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I meant to say: James Elroy Flecker!? (Interrobang, were we permitted such here.) In fulfillment of one of your more dire PhD requirements, I hope. I confess never to have heard of him until your post. But then I did not even know Cranford until it was on TV. After StuCotts (sore missed here) made some remark on Gaskell, that sent me to tear through the book, loving it. Sort of like a Middlemarch except built by a lame, one-armed carpenter, with no architect in attendance. About all I can claim comparable to your Flecker is to have plowed through most of Eliza Cook and Felicia Hemans. I forget why, unless it was first finding them in The Stuffed Owl. I did forego Martin Farquhar Tupper. Speaking of, I do think I have one parody anthology yet in me: Waiting around in Penn Station for Amtrak, one frequently hears, on the PA announcing the local-line stops, "Elizabeth Linden Rahway," which it strikes me must have been the name of a 19th-century poetess laureate of New Jersey.

I think HE would be PERFECT for hito !

Sorry, but there are several corrections needed: Gloria Gaynor did not write "It's Raining Men", it was written by Paul Jebara and Paul Shaffer (of David Letterman fame) and recorded in the early eighties by the Weather Girs (previously known as "Two Tuns of Fun"). Of the two writers Mr Jebara had a way more colorful persona (gaywise) than Mr Shaffer. He produced many artists (including The Weather Girls), wrote several disco hits (including Donna Summer's "Last Dance"), worked as character actor in several movies ("Light Sleeper" with Susan Sarandon is one of them). He was part of the Warhol crowd in the late seventies / Studio 54 era, and at the time was Joe D'Allessandro sugar-daddy. He died of AIDS in 1992, a couple weeks before "Light Sleeper" opened in theaters (highly recommended). Also I think the list mixes people gays admire and people gays would like to emulate and gays tend to have as icons the ones they would like to emulate as is the case with most females listed (Ms Aguillera is kind of a stretch). Gays admire Elton because he was one of the first to come out and get married, but he did not have a primarily gay audience in his many years as a rock star. Joan Jett is certainly a lesbian icon, but if she was rejected by record companies was not because of her sexuality. Until the early nineties she pretended she was straight, her manager being her boyfriend. One gigantic omission: Diana Ross, and on a more sophisticated basis Maria Callas. Runner up: Patty Labelle