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Edmund White, the distinguished American author known for his evocative semi-autobiographical novels and pioneering work in gay literature, passed away at the age of 85. White, whose illustrious career spanned several decades, was renowned for his insightful and candid exploration of gay life in works such as "A Boy's Own Story" and "The Joy of Gay Sex."

White's impact on modern gay literature is immense. He was honored with LGBTQ+ writing awards named after him, and prominent authors including Garth Greenwell, Édouard Louis, Ocean Vuong, Brandon Taylor, and Alexander Chee have acknowledged his significant influence. Reflecting on the transformation of gay fiction in the late 1970s, White noted that earlier works by writers like Gore Vidal and Truman Capote were aimed at straight readers, whereas his generation wrote with a gay readership in mind.

Michael Carroll, White's husband and partner for nearly three decades, described him as a person of immense kindness and generosity. Carroll remembered him as wise and beyond exasperation, making his passing even harder to grasp fully.

Born in Ohio in 1940 and raised in Illinois, White chose to attend the University of Michigan instead of Harvard, influenced by his therapist who falsely promised to "cure" his homosexuality—a decision that later shaped his literary themes. His career took off in New York and San Francisco as a freelance writer and magazine editor.

White's debut novel, "Forgetting Elena," published in 1973, received acclaim from luminaries like Vladimir Nabokov. In 1977, he co-authored "The Joy of Gay Sex" with his psychotherapist Charles Silverstein, a groundbreaking manual that explored gay sexuality with warmth and candor. Over his prolific career, White continued to draw from his own life, crafting novels about the experiences of gay men and the quest for sexual freedom. His trilogy, beginning with "A Boy's Own Story" in 1982, followed by "The Beautiful Room Is Empty" (1988) and "The Farewell Symphony" (1997), remains his most significant work.

During his time in France from 1983 to 1990, White forged connections with influential figures like Michel Foucault and delved into French literature, eventually producing celebrated biographies of Jean Genet, Marcel Proust, and Arthur Rimbaud. His biography of Jean Genet earned him a Pulitzer Prize, marking a higlight in a career that yielded more than 30 books.

White's notable novels included "The Married Man" and "Fanny: A Fiction," while his extensive memoirs such as "My Lives," "City Boy," "Inside a Pearl," "The Unpunished Vice," and the forthcoming "The Loves of My Life," provide a comprehensive view of his personal and literary journey. He openly discussed his active sex life and his struggle with HIV, with which he was diagnosed in 1984, candidly sharing his experiences and thoughts on what he initially believed was a terminal prognosis.

In addition to his literary endeavors, White was an esteemed educator, teaching at Brown University and later becoming a professor of creative writing at Princeton University. Paul Baggaley of Bloomsbury, White's publisher, expressed profound admiration for his work, highlighting its lasting impact on bringing the gay experience to a broad readership with elegance and honesty.

Edmund White's legacy as a monumental figure in literature and LGBTQ+ advocacy will undoubtedly endure, inspiring generations to come.