John Addington Symonds

Who was John Addington Symonds?

John Addington Symonds was an English poet and literary critic. Although he married and had a family, he was an early advocate of male love, which he believed could include pederastic as well as egalitarian relationships. He referred to it as l'amour de l'impossible. A cultural historian, he was known for his work on the Renaissance, as well as numerous biographies about writers and artists. He also wrote much poetry inspired by his homosexual affairs.