,” he said. “Family and food went hand in hand.” Weekends meant grabbing bushels of crabs, dad and grandma would cook and crack them. Family members would host fish fries for extra cash. In this seafood-heavy youth, Jones managed time to sneak in episodes of the “OG” Japanese “Iron Chef” show, which helped inspire him to pursue a career in the kitchen.
Jones moved to D.C. after graduating from college, ending up at lauded Restaurant Eve, and met famed chef Marcus Samuelson, who brought him to Miami to be part of the opening team for Red Rooster Overtown. After three years, Jones moved back to D.C., where he ran Dirty Habit, reinventing and reimagining the menu, integrating West African flavors and ingredients.
Samuelson, however, wouldn’t let a talent like Jones stay away for too long. Pulling Jones back into his orbit, Samuelson elevated Jones to help him open his namesake restaurant Marcus DC, which has been named a top-five restaurant by the Washington Post. Since then, Jones has been nominated as a semifinalist for the RAMMYs Rising Culinary Star in 2026 and won the Eater DC’s Rising Chef award in 2025.
Samuelson’s Marcus is a tour de force interpreting the Black Diaspora on the plate, from the American South to West Africa, along with his signature “Swedopian” touches. Yet it’s Jones who has deeply informed the plate, elevating his own story to date. Marcus DC is primarily a seafood restaurant, which serves Jones well.
“Where I’m from is seafood heavy, and as I’ve progressed in my career, I’ve moved away from meat.” Veggies and fish are hero dishes. His own dish, Mel’s Crab Rice, was not only lauded by the Washington Post, but is framed by his youth carrying home the crustaceans from Mel’s crab truck. It’s a bowl of Carolina rice, layered with pickled okra, uni béarnaise, and crab. Jones also points to a dish on the opening menu, rockfish and brassica, paying respect to a landmark D.C. institution, Ben’s Chili Bowl. Jones reverse engineered a favorite bowl of chili that’s seafood instead of meat forward, leveraging octopus and rockfish along with different riffs of cauliflower: showing his intellectual, creative, and cultural sides.
While “Top Chef” is showing Jones’s spotlight side, he also lets his identity show at work. “In the kitchen, I make sure we’re inclusive. We don’t tolerate discrimination. Everyone that’s here should feel confident to express themselves. There are so many different flags in the kitchen.”
Jones says that he didn’t fully express his gay identity until fairly recently. He felt reluctant coming out to certain family members, “you’re scared to tell them about being different,” he says, and while that anxiety ate at him, “I’m lucky and fortunate to have unconditional love and that weight off my shoulders.”
Today, “I’m me all the time, Monday to Sunday. I’m honest with people, and my staff is honest with me.”
“Being a chef is hard,” he says, “and being a chef of color is even more difficult.”
Yet his LGBTQ identity is a juggling act, he says. “I need to keep that balance, because once someone finds out something about you, their opinion can change, whether you want it or not.”
Being on a whole season of TV cooking competition, however, might mean millions more might have an opinion of him (Jones has appeared on TV already, on an episode of “Chopped”). To prepare, he says, “I’ve just kept a level head. It’s just an honor to be on top chef with amazing people happy to be there.”
Plus, this season is set in the Carolinas, and Jones attended Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, N.C. “It’s a full story of my life, now a monumental moment for me.”
Jones also recently was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award. “JBF has been a north star, a dream for so long. I always had this goal on my wall.”
Being at the top spot at Marcus DC, making waves through his accolades, and cooking on Bravo means that Jones is highly visible. “I think that if someone has a similar background to me, and can see our story, trajectory, and success, they can have more ability to be themselves. This is my goal.”
Back at Marcus, Jones has plenty up his chef’s white’s sleeves. A new spring menu is in the works. He’ll be launching a new tasting menu “dining experience,” he says, and has plans to work on more events and collaborations with chefs and friends to bring in new talent and share the culinary wealth.
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Introducing the Torchbearers Awards honoring queer, trans women and nonbinary people
Meet the Legends and Illuminators lighting new paths
The Torchbearers Awards are more than recognition—they are a continuation of legacy. They honor the quiet architects of progress in our community: those who organize, advocate, build, and protect, often without fanfare but always with purpose. Rooted in a belief in intentional recognition, this honor names those who carry our movements forward—those who make room for others, who remind us that change is both generational and generative. In a time marked by uncertainty and challenge, these leaders push forward with courage, clarity, and an unwavering commitment to expanding opportunity and equity.
This year’s honorees reflect the full breadth of our community, spanning generations, backgrounds, identities, and industries. From Legends, with decades of leadership and having created pathways for others, to Illuminators, who are lighting new paths with creativity and innovation, each Torchbearer represents the power of intergenerational leadership and the strength found in our diversity. They are organizers, advocates, artists, policy leaders, healers, and changemakers whose lived experiences shape a shared vision for equity and liberation.
This award is our love letter to queer and trans women and nonbinary people who carry the flame when it would be easier to let it dim. To those who consistently show up, who use their voice and visibility and stand firm, often without recognition, so that others may live more freely and fully. The Torchbearers Awards celebrates not just what has been done, but the enduring spirit, responsibility, and collective care that ensure the work continues, and that the flame is always passed forward.
Co-Creators of the Torchbearers Awards: Shannon Alston, June Crenshaw, Heidi Ellis
Torchbearers Awards Advisory Board: Aditi Hardikar, Lesley Bryant, Jasmine Wilson-Bryant, Stephen Rutgers
ILLUMINATOR AWARDEES
- Representative Sharice Davids (she/her), (D, KS-03)
— U.S. House of Representatives - Greisa Martinez Rosas (she/her/ella)
— Executive Director, United We Dream - Paola Ramos (she/her)
— Journalist & Correspondent - Meagan A. Fitzgerald (she/her)
— Journalist & Correspondent - Jessica L. Lewis (she/her)
— Founder / Producer, Play Play DC - Savannah Wade (she/her)
— Founder, OAR Agency - Suhad Babaa (she/her)
— Filmmaker/ Former Executive Director of Just Vision - Ashlee Davis (she/her)
— Global Head of Inclusive Outcomes, Ancestry - Jazmine Hughes (she/her)
— Journalist and Former Editor at New York Times Magazine - Queen Adesuyi (they/she)
— Policy Advisor & Organizer, ReFrame Health & Justice - Michele Rayner, Esq. (she/her)
— Civil Rights Attorney, State Representative (Florida House of Representatives) - Gaby Vincent (she/her)
— Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader - Jenny Nguyen (she/her)
— Founder & Owner, The Sports Bra - Denice Frohman (she/her)
— Independent Artist, Poet / Performer - Vida Rangel (she/her)
— Founder, Our Trans Capital - Roxanne Anderson (they/them)
— Executive Director, Our Space - Ann Marie Gothard (she/her)
— Co-Founder & President, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center) - Diana Rodriquez (she/her)
— Co-Founder & CEO, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center) - Wendi Cooper (she/her)
— Founder / Executive Director, Transcending Women - Toya Matthews (she/her)
— City of San Antonio, Texas - Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones (she/her)
— Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader - Charity Blackwell (she/her)
— Poet, LGBTQ Advocate & Community Leader - Wilhelmina Indermaur (she/her)
— Director of Communications, Tyler Clementi Foundation - Em Chadwick (she/her)
— CMO, For Them & Autostraddle - Kylo Freeman (they/he)
— CEO, For Them & Autostraddle
LEGEND AWARDEES
- Sheila Alexander-Reid (she/her)
— Executive Director, PHL Diversity, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau - Cassandra Cantave Burton (she/her)
— Interim Director of Thought Leadership & Senior Research Advisor, AARP - leigh h. mosley (she/her)
— Photographer / Educator, PhotoFlo Photography - Jenn M. Jackson, PhD (they/them)
— Assistant Professor of Political Science; Author & Columnist, Syracuse University - Jordyn White (she/her)
— COO, Washington Prodigy / VP of Leadership Development & Research, HRC Foundation - AJ Hikes (they/them)
— Deputy Executive Director, ACLU - RaeShanda Lias (she/her)
— Digital Creator, RL Lockhart - Donna Payne-Hardy (she/her)
— Educator, EEO Specialist, Founder of NBJC, Former Leader at the Human Rights Campaign - Courtney R. Snowden (she/her)
— Principal, Blueprint Strategy Group - Gaye Adegbalola (she/her)
— Musician & Activist, Musician / Inductee of the Blues Hall of Fame - Cheryl A. Head (she/her)
— Independent Author, Novelist (Crime Fiction) - Letitia Gomez (she/her)
— The American LGBTQ+ Museum, Board Chair - Lynne Brown (she/her)
— Publisher, Washington Blade - Shay Franco-Clausen (She/Her/Ella/Queen)
— Political Strategist and Organizer - Melissa L. Bradley (she/her)
— Founder & Managing Partner, New Majority Ventures - Meghann Burke (she/her)
— Executive Director, NWSL Players Association - Victoria Kirby York, MPA (she/they)
— Director of Public Policy & Programs, National Black Justice Collective - Joli Angel Robinson (she/her)
— CEO, Center on Halsted - Jeannine Frisby LaRue (she/her)
— CEO, Moxie Strategies - Alice Wu (she/her)
— Film Director (Saving Face, The Half of It) / Screenwriter - Storme Webber (she/her)
— Interdisciplinary Artist / Educator, University of Washington - Kim Stone
— CEO of the Washington Spirit, Washington Spirit - Mickalene Thomas
— American Visual Artist, Mickalene Thomas Studio - Erika Lorshbough (any/they/she)
— Executive Director, interACT - J. Gia Loving (she/ella)
— Co-Executive Director, GSA Network
a&e features
D.C. springs back to life with new, returning events
Cherry blossoms, Rehoboth season kickoff, and more on tap
Longer and warmer days are back meaning: It’s time to get out of the house and enjoy Washington D.C.’s many events. Below are a few to check out this spring.
The National Museum of Women in the Arts will host “Making their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection” until Sunday, July 26. This exhibition illustrates women artists’ vital role in abstraction, considers historical contributions, formal and material breakthroughs and intergenerational relationships among women artists over the last eight decades. For more details, visit. NMWA’s website.
Art in the Attic will host a pop-up on Saturday, March 14 at 6 p.m. at 1012 Madison St., Alexandria, Va. There will be a variety of vendors selling products across different modes of art. For more details, visit Eventbrite.
Play Play will host “Indoor Recess – The art of play” on Sunday, March 15 at 2 p.m. This event will embody classic recess energy, including opportunities to build and experience community and connections through games, movement, art stations, and creative freedom. Tickets are $12.51 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
Spark Social will host “Gay Bar Crawl on U Street” on Friday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m. This will be a fun night out in gay D.C. with other gay people, whether you’re visiting D.C., new to the area, or just looking to expand your social circle. Many crawlers have formed lasting friendships and even romantic relationships after just one night out. Tickets are $35.88 and are available on Eventbrite.
Creative Suitland Arts Center will host “EFFERVESCENT: House of Swann” on Saturday, May 30 at 7 p.m. This will be a gay, good time where we will celebrate love, joy, wellness, and visibility for the LGBTQIA+ community. Tickets start at $17.85 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
SWAG Works DC will host “Unapologetically Her” on Saturday, March 14 at 2 p.m. at 701 E St., S.E. This event is a powerful celebration of womanhood, resilience, creativity, and self-expression in honor of Women’s History Month. This all-women exhibition highlights the diverse voices, stories, and artistic perspectives of women who create boldly, live authentically, and stand confidently in their truth. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
9:30 Club will host “Gimme Gimme Disco: A Dance Party Inspired by ABBA” on Saturday, March 14 at 6 p.m. There will also be a “Donna Summer Power Hour – The Queen of Disco” segment during this event. It’ll be one hour of music with no skips. Tickets are available on 9:30 Club’s website.
Harder Better Faster Stronger will host “Heated Rivalry Rave” on Friday, March 20 at 9 p.m. at Howard Theatre. This event is open to all ages. Tickets are available on the theater’s website.
CAMP Rehoboth hosts its 25th annual Women’s+ FEST, April 9-12 in Rehoboth Beach, Del. Entertainers include headliner Mina Hartong, a comedian, storyteller, and founder of Lez Out Loud; and singer Yoli Mayor. There are dances, dinners, pickleball, and much more. Details and tickets at camprehoboth.org.
Also in Rehoboth Beach, the Washington Blade’s 19th annual Summer Kickoff Party is set for Friday, May 15 featuring Ashley Biden, who will accept an award on behalf of her brother Beau. State Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall will also speak. More speakers and the venue to be announced soon.
The annual D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival kicks off March 21 at DAR Constitution Hall and culminates with Petalpalooza on April 4, the day-long, outdoor street party with music and art, stretching across Navy Yard, and ending with fireworks over the Anacostia River.
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Iconic Eddie Izzard takes on 23 characters in ‘Hamlet’
How Pepper the courthouse dog helps victims of abuse
Women’s FEST returns to Rehoboth Beach next week
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