Ian Young (writer)

Ian Young (born January 5, 1945) is an English-Canadian poet, editor, literary critic, and historian. He was a member of the University of Toronto Homophile Association, the first post-Stonewall gay organization in Canada.[1][2] He founded Canada's first gay publishing company, Catalyst Press, in 1970,[1] printing over thirty works of poetry and fiction by Canadian, British, and American writers until the press ceased operation in 1980.[2] His work has appeared in Canadian Notes & Queries, The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide, Rites and Continuum,[3] as well as in more than fifty anthologies.[4] He was a regular columnist for The Body Politic from 1975 to 1985[1] and for Torso between 1991 and 2008.[5]

Young is best known for his work as editor of the anthology The Gay Muse[6] and the bibliography The Male Homosexual in Literature.[7] He edited The Male Muse: A Gay Anthology, the first English-language anthology of poetry with gay male themes.[2] In 1974, a shipment of The Male Muse was seized and burned by British customs officials.[2]

He was interested in ceremonial magic during the 1980s and was a founding member of the Hermetic Order of the Silver Sword.[5]

His recent book, Encounters with Authors (2013), featured historical and critical essays on the work of three noted Canadian LGBT writers, Scott Symons, Robin Hardy and Norman Elder.[8]