Looking back over the last 85 years that he has spent on this planet,

what does matter the most to Edmund White, one of our greatest living writers.

What's matter the most to him, it's not the books or his literary prizes or his relationships.

It is specifically the sex.

It's the kisses, it's the sucking, it's the fucking, I'm sorry, Mom, if you're listening. But by his estimates, he has had sex with over

3,000 people, the most meaningful of which are now documented in exquisite detail in his new book

titled, The Loves of My Life, A Sex Memoir.

Edmund has written over 30 books, fiction, memoir, biographies, and it is not hyperbole to say

that his work has helped pave the way for all the amazing gay fiction that we consume today.

And this really began in 1982 with his autobiographical novel

called A Boy's Own Story, which, in a shock to him in the industry, was a huge breakout hit.

It was read by a mass audience in a way that almost no other novel about a gay person had been

before.

I had the real pleasure of going to interview Edmund at his apartment last week,

and talking about all of this, including his new book, which once again is called The Loves of My Life. So without further ado, I'm Jeffrey Masters, and this is LGBTQ&A with Edmund White.

So going back to the 1960s when you first moved to New York City,

at the time you were meeting men, you City. At that time, you were, you were

meeting men, you were having sex with men, you were living what appeared to be like a gay life,

and yet also you were willingly seeing a shrink to try to make you straight. And I've worked

for time life and where I had to be closeted.

Right. And so at that time, though, like, how are you thinking about, like, your sexuality?

I wanted to be a writer, and I, that was before any of these tell all biographies came out.

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