People Who Died: E. Lynn Harris, 1955-2009

R.I.P. E. LYNN HARRIS, 1955-2009

I was saddened to learn that author E. Lynn Harris died on Thursday, July 23, 2009 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA of undisclosed causes. Openly gay himself, Harris's novels about the experiences of gay black men (often living in the closet or "on the down-low"), beginning with the self-published 1994 novel Invisible Life, became surprising popular and influential on black literature and mass-market literature in general.

Though Harris's writing wasn't considered prestigious or "literary" by critics or peers, it was a remarkable accomplishment to write about the black gay community, which continues to be a taboo subject, and have the audacity to be successful at it. Harris self-published "Invisible Life" in 1991 and sold it out of the trunk of his car, punk rock style. According to the New York Times, Harris attempted to persuade booksellers to sell his book in their stores, and was given the advice to get a New York agent, which led him to an agent who was able to sell the book to Anchor Books, an imprint of Doubleday Books.

He subsequently went on to publish over twelve more books, ending with the novel Basketball Jones in 2009. I remember being in a Barnes and Noble when E. Lynn Harris was scheduled to read from one of his books and answer questions from what looked like a largely black and female clientele. There was an amazing excitement in the air over this man and his somewhat soapy but all-ballsy tales of deception and sexual intrigue. The literary world and the world at large have lost an original. R.I.P., E. Lynn Harris.

If you are interested in learning more about Harris's work, check out his website or an audio interview with Radiah Hubbert on her show "On The Line" featured on www.urban-reviews.com.