SOURCE: “Bayard Taylor's Valley of Bliss: The Pastoral and the Search for Form,” in The Markham Review, Vol. 9, Fall, 1979, pp. 13-17.

In the following essay, Martin discusses Taylor's use of pastoral settings and classical themes in his treatment of homosexuality.

I know … a great valley, bounded by a hundred miles of snowy peaks; lakes in its bed; enormous hillsides, dotted with groves of ilex and pine; orchards of orange and olive; a perfect climate, where it is bliss enough just to breathe, and freedom from the distorted laws of men, for none are near enough to enforce them! If there is no legal way of escape for you, here, at least, there is no force which can drag you back, once you are there: I will go with you, and perhaps—perhaps …¹

Thus Joseph's friend Philip speaks to him in Bayard Taylor's novel, Joseph and His Friend, probably...