Edmund White has died. The writer was 85 years old

American writer Edmund White, author of “The Private Life of a Boy,” died on Tuesday at the age of 85 in New York, his agent, Bill Clegg, announced in statements to The Washington Post on Wednesday. “Sadly, I can confirm that Ed [Edmund White] died last night at his home in New York City of natural causes,” said his agent, Bill Clegg.

Writer, playwright, essayist acclaimed for his 'semi-autobiographical' novels such as “The Private Life of a Boy” and “Farewell Symphony”, Edmund White is recognized for his great influence on LGBTQ+ literature, in particular for his pioneering work in the late 1970s.

Edmund White was born on January 13, 1940, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is the author of dozens of novels, short stories, articles, and essays. From the beginning, homosexuality was at the heart of his writing, from a personal, social, and political perspective.

White immediately established himself with his first work, “Forgetting Elena”, published in 1973, which was followed by what was defined as a “highly explicit” work, a kind of “Kama Sutra” of LGBT+ literature in the United States, “The Joy of Gay Sex” (1977), with illustrations by Charles Silverstein.

Over the years, works such as “Nocturnes for the King of Naples” (1978), “A Boy's Own Story” (1982), with its autobiographical character, “Caracole” (1985), “Skinned Alive” (1995), “The Farewell Symphony” (1997) and “The Married Man” (2000), confirmed the initial success and established Edmund White's name in English-language literature.

The author, who lived in Paris for almost 15 years in the 1980s and 1990s, is also the author of biographies dedicated to Jean Genet, Marcel Proust and Arthur Rimbaud.

HIV-positive since 1985, he has survived two strokes and a heart attack in the 2010s, continuing to write. From his recent years, he has published books such as “Our Young Man” (2016), “A Saint from Texas” (2020), “A Previous Life” (2022) and “The Humble Lover” (2023).

The final work, “The Loves of My Life”, dates from this year, having been announced with a positive review by Publishers Weekly.

[The police are called to a house after a noise complaint. When they arrive, the officers find a wild birthday party. But the birthday boy, José Valbom, has disappeared. “ O Zé faz 25 ” is Observador’s first fiction podcast, co-produced by Coyote Vadio and featuring the voices of Tiago Teotónio Pereira, Sara Matos, Madalena Almeida, Cristovão Campos, Vicente Wallenstein, Beatriz Godinho, José Raposo and Carla Maciel. You can listen to the 3rd episode on Observador’s website , on Apple Podcasts , on Spotify and on Youtube Music . And the first episode here and the second here .]

Quoted by the British newspaper The Guardian, Edmund White said of the writers who preceded him: “The earlier gay fiction, by Gore Vidal and Truman Capote, was written for straight readers. It had a gay audience in mind, and that made all the difference.” White taught at Brown and Princeton universities in the United States.

American writer Joyce Carol Oates, quoted by Agence France Presse (AFP), considered the news of the writer's death "very sad": "There was no one like Edmund White! An impressive versatility of style, bold and innovative themes, a dark humor, a friend."

French novelist Edouard Louis, also quoted by AFP, called Edmund White an “incredible friend”: “Loyal, generous, handsome and thoughtful. He always supported and encouraged young writers like no one else.”

Edmund White has published in Portugal the books “A Boy's Private Life”, “Farewell Symphony”, “Skinned Alive”, “The Married Man” and “A Beautiful Empty Room”, all published by Dom Quixote.