Controversial writer and activist Larry Kramer (born 1935), is known primarily for his criticism of political figures, media, and medical organizations for their poor response to the AIDS epidemic. Through his writing and speaking he has stirred controversy within the gay community, by chastising those who proclaim a right to promiscuity as irresponsible and ultimately self-defeating. Both supporters and detractors are likely to agree that Kramer is a colorful, forceful and strong-willed voice in American culture.

A 1957 graduate of Yale University with a bachelor of arts degree, Kramer first gained national recognition for his 1970 screen adaptation of D. H. Lawrence's Women in Love. This work earned four Oscar nominations, including "Best Screenplay." He next found himself in the spotlight for his satirical novel Faggots (1978), which poked fun at and rebuked urban gay men for their, as he described it, indiscriminate and hazardous lifestyle. Some readers appreciated Kramer's criticism of...