(born 1940) American writer, essayist and gay activist whose works depict the evolution of gay life in the United States, particularly the complex issues of the AIDS epidemic. White worked as an editor for The Saturday Review and Horizon. He co-founded the Violet Quill, a group of gay writers, in the mid-1970s. His most notable works include two largely autobiographical novels and an anthology Gay Short Fiction (1991). His most recent works include a biography of Jean Genet, whose exploration of homosexuality through plays and novels long has interested White. White has lived and worked in France since 1983.