It should be required reading for the generations of queers Fierstein so unapologetically paved the way for. Quilting together the actor, playwright, drag queen and director's life over 59 wildly entertaining and elegantly emotional chapters, I Was Better Last Night ultimately doubles as a documentation of the evolution of gay culture over half a century, as told to you by one of its greatest assets. It's a truth I was certainly aware of when this column named him one of the most iconic queers in cultural history earlier this year, though I admittedly did not come to fully comprehend how legendary until I spent a recent week devouring his truly staggering memoir, I Was Better Last Night. There are few gay men on this planet more worthy of a 'living legend' status than Harvey Fierstein. *This article contains explicit language.
It's been nominated for a 2022 Digital Publishing Award for best column in Canada. Queeries is a weekly column by CBC Arts producer Peter Knegt that queries LGBTQ art, culture and/or identity through a personal lens.
